For I have set My face against this city for harm and not for good,” declares the Lord. “It will be handed over to the king of Babylon and he will burn it with fire.” ’
Parallel translations
- WEB For I have set my face on this city for evil, and not for good,” says Yahweh. “It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.”’
- KJV For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
- BSB For I have set My face against this city to bring disaster and not good, declares the LORD. It will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, who will destroy it with fire.’
- NKJV For I have set My face against this city for adversity and not for good,” says the Lord. “It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.” ’
- NLT For I have decided to bring disaster and not good upon this city, says the Lord. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will reduce it to ashes.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God has set His face against the city for harm, and it will be burned by Babylon. The sentence is fixed and certain.
Overview
The LORD declares His settled purpose to give Jerusalem over to destruction, the opposite of His face shining in blessing. This decisive judgment fulfilled the covenant curses for sustained idolatry and injustice. Though sobering, it underscores God's holiness and the reality that He will not indefinitely tolerate sin; yet the burning of the earthly city ultimately makes way for the promise of restoration and a greater Jerusalem to come.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Jer 44:11“Therefore Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah.
- Amos 9:4Though they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. I will set my eyes on them for evil, and not for good.
- Jer 44:27Behold, I watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until they are all gone.
- Jer 52:13He burned Yahweh’s house, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, he burned with fire.
- Ezek 15:7I will set my face against them. They will go out from the fire, but the fire will devour them; and you will know that I am Yahweh, when I set my face against them.
- Jer 39:8The Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
- 2 Chr 36:19They burned God’s house, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all of its valuable vessels.
- Jer 34:2“Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘Go, and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Yahweh says, “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.
- Jer 38:3Yahweh says, ‘This city will surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.’”
- Jer 38:18But if you will not go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you won’t escape out of their hand.’”
- Ps 34:16Yahweh’s face is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth.
- Lev 17:10“‘Any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who eats any kind of blood, I will set my face against that soul who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
- Lev 26:17I will set my face against you, and you will be struck before your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you; and you will flee when no one pursues you.
- Jer 38:23They will bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans. You won’t escape out of their hand, but will be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. You will cause this city to be burned with fire.’”
- Jer 26:6then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.”’”
- Jer 32:28–31Therefore Yahweh says: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:
- Jer 17:27But if you will not listen to me to make the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.”’”
- Zech 1:6But my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, didn’t they overtake your fathers? “Then they repented and said, ‘Just as Yahweh of Armies determined to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our practices, so he has dealt with us.’”
- Lev 20:3–5I also will set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people because he has given of his offspring to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
- Jer 37:8–10The Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city; and they shall take it, and burn it with fire.”’
- Jer 34:22Behold, I will command,” says Yahweh, “and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, take it, and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 21:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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