The Meaning of Jeremiah 27:8 Explained

Jeremiah 27:8

KJV: And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

YLT: And it hath come to pass, the nation and the kingdom that do not serve him -- Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon -- and that which putteth not its neck into the yoke of the king of Babylon, with sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, I lay a charge on that nation -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- till I consume them by his hand.

Darby: And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I visit, saith Jehovah, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

ASV: And it shall come to pass, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith Jehovah, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it shall come to pass, [that] the nation  and kingdom  which will not serve  the same Nebuchadnezzar  the king  of Babylon,  and that will not put  their neck  under the yoke  of the king  of Babylon,  that nation  will I punish,  saith  the LORD,  with the sword,  and with the famine,  and with the pestilence,  until I have consumed  them by his hand. 

What does Jeremiah 27:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

If any of the nations Jeremiah was addressing failed to submit to Nebuchadnezzar, the Lord would destroy that nation using Nebuchadnezzar as His instrument. War, famine, and disease would follow resistance to the Babylonian invader.
"To resist the known will of God is always spiritual suicide." [1]

Context Summary

Jeremiah 27:1-22 - Shepherds That Mislead God's Flock
It is God's purpose to care for His people through shepherds (pastors) who are responsible to Him. Jesus our Lord is the Branch into which we may be grafted. He is our King who saves us and clothes us with His own spotless righteousness. God finds us in Him, Philippians 3:9. Because He reigns, we are saved and dwell in safety. When we are brought into contact with false shepherds, whether the failure be in doctrine or example, let us ask for the broken heart of Jeremiah 23:9.
God is everywhere present; as the latter paragraph indicates, He is near at hand to overhear the blasphemy of those who deride religion, and to be a very present help in time of trouble. If He fills heaven and earth, can He not fill thy heart? If His Word is like fire, let it cleanse thee! If it is as a hammer, let it pulverize thy pride! Let those of us who essay to teach and preach, not steal our words from our neighbors, or utter our own, but receive them from the source of all truth. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 27

1  By the type of bonds and yokes he prophesies the subduing of the neighbor kings
8  He exhorts them to yield, and not to believe the false prophets
12  The like he does to Zedekiah
19  He foretells the remnant of the vessels shall be carried to Babylon,

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 27:8 mean?

And it shall be [that] the nation and kingdom which not will serve - - Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon and will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon with the sword and the famine and the pestilence will I punish that nation that says Yahweh until I have consumed them by his hand
וְהָיָ֨ה הַגּ֜וֹי וְהַמַּמְלָכָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹֽא־ יַעַבְד֤וּ אֹתוֹ֙ אֶת־ נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּ֣ר מֶֽלֶךְ־ בָּבֶ֔ל וְאֵ֨ת יִתֵּן֙ צַוָּאר֔וֹ בְּעֹ֖ל מֶ֣לֶךְ בָּבֶ֑ל בַּחֶרֶב֩ וּבָרָעָ֨ב וּבַדֶּ֜בֶר אֶפְקֹ֨ד עַל־ הַגּ֤וֹי הַהוּא֙ נְאֻם־ יְהוָ֔ה עַד־ תֻּמִּ֥י אֹתָ֖ם בְּיָדֽוֹ

וְהָיָ֨ה  And  it  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
הַגּ֜וֹי  [that]  the  nation 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
וְהַמַּמְלָכָ֗ה  and  kingdom 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מַמְלָכָה  
Sense: kingdom, dominion, reign, sovereignty.
יַעַבְד֤וּ  will  serve 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: עָבַד  
Sense: to work, serve.
אֹתוֹ֙  - 
Parse: Direct object marker, third person masculine singular
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּ֣ר  Nebuchadnezzar 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר 
Sense: the great king of Babylon who captured Jerusalem and carried Judah captive.
מֶֽלֶךְ־  the  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
בָּבֶ֔ל  of  Babylon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
יִתֵּן֙  will  put 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
צַוָּאר֔וֹ  its  neck 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: צַוָּאר 
Sense: neck, back of neck.
בְּעֹ֖ל  under  the  yoke 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֹל  
Sense: yoke.
מֶ֣לֶךְ  of  the  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
בָּבֶ֑ל  of  Babylon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
בַּחֶרֶב֩  with  the  sword 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.
וּבָרָעָ֨ב  and  the  famine 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: רָעָב  
Sense: famine, hunger.
וּבַדֶּ֜בֶר  and  the  pestilence 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: דֶּבֶר 
Sense: pestilence, plague.
אֶפְקֹ֨ד  will  I  punish 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: פָּקַד 
Sense: to attend to, muster, number, reckon, visit, punish, appoint, look after, care for.
עַל־  that 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
הַגּ֤וֹי  nation 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
הַהוּא֙  that 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָ֔ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
עַד־  until 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
תֻּמִּ֥י  I  have  consumed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, first person common singular
Root: תָּמַם  
Sense: to be complete, be finished, be at an end.
בְּיָדֽוֹ  by  his  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.