What Does Jeremiah 34:21 Mean in the King James?
And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which are gone up from you.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The repeated “into the hand” turns “I will give” into a transfer of reach: the lives being pursued are placed within the pursuers’ grasp.
THE MEANING
The threat is bodily and immediate: a person is placed within the reach of those who seek that person’s life. The repeated “into the hand” makes vulnerability a transfer of power, while Zedekiah’s name, “the LORD is righteousness”, stands beside the violence without functioning as a shield.
THE ROOT
אֶתֵּן
ʾetten
GROWS FROM
נתן
n-t-n
give, set, place
“give” in this verse is ʾetten. The Hebrew verb can carry the sense of giving, setting, or placing. Its repetition turns the verse into a sequence of handoffs: the people are placed within the reach of those who seek them.
ALSO GROWS
mattanah: gift, present
מַתָּנָה
This noun shows the same root in what is bestowed; here the verb places people under another power’s grasp.
netinah: giving, the act of giving
נְתִינָה
This noun keeps the act of giving visible as a transfer, matching the verse’s repeated handoff.
נַפְשָׁם
nafsham
GROWS FROM
נפש
n-p-sh
living self, person, life
The word reaches beyond an abstract inner “soul”: nephesh can name a person, a living being, or that person’s life. Those being sought are the living selves themselves.
ALSO GROWS
nephesh: living self, person, life
נֶפֶשׁ
This is the singular form behind “their life,” naming the living person who is being pursued.
naphash: refresh oneself, rest
נָפַשׁ
This related verb speaks of a living person being refreshed or rested; here that living self is what others seek.
צִדְקִיָּהוּ
Ṣidqiyyāhû
GROWS FROM
צדק
ṣ-d-q
rightness, justice, alignment
“Zedekiah” in this verse is Ṣidqiyyāhû. The name joins the LORD with tsedeq (צֶדֶק, rightness, justice, alignment): “the LORD is righteousness.” The sentence leaves that name beside the handoff, carrying its meaning into a scene of exposure rather than making it a shield.
ALSO GROWS
tsedeq: rightness, justice, alignment
צֶדֶק
This is the core word in the name, which stands beside the king’s exposure to his enemies.
tsedaqah: justice, righteousness, right action
צְדָקָה
This form extends the root’s sense of right relation, sharpening the tension between the name and the violence in the verse.
tsaddiq: a just or aligned person
צַדִּיק
This personal form shows how the root can describe someone; Zedekiah’s name carries that root as he is placed in enemy hands.
THE PATTERN
The image of a person being given into another’s hand makes vulnerability concrete as a transfer of reach and control.
And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.THE THREAD
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.The word behind “their life” is נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh, living self or life), the same word translated “soul” in Genesis 2:7. Genesis calls the formed human a living nephesh; here, the pursuers seek the living selves themselves.
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