But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.

JEREMIAH 21:14KJV
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Jeremiah 21:14 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 21:14 mean?

Jeremiah 21:14 says that God will punish the people according to what they have done, and He will set a destructive fire that will consume everything around. The verse uses the image of fire in a forest to show how complete and unstoppable this judgment will be.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Jerusalem, warning them that their actions have consequences. The situation is tense: Jerusalem is under threat from Babylon, and the people have ignored previous warnings. The verse makes it clear that the coming disaster is a direct result of their own choices and behaviors.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 21:14

  • "Punish" (פָּקַד, pāqad): This word often means to visit or attend to, and here it carries the sense of God personally bringing consequences for their actions, not just a general punishment.
  • "Fruit" (פְּרִי, perî): This word means the result or outcome, so "the fruit of your doings" highlights that the punishment matches what the people have actually done.
  • "Kindle" (יַצַּת, yatsat): This verb means to ignite or set on fire, emphasizing that God Himself is the one starting the judgment, not just allowing it to happen.
  • "Forest" (יַעַר, ya‘ar): The word for forest can also mean a thicket or a densely wooded area, possibly hinting at the city’s palaces or strongholds, showing that even the most secure places will not be spared.

Why Jeremiah 21:14 matters

  • Jeremiah 21:14 corrects any idea that God’s judgment is random or unfair; it is directly tied to the people’s own actions.
  • The verse uses strong imagery to show that no part of Jerusalem will be untouched by the coming destruction, stressing the seriousness of ignoring God’s warnings.
  • Connecting this verse to the rest of Jeremiah 21, it shows that God’s message through Jeremiah is both a warning and a consequence for persistent disobedience, not just an empty threat.

Where else these words appear

“kindle” Hebrew H3341 · used in 28 verses

  • Joshua 8:8 And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.
  • Isaiah 9:18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
  • Jeremiah 46:19 O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant.

“doings” Hebrew H4611 · used in 41 verses

  • Deuteronomy 28:20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
  • Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
  • Jeremiah 32:19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

“forest” Hebrew H3293 · used in 58 verses

  • Deuteronomy 19:5 As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:
  • Psalms 83:14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;
  • Isaiah 44:23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

“fruit” Hebrew H6529 · used in 107 verses

  • Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
  • Nehemiah 10:35 And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the LORD:
  • Isaiah 37:30 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.