The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.

JEREMIAH 32:1KJV
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Jeremiah 32:1 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 32:1 mean?

Jeremiah 32:1 introduces a message that came to the prophet Jeremiah from the LORD during a specific historical moment: the tenth year of Zedekiah’s reign as king of Judah, which was also the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar’s rule. This verse sets the exact time when the following events and words from God took place.

Jeremiah 32:1 is a historical marker, letting readers know when the story happens. Jeremiah, a prophet in Jerusalem, receives a message from the LORD (the God of Israel) while Zedekiah is king and Nebuchadrezzar, the Babylonian king, is in his eighteenth year of power. This timing is significant because it is near the end of Jerusalem’s independence, just before the Babylonian conquest.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 32:1

  • "word" (דָּבָר, davar): This word means a message, matter, or command. Here, it highlights that what follows is not Jeremiah’s own idea, but a communication from God.
  • "LORD" (יְהוָה, YHWH): This is the personal name of Israel’s God, emphasizing that the message comes from the God who made a covenant with Israel.
  • "tenth" (עָשִׂירִי, asiri) and "eighteenth" (שְׁמוֹנֶה, shemoneh + עָשָׂר, asar + שָׁנָה, shanah): These words mark the precise years in the reigns of Zedekiah and Nebuchadrezzar, anchoring the story in real historical time.
  • "Nebuchadrezzar" (נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר, Nevukhadretzar): The Hebrew spelling matches the Babylonian king’s name, showing the international context and the looming threat from Babylon.

Why Jeremiah 32:1 matters

  • This verse clears up when the events of the chapter take place: during the final years before Jerusalem falls to Babylon, which shapes the urgency and gravity of what follows.
  • By naming both Zedekiah and Nebuchadrezzar, the verse highlights the tension between Judah’s last king and the foreign power about to conquer them.
  • The careful dating shows that Jeremiah’s message is rooted in real history, not legend or vague tradition, which adds weight to the prophetic words that follow.

Where else these words appear

“tenth” Hebrew H6224 · used in 26 verses

  • Genesis 8:5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
  • Deuteronomy 23:2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
  • Esther 2:16 So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

“Nebuchadrezzar” Hebrew H5019 · used in 59 verses

  • 2 Kings 24:1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
  • Jeremiah 25:1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;
  • Jeremiah 44:30 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaohhophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.

“Zedekiah” Hebrew H6667 · used in 62 verses

  • 1 Kings 22:11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.
  • Jeremiah 27:12 I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.
  • Jeremiah 38:14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.

“eighteenth” Hebrew H8083 · used in 105 verses

  • Genesis 5:4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
  • 1 Kings 7:10 And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.
  • 2 Chronicles 34:8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.