King James Version
Jeremiah
Jeremiah in the King James Version (1769), public domain in the United States.
Background and History
The chapters above are the King James text. This essay is the setting of Jeremiah: who is said to have written it, when and where, what happens in it, and how the text has been copied.
At a Glance
| Author | Jeremiah, dictating to his scribe Baruch, in the book’s own account and in the Talmud. Critical scholars see later editing. |
|---|---|
| Date | About 626–585 BC in one survey, from Josiah’s thirteenth year to after Jerusalem’s fall. |
| Place written | Jerusalem, modern Jerusalem, and later Egypt. |
| Genre | Prophecy, poetry, and biography. |
| Chapters | 52 |
| Verses | 1364 in the King James Version |
| Key verse | Jeremiah 31:31Jeremiah 31:31 · King James VersionBehold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:Jeremiah 31:31 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
Who Wrote It
Jeremiah 1:1–3Jeremiah 1:1–3 · King James Version1:1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
1:2 To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
1:3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
Jeremiah 1:1–3 · King James VersionOpen the Source (1) names the words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah. Jeremiah 36:4Jeremiah 36:4 · King James VersionThen Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book.
Jeremiah 36:4 · King James VersionOpen the Source says Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation, and Jeremiah 36:32Jeremiah 36:32 · King James VersionThen took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.
Jeremiah 36:32 · King James VersionOpen the Source says a second scroll was written with many like words added. The Talmud says Jeremiah wrote his book, Kings, and Lamentations. (2) Critical scholars see prose sermons in Deuteronomic style and biographical narratives as later layers.
Who It Is Not
Baruch is the scribe, not the prophet. The Book of Baruch is a separate work, outside the Protestant canon. Athanasius’s list joins Baruch and a letter to Jeremiah. (4)
When and Where
Bible Gateway gives 626–585 BC. (5)
Audience and Setting
Judah in its last decades and the exiles. The purpose is to call Judah to repentance, announce judgment by Babylon, and promise a new covenant.
Rulers at the Time
Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah of Judah, and Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Reign dates were not checked for this essay and are omitted.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Call | Jeremiah 1 |
| Oracles against Judah | Jeremiah 2–25 |
| Biography and conflict | Jeremiah 26–45 |
| Oracles against nations | Jeremiah 46–51 |
| Fall of Jerusalem | Jeremiah 52 |
| Composition | 626–585 BC in one survey. (5) |
Places in This Book
| Ancient name | Modern-day location | References |
|---|---|---|
| Anathoth | Near Anata, northeast of Jerusalem, West Bank. | Jeremiah 1:1Jeremiah 1:1 · King James VersionThe words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:Jeremiah 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
| Jerusalem | The Old City of Jerusalem. | Jeremiah 39:1Jeremiah 39:1 · King James VersionIn the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it.Jeremiah 39:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
| Tahpanhes | In the eastern Nile Delta, Egypt. The site is identified with Tell Defenneh by many scholars. | Jeremiah 43:7Jeremiah 43:7 · King James VersionSo they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.Jeremiah 43:7 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
What Is Happening
Jeremiah 1 is the call. Jeremiah 2–25 are oracles of judgment. Jeremiah 26–45 mix narrative and promise, including the new covenant in Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 46–51 are oracles against nations. Jeremiah 52 tells of Jerusalem’s fall.
Key Themes
The new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31–34Jeremiah 31:31–34 · King James Version31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Jeremiah 31:31–34 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Judgment and hope. Seventy years of exile in Jeremiah 25:11Jeremiah 25:11 · King James VersionAnd this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Jeremiah 25:11 · King James VersionOpen the Source.
Apologetics Questions
The Greek Septuagint of Jeremiah is about one-eighth shorter than the Hebrew and arranges the oracles differently. Scholars debate which is earlier. Both forms are attested in Hebrew at Qumran, according to many scholars. This page did not check the catalogue entries for those scrolls. (6)
How the Book Points to Christ
Hebrews 8:8–12Hebrews 8:8–12 · King James Version8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
8:9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Hebrews 8:8–12 · King James VersionOpen the Source quotes the new covenant of Jeremiah as fulfilled in Christ. The righteous Branch called the Lord our righteousness, in Jeremiah 23:5–6Jeremiah 23:5–6 · King James Version23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Jeremiah 23:5–6 · King James VersionOpen the Source, is read as the Messiah who bears the divine name. Jesus is God.
Text and Manuscripts
Jeremiah is among the books found at Qumran. (6)
Canon Reception
Further Reading
References
- Book of Jeremiah, 1:1–3; 36:4; 36:32Jeremiah 1:1–3 · King James Version1:1
The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
1:2To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
1:3It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
Jeremiah 1:1–3 · King James VersionOpen the Source. King James Version - Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 15a, 15a (The William Davidson English on Sefaria is copyrighted. This page paraphrases it and does not reprint it. The page continues the list of writers and the debate about it.)
- Against Apion, 1.8Josephus, Against Apion 1.8 · William Whiston
For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from, and contradicting one another: [as the Greeks have:] but only twenty two books: which contain the records of all the past times: which are justly believed to be divine. And of them five belong to Moses: which contain his laws, and the traditions of the origin of mankind, till his death.
Josephus, Against Apion 1.8 · William WhistonOpen the Source (Flavius Josephus, Against Apion 1.8, translated by William Whiston. Josephus counts twenty-two books: five of Moses, thirteen of the prophets from Moses to Artaxerxes, and four of hymns and precepts.) - Festal Letter 39, 39.4–5 (Athanasius of Alexandria, AD 367, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 4, on New Advent. The letter lists twenty-two Old Testament books and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, and places Esther among books to be read rather than in the canon.)
- When Was Each Book of the Bible Written?, Jeremiah (Jacob Edson, Bible Gateway, 16 September 2024. The survey gives Jeremiah as 626–585 BC. It is one editor’s approximation, not a manuscript date.)
- Dead Sea Scrolls, introduction, Biblical manuscriptsDead Sea Scrolls, biblical manuscripts · Israel Antiquities Authority
Among the Scrolls are partial or complete copies of every book in the Hebrew Bible (except the book of Esther).
Dead Sea Scrolls, biblical manuscripts · Israel Antiquities AuthorityOpen the Source (Israel Antiquities Authority. Biblical manuscripts from the Qumran caves date from the third century BC into the first century AD, and every book of the Hebrew Bible except Esther is represented.)
The King James Version (1769) is in the public domain in the United States.