What Does Jeremiah 29:21 Mean in the King James?

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;

Jeremiah 29:21 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

Those who speak “in my name” claim to speak from the LORD’s nature, yet the verse calls their message sheqer, falsehood.

THE MEANING

You hear the LORD’s name invoked as a claim to represent him, while the words are named a lie. The consequence is physical and public: the men are given into Nebuchadrezzar’s hand and killed before your eyes.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

Invoking God’s name does not make a message true.

THE ROOT

שֶׁקֶר

sheqer

GROWS FROM

שׁקר

The root ⁨שׁקר⁩ (sh-q-r; shaqar) carries the sense of falsehood and dealing falsely.

The same word appears in “false witness,” so this lie is falsehood presented as testimony. Here, that testimony claims to carry the LORD’s name.

ALSO GROWS

shaqar: To lie or deal falsely

שָׁקַר

The verb shows falsehood as an act, not only as a mistaken statement.

ʿed sheqer: False witness

עֵד שֶׁקֶר

The same seed links the prophecy to testimony that presents falsehood as truth.

וְנָתַתִּים

wenatattim

GROWS FROM

נתן

⁨נתן⁩ (natan) means to give, set, or place.

“deliver” in this verse is wenatattim. The verse’s verb presents the men as being given into Nebuchadrezzar’s hand. The transfer is concrete: the judgment places them within another ruler’s power, and their deaths happen in the hearers’ sight.

ALSO GROWS

natan: To give, set, or place

נָתַן

This is the verb behind the transfer into Nebuchadrezzar’s hand.

mattanah: Gift or thing given

מַתָּנָה

This noun shares the seed of giving and makes the root’s sense of transfer visible.

THE PATTERN

A voice claiming divine authority remains answerable to truth, and false speech meets exposure or judgment.

But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

Deuteronomy 18:20 · KJVA prophet’s claim to speak in God’s name is directly joined to the consequence for speaking falsely.

And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 13:9 · KJVProphets who speak lies are exposed through their removal from the people and the land.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

1 John 4:1 · KJVA claim of divine origin is tested because false prophets speak among the people.

THE THREAD

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Exodus 20:16 · KJV

The same word, ⁨שֶׁקֶר⁩ (sheqer), names the “lie” in Jeremiah and appears in the Hebrew phrase ⁨עֵד שֶׁקֶר⁩ (ʿed sheqer), “false witness.” The shared root connects counterfeit prophecy with false testimony: both present a falsehood as something to be trusted.

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