What Does Jeremiah 52:8 Mean in the King James?

But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.

Jeremiah 52:8 · 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

The same Hebrew pursuit that overtakes the king can also be aimed at peace: the verb names the force, while its object shapes the outcome.

THE MEANING

This verse places you at the moment the king is overtaken in open ground and the army around him scatters. The pursuit reaches the center of power while the surrounding force loses its hold and leaves him exposed.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the belief that rank and numbers guarantee safety: the king is overtaken, and the army scatters from him.

THE ROOT

וַיִּרְדְּפוּ

vayyirdĕphû

GROWS FROM

רדף

⁨רדף⁩ (radaph): to chase after, pursue.

“pursued” in this verse is vayyirdĕphû. The Hebrew verb carries the force of chasing after, and here it drives toward the king until his army scatters from him. The same root can describe pursuing peace, so the verb names the force while the object gives it direction.

ALSO GROWS

rōdēph: one who pursues

רֹדֵף

In Proverbs 21:21, this form pursues righteousness and mercy, showing that the root can move toward what gives life.

wərādəphēhû: and pursue it

וְרָדְפֵהוּ

Psalm 34:14 uses the same root with peace as its object, shifting pursuit from a threat into a search for wholeness.

THE PATTERN

Pursuit strips away the security that rank, speed, or numbers seem to provide.

And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.

2 Kings 25:5 · KJVThis parallel scene joins pursuit, capture, and the scattering of the king’s army in one sequence.

Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:

Amos 2:14 · KJVThe swift cannot escape and the strong cannot secure themselves, exposing the limits of speed and force.

But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.

Luke 21:12 · KJVThose under pursuit are seized and brought before rulers, showing how persecution can strip away a person’s ordinary protection.

THE THREAD

Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Psalm 34:14 · KJV

The same Hebrew root that drives the Chaldean chase also appears in the call to pursue peace. The shared verb shows that pursuit’s force is shaped by what it is directed toward.

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