What Does Jeremiah 29:16 Mean?
For thus says the LORD to the king who sits upon the seat of David, and to all the people who settle in this city, and to your brothers who did not go out with you into captivity.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;THE KEY
The king who “sitteth” and the people who “dwelleth” are named with the same Hebrew verb, joining rule and residence in one place.
THE MEANING
The verse gathers the king, the city’s inhabitants, and the kin who have not gone into captivity into one address. The difference between those who have gone and those who remain is real, but both groups stay within the word being spoken.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the assumption that those who remain in the city are outside the word reaching you in exile.
THE ROOT
יֹשֵׁב
yōshēv
GROWS FROM
ישב
sit, remain, dwell
“sits” in this verse is yōshēv. The king and the people are described by the same Hebrew form, though English renders it as “sitteth” for one and “dwelleth” for the other. Their different roles share the same root of being seated or settled in the city.
ALSO GROWS
yāshav: to sit, remain, or dwell
יָשַׁב
This verb holds sitting and inhabiting together, just as the verse’s English forms do.
mōshāv: dwelling place or settlement
מוֹשָׁב
The root extends from the act of dwelling to the place where a person settles.
יָצְאוּ
yāṣəʾû
GROWS FROM
יצא
go out, come forth, emerge
“go out” in this verse is yāṣəʾû. The verse distinguishes the kin by whether they have gone out into captivity, while the king and people are named by where they dwell. The contrast is about actual movement and location: who has left, and who remains in the city.
ALSO GROWS
yāṣāʾ: to go out or come forth
יָצָא
This is the verb behind “gone forth,” marking the departure that separates the kin from those still in the city.
mōṣāʾ: an exit or going out
מוֹצָא
This noun carries the same root’s sense of leaving a place.
THE PATTERN
Departure and dwelling are paired movements: the same account names where a person goes out from and where they dwell next.
And Cain went out from the face of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, the wandering land, east of Eden.Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Charran, and from there, after his father had died, God moved him into this land where you now settle.By trust he dwelt alongside in the land of promise, as in another's land, settling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, co-heirs of the same promise.THE THREAD
And Cain went out from the face of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, the wandering land, east of Eden.Both passages use יצא (yatsa, “go out”) for leaving and ישב (yashav, “sit” or “dwell”) for inhabiting. Genesis places the two actions side by side; Jeremiah repeats the dwelling verb for the king and people, then distinguishes their kin by departure.
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