What Does Jeremiah 49:20 Mean in the King James?
Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.
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 “drawing out” carries the force of dragging away: the LORD’s counsel takes shape as removal through the flock’s youngest.
THE MEANING
The LORD’s counsel against Edom is presented as a settled course: the young of the flock drag its people out, and their dwellings become desolate with them. The repeated language of counsel and devising gives the judgment deliberation and resolve, while its agents seem least equipped to carry it. The removal is forceful, not gentle persuasion.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that a purpose can take effect only through visibly powerful agents: here, the flock’s youngest carry out the removal.
THE ROOT
עֲצַת
ʿăṣat
GROWS FROM
יעץ
yāʿaṣ
To counsel, advise, or resolve.
“counsel / hath taken” in this verse is ʿăṣat. English separates “counsel” from “hath taken,” but both forms grow from יָעַץ (yāʿaṣ), to counsel or resolve. The verse presents the counsel itself as becoming the chosen course of action.
ALSO GROWS
ʿēṣāh: Counsel or advice.
עֵצָה
This is the noun form in the verse; it shares its root with the LORD’s act of taking counsel against Edom.
yōʿēṣ: One who gives counsel.
יוֹעֵץ
This related form names the one who counsels, revealing the same root behind counsel, the act of advising, and the adviser.
מַחְשְׁבוֹתָיו
maḥshevotav
GROWS FROM
חשב
ḥāshav
To think, devise, or reckon.
“purposes / purposed” in this verse is maḥshevotav. The noun and verb repeat חָשַׁב (ḥāshav): the LORD’s plans are what he has devised. The Hebrew root also carries the sense of thought shaped into a design.
ALSO GROWS
maḥashavah: A thought or plan; the plural form appears in this verse.
מַחֲשָׁבָה
It shows that “purposes” names considered designs, not an unformed wish.
ḥāshav: To think through, devise, or reckon.
חָשַׁב
This is the verb paired with “purposes,” joining the plan to the act of devising it.
יִסְחָבֻם
yisḥāvum
GROWS FROM
סחב
sāḥav
To drag or haul away.
The verb rendered “draw them out” comes from סָחַב (sāḥav), to drag or haul away. The same root describes a body dragged and cast beyond Jerusalem’s gates in Jeremiah 22:19; here it gives the flock’s action the force of forced removal.
ALSO GROWS
yisḥāvum: They drag them out or away.
יִסְחָבֻם
This is the verb in the verse, making the flock’s action a physical removal.
sāḥōv: Dragged or hauled away; used in Jeremiah 22:19.
סָחוֹב
Jeremiah uses the same root for a body dragged and cast beyond the gates, reinforcing the forceful sense here.
THE PATTERN
A purpose can reach its outcome through agents whose apparent strength seems smaller than the task.
Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;THE THREAD
Therefore hear ye the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them.Jeremiah repeats nearly the same Hebrew pattern for Babylon: the LORD’s counsel, the purpose he devised, and the flock dragging its target away. The echo shows the same structure of judgment reaching beyond Edom.
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