The Meaning of Jeremiah 43:12 Explained

Jeremiah 43:12

KJV: And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.

YLT: And I have kindled a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and it hath burned them, and he hath taken them captive, and covered himself with the land of Egypt, as cover himself doth the shepherd with his garment, and he hath gone forth thence in peace;

Darby: And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive; and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.

ASV: And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And I will kindle  a fire  in the houses  of the gods  of Egypt;  and he shall burn  them, and carry them away captives:  and he shall array  himself with the land  of Egypt,  as a shepherd  putteth on  his garment;  and he shall go forth  from thence in peace. 

What does Jeremiah 43:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Nebuchadnezzar would do to Egypt what he had done to Judah. He would burn down the Egyptian temples and take people captive. He would capture Egypt as easily as a shepherd wraps himself with a garment, and he would depart from Egypt in safety. Some translations yield the image of the shepherd picking his cloak clean of lice, which is possibly what Jeremiah intended. In this case the figure is probably of Nebuchadnezzar picking his prey clean.
Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt about568-567 B.C. and defeated Pharaoh Ahmose (Gr. Amasis, 570-526 B.C.; cf. Ezekiel 29:17-20). [1]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 43

1  Johanan, discrediting Jeremiah's prophecy, carries him and the rest in Egypt
8  Jeremiah prophesies by a type the conquest of Egypt by the Babylonians

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 43:12 mean?

And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt and he shall burn them and carry them away captive and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt as puts on a shepherd - his garment and he shall go out from there in peace
וְהִצַּ֣תִּי אֵ֗שׁ בְּבָתֵּי֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י מִצְרַ֔יִם וּשְׂרָפָ֖ם וְשָׁבָ֑ם וְעָטָה֩ אֶת־ אֶ֨רֶץ מִצְרַ֜יִם כַּאֲשֶׁר־ יַעְטֶ֤ה הָֽרֹעֶה֙ אֶת־ בִּגְד֔וֹ וְיָצָ֥א מִשָּׁ֖ם בְּשָׁלֽוֹם

וְהִצַּ֣תִּי  And  I  will  kindle 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: יָצַת  
Sense: to kindle, burn, set on fire.
אֵ֗שׁ  a  fire 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: אֵשׁ  
Sense: fire.
בְּבָתֵּי֙  in  the  houses 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
אֱלֹהֵ֣י  of  the  gods 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
מִצְרַ֔יִם  of  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
וּשְׂרָפָ֖ם  and  he  shall  burn  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׂרַף  
Sense: to burn.
וְשָׁבָ֑ם  and  carry  them  away  captive 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁבָה  
Sense: to take captive.
וְעָטָה֩  and  he  shall  array  himself 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָטָה 
Sense: to cover, enwrap, wrap oneself, envelop oneself.
אֶ֨רֶץ  the  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
מִצְרַ֜יִם  of  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
יַעְטֶ֤ה  puts  on 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָטָה 
Sense: to cover, enwrap, wrap oneself, envelop oneself.
הָֽרֹעֶה֙  a  shepherd 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
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.
בִּגְד֔וֹ  his  garment 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֶּגֶד 
Sense: treachery, deceit.
וְיָצָ֥א  and  he  shall  go  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
מִשָּׁ֖ם  from  there 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
בְּשָׁלֽוֹם  in  peace 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁלֹום  
Sense: completeness, soundness, welfare, peace.