So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.

JEREMIAH 38:23KJV
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Jeremiah 38:23 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 38:23 mean?

Jeremiah 38:23 predicts that all of King Zedekiah’s wives and children will be handed over to the Chaldeans (Babylonians), and that Zedekiah himself will not escape but will be captured by the king of Babylon, resulting in Jerusalem being burned. The verse is a warning of personal and national disaster as a consequence of ignoring God’s message.

The prophet Jeremiah is speaking to King Zedekiah during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. Jeremiah warns Zedekiah that if he refuses to surrender, his family will be taken by the enemy, he will be captured, and the city will be destroyed by fire. This is part of Jeremiah’s larger message urging the king to submit to Babylon to avoid even greater suffering.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 38:23

  • "Out" (יָצָא, yatsa'): This word means "to bring out" or "to lead out." Here, it emphasizes that Zedekiah’s family will be forcibly removed from safety and delivered to the enemy, not simply left behind.
  • "Chaldeans" (כַּשְׂדִּים, Kasdim): This term refers specifically to the Babylonians, highlighting that the threat is from a powerful and well-known foreign empire.
  • "Hand" (יָד, yad): Used twice in this verse, "hand" often symbolizes power or control. The verse stresses that Zedekiah will be firmly under the power of the Babylonian king, unable to escape by his own strength.
  • "Burned" (שָׂרַף, saraph) and "fire" (אֵשׁ, esh): These words together make clear that the destruction of the city will be total and violent, not just a takeover but a burning.

Why Jeremiah 38:23 matters

  • This verse clears up any hope that Zedekiah could escape the consequences of his choices; it is a direct and personal warning, not just a general prophecy about the city.
  • The verse highlights the seriousness of ignoring God’s warnings through His prophet, showing that both the royal family and the city itself will suffer.
  • Jeremiah 38:23 connects to the larger story of Jerusalem’s fall, making clear that the disaster is not random but a result of specific decisions and actions by the king.

Where else these words appear

“taken” Hebrew H8610 · used in 60 verses

  • Genesis 4:21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
  • 2 Kings 14:13 And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Bethshemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits.
  • Jeremiah 50:16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.

“Chaldeans” Hebrew H3778 · used in 80 verses

  • Genesis 11:28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
  • Jeremiah 32:4 And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;
  • Jeremiah 50:1 The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.

“out” Hebrew H4422 · used in 85 verses

  • Genesis 19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
  • 2 Chronicles 16:7 And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.
  • Isaiah 37:38 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

“burned” Hebrew H8313 · used in 107 verses

  • Genesis 11:3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
  • Joshua 7:15 And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.
  • Nehemiah 4:2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?