Jeremiah 21:8-10

3. The advice to the people (Jeremiah 21:8-10)

TRANSLATION

(8) And unto this people you shall say, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. (9) The one who remains in this city shall die by the sword or by the famine or by the pestilence; the one who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live, and his life shall be as spoils to him. (10) For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good (oracle of the LORD). Into the hand of the king of Babylon it shall be given, and he shall burn it with fire.

COMMENTS

To the gloomy message for king Zedekiah Jeremiah adds an oracle addressed to the people in general. Using the solemn language of Deuteronomy 30:15 ff. God places before His people the alternatives of life and death (Jeremiah 21:8). While it is clear that Jeremiah is referring to the Deuteronomy passage, he is using the word life in a more restricted sense. In Deuteronomy the word life meant prosperous existence whereas here the word life means escape from death. The way of death is to remain in the besieged city of Jerusalem; the way of life is surrender to the enemy (Jeremiah 21:9). Jeremiah gave this same advice on other occasions (e.g., Jeremiah 38:1; Jeremiah 38:17). It would appear that not a few Jews followed this advice (Jeremiah 38:19; Jeremiah 39:9; Jeremiah 12:15). Those who surrender (literally, fall away) to the enemy will be rewarded only by the preservation of their lives. They will be like the soldier who goes into battle expecting to be enriched from the spoils of the enemy but who in the end is happy to return without the loss of his life. Resistance is useless for God has set His face against the city of Jerusalem for evil i.e., to destroy it, rather than for good i.e., to deliver the place. By continuing the struggle the fanatical defenders of the city are in reality fighting against God. He will deliver Jerusalem into the hand of the king of Babylon. The torch will be put to the holy city (Jeremiah 21:10). While there may be hope for individuals if they surrender, the doom of the city as a whole is sealed.