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And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place.
Jeremiah 40:2 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said to him, “Yahweh your God pronounced this evil on this place;
  • BSB The captain of the guard found Jeremiah and said to him, “The LORD your God decreed this disaster on this place,
  • NKJV And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him: “The Lord your God has pronounced this doom on this place.
  • NASB Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, “The Lord your God promised this disaster against this place;
  • NLT The captain of the guard called for Jeremiah and said, “The Lord your God has brought this disaster on this land,

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

The Babylonian captain acknowledges that the LORD, Jeremiah's God, had decreed this disaster. Even a pagan officer recognizes God's hand in Judah's fall.

Overview

Nebuzaradan attributes Jerusalem's destruction directly to Yahweh, an astonishing confession from a Gentile commander. His words echo the prophets' message that the calamity was God's righteous act, not mere geopolitical fortune. This testimony from an outsider underscores that God's sovereignty over the nations is evident even to those outside the covenant.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Deut 29:24–28Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?
  • Jer 22:8–9And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?
  • 2 Chr 7:20–22Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.
  • Lam 2:15–17All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?
  • 1 Kgs 9:8–9And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 40:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 40:2 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.