Logos Bible Study

Jeremiah 49:34–39

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Judgment Against Elam

49:34Early in the reign77 of King Zedekiah of Judah, the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam.78

49:35The Lord who rules over all said,

“I will kill all the archers of Elam,

who are the chief source of her military might.79

49:36I will cause enemies to blow through Elam from every direction

like the winds blowing in from the four quarters of heaven.

I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds.

There will not be any nation where the refugees of Elam will not go.80

49:37I will make the people of Elam terrified of their enemies,

who are seeking to kill them.

I will vent my fierce anger

and bring disaster upon them,”81 says the Lord.82

“I will send armies chasing after them83

until I have completely destroyed them.

49:38I will establish my sovereignty over Elam.84

I will destroy their king and their leaders,”85 says the Lord.86

49:39“Yet in days to come

I will reverse Elam’s ill fortune.”87

says the Lord.88

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Footnotes

  1. 77 Or “In the beginning of the reign.” For a discussion of the usage of the terms here see the translator’s note on . If this refers to the accession year the dating would be 598/97 b.c.
  2. 78 Heb “That which came [as] the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet about the Elam.” See the translator’s note on for the construction here and compare also 46:1; 47:1; 50:1. Elam was a country on the eastern side of the Tigris River in what is now southwestern Iran. Its capital city was Susa. It was destroyed in 640 b.c. by Ashurbanipal after a long period of conflict with the Assyrian kings. It appears from Babylonian records to have regained its independence shortly thereafter, perhaps as early as 625 b.c., and was involved in the fall of Assyria in 612 b.c. If the date refers to the first year of Zedekiah’s rule (597 b.c.), this prophecy appears to be later than the previous ones (cf. the study notes on and ).
  3. 79 Heb “I will break the bow of Elam, the chief source of their might.” The phrase does not mean that God will break literal bows or that he will destroy their weapons (synecdoche of species for genus) or their military power (so Hos 1:5). Because of the parallelism, the “bow” here stands for the archers who wield the bow, and were the strongest force (or chief contingent) in their military.
  4. 80 Or more simply, “I will bring enemies against Elam from every direction. / And I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds. // There won’t be any nation / where the refugees of Elam will not go.” Or more literally, “I will bring the four winds against Elam / from the four quarters of heaven. / I will scatter.…” However, the winds are not to be understood literally here. God isn’t going to “blow the Elamites” out of Elam with natural forces. The winds must figuratively represent enemy forces that God will use to drive them out. Translating literally would be misleading at this point.
  5. 81 Heb “I will bring disaster upon them, even my fierce anger.”
  6. 82 Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  7. 83 Heb “I will send the sword after them.”
  8. 84 Or “I will sit in judgment over Elam”; Heb “I will set up my throne in Elam.” Commentators are divided over whether this refers to a king sitting in judgment over his captured enemies or whether it refers to formally establishing his rule over the country. Those who argue for the former idea point to the supposed parallels in 1:15 (which the present translation understands not to refer to this but to setting up siege) and 43:8–13. The parallelism in the verse here, however, argues that it refers to the Lord taking over the reins of government by destroying their former leaders.
  9. 85 Heb “I will destroy king and leaders from there.”
  10. 86 Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  11. 87 See Jer 29:14; 30:3 and the translator’s note on for the idiom used here. See a similar note on the reversal of Moab’s fortunes in Jer 48:47 and compare also 46:26 for a future restoration of Egypt.
  12. 88 Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.

Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come. I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the Lord. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.

“But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the Lord.”

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah:

This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will break the bow of Elam,

the mainstay of their might.

I will bring against Elam the four winds

from the four quarters of heaven;

I will scatter them to the four winds,

and there will not be a nation

where Elam’s exiles do not go.

I will shatter Elam before their foes,

before those who want to kill them;

I will bring disaster on them,

even my fierce anger,”

declares the Lord.

“I will pursue them with the sword

until I have made an end of them.

I will set my throne in Elam

and destroy her king and officials,”

declares the Lord.

“Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam

in days to come,”

declares the Lord.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

This is the word of the Lord that came to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. This is what the Lord of Armies says:

I am about to shatter Elam’s bow,

the source of their might.

I will bring the four winds against Elam

from the four corners of the heavens,

and I will scatter them to all these winds.

There will not be a nation

to which Elam’s banished ones will not go.

I will devastate Elam before their enemies,

before those who intend to take their lives.

I will bring disaster on them,

my burning anger.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

I will send the sword after them

until I finish them off.

I will set my throne in Elam,

and I will destroy the king and officials from there.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Yet, in the last days,

I will restore the fortunes of Elam.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

This message concerning Elam came to the prophet Jeremiah from the Lord at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:

“I will destroy the archers of Elam—

the best of their forces.

I will bring enemies from all directions,

and I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds.

They will be exiled to countries around the world.

I myself will go with Elam’s enemies to shatter it.

In my fierce anger, I will bring great disaster

upon the people of Elam,” says the Lord.

“Their enemies will chase them with the sword

until I have destroyed them completely.

I will set my throne in Elam,” says the Lord,

“and I will destroy its king and officials.

But I will restore the fortunes of Elam

in days to come.

I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the king of Judah, saying, “Thus says Yahweh of hosts:

‘Look, I am going to break the bow of Elam,

the first and best of their might.

And I will bring to Elam four winds,

from the four corners of heaven,

and I will scatter them to all these winds,

and there will not be a nation

where the scattered people of Elam will not go.

So I will shatter Elam before their enemies,

and before the seekers of their life.

And I will bring disaster upon them,

my burning anger,’ declares Yahweh.

‘And I will send after them the sword

until I have destroyed them.

And I will set my throne in Elam

and I will destroy from there king and officials,’ declares Yahweh.

‘And then in the last of the days

I will restore the fortunes of Elam,’ declares Yahweh.”

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

Thus saith the Lord of hosts;

Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,

The chief of their might.

And upon Elam will I bring the four winds

From the four quarters of heaven,

And will scatter them toward all those winds;

And there shall be no nation

Whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.

For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies,

And before them that seek their life:

And I will bring evil upon them,

Even my fierce anger, saith the Lord;

And I will send the sword after them,

Till I have consumed them:

And I will set my throne in Elam,

And will destroy from thence the king and the princes,

Saith the Lord.

But it shall come to pass in the latter days,

That I will bring again the captivity of Elam,

Saith the Lord.

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