Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.

JEREMIAH 44:27KJV
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Jeremiah 44:27 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 44:27 mean?

Jeremiah 44:27 says that God is watching over the people of Judah in Egypt, but not to protect them—instead, He is watching to bring disaster, not blessing. The verse warns that most of the Judeans who fled to Egypt will be destroyed by war and hunger until very few remain.

In this verse, God is speaking through Jeremiah to the Judeans who escaped to Egypt after Jerusalem fell. They had hoped Egypt would be a safe haven, but God tells them that their disobedience will lead to judgment even there. The verse is part of a larger message where Jeremiah warns that turning away from God and seeking safety elsewhere will not protect them from consequences.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 44:27

  • The word “watch” (שָׁקַד, shaqad) means to be alert or vigilant, often used for God’s active attention. Here, it emphasizes that God is purposefully overseeing events, not passively allowing them.
  • “Evil” (רַע, ra‘) refers to calamity or disaster, not moral evil. God is saying He will bring hardship, not that He is acting wickedly.
  • “Consumed” (תָּמַם, tamam) means to be finished or brought to an end, highlighting the totality of the coming judgment.
  • “End” (כָּלָה, kalah) carries the sense of completion or exhaustion, showing that this judgment will continue until it has fully run its course.

Why Jeremiah 44:27 matters

  • This verse corrects the idea that fleeing to another land could escape God’s reach or judgment; God’s authority is not limited by geography.
  • The language stresses that God’s involvement is intentional and active—He is not absent or indifferent to the choices of His people.
  • Jeremiah 44:27 connects to the wider chapter, where the people refuse to listen to warnings and persist in their old ways, showing that ignoring God’s message has real and serious consequences.

Where else these words appear

“watch” Hebrew H8245 · used in 11 verses

  • Ezra 8:29 Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.
  • Psalms 127:1 A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
  • Jeremiah 1:12 Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.

“consumed” Hebrew H8552 · used in 62 verses

  • Genesis 47:15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.
  • Joshua 5:8 And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.
  • Psalms 104:35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.

“famine” Hebrew H7458 · used in 88 verses

  • Genesis 12:10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
  • 2 Kings 25:3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
  • Jeremiah 29:18 And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them: