Jeremiah 21:3 Meaning and Explanation
“Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →A single line of narration can carry real weight. Zedekiah had sent two officials to ask for a miracle, and everything now depends on what the prophet says next. Verse 3 is the hinge where the request turns into a reply, and it names the man who must hear it.
Jeremiah answers the king's messengers by handing them a message to carry back. The prophet's reply belongs to Zedekiah himself, and the words that follow come from the LORD rather than from Jeremiah.
The Context of Jeremiah 21:3
Jerusalem is under siege by Nebuchadrezzar. King Zedekiah sends Pashur the son of Melchiah and Zephaniah the priest to Jeremiah with a plea that the LORD would repeat his wondrous works and drive the invader away (verses 1-2). Verse 3 records Jeremiah's response to those messengers. What follows in verses 4-7 is an oracle addressed straight to the king, and verses 8-9 add a separate word for the people. The chapter closes with a charge to the royal house in verses 11-14. This verse marks the seam between the delegation's question and the divine answer.
What Does Jeremiah 21:3 Mean?
"Then said Jeremiah unto them" places the prophet in a room with royal envoys, answering on the spot. The small word "then" ties his speech to the request just made, so the reply lands on a question asked moments earlier. "Unto them" marks the messengers as the immediate hearers, while "Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah" turns them into couriers carrying words meant for the king. Jeremiah gives them a script and holds them to it. The colon closing the verse leaves the sentence open, so the reader leans forward into verse 4, where the message itself begins with the formula "Thus saith the LORD God of Israel."
Prophets in Israel regularly worked this way, standing between a ruler and the LORD and passing a word in both directions. Zedekiah's officials came hoping for a repeat of older deliverances, since Jerusalem had been spared before when Assyria pressed against her walls. Jeremiah does not soften the request or negotiate its terms; he simply prepares to relay what he has been given. The pattern shapes the whole book, where Jeremiah's authority rests on the message rather than on his standing at court. Chapter 21 begins a long section of oracles concerning kings, and this brief line sets the address: the word is going to Zedekiah personally, and a king is accountable for what he hears.
The picture of a messenger entrusted with words he did not compose runs through Scripture and reaches its fullest expression in Jesus, who said repeatedly that his teaching came from the Father who sent him. John 12:49 records that claim plainly. Jeremiah stands in a long line of servants who carry a message faithfully, and the Son stands at the end of that line as the one who is himself the Word. The dignity of the errand belongs to the sender. That is why Jeremiah's opening line matters: it identifies the source, names the recipient, and leaves the courier no room to edit what he carries.
Jeremiah 21:3 in the Original Language
koh (כֹּה), 'thus' -- a Hebrew adverb meaning "in this way" or "so." It regularly introduces a quoted message in prophetic speech, signaling that the words following are delivered exactly as received rather than summarized in the speaker's own phrasing.
Bible Verses Related to Jeremiah 21:3
“But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.”
- Jeremiah 1:7
“Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”
- Jeremiah 37:17
“Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.”
- Jeremiah 38:14
“And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD.”
- 2 Chronicles 36:12
Where Jeremiah 21:3 Echoes in Scripture
Zedekiah's habit of sending for a word from Jeremiah returns later in the book. In Jeremiah 37:17 the king brings the prophet out of prison and asks secretly whether there is any word from the LORD, and he receives the same answer he had already been given. The repetition shows a ruler who kept consulting without obeying. Verse 3 opens that pattern, where a message is faithfully handed over and then set aside by the one it names.
How to Apply Jeremiah 21:3 Today
Most of us carry words we did not write. We pass along an instruction at work, repeat a doctor's advice to a family member, or read Scripture aloud to a child. Jeremiah's care with his commission invites a similar care in us: deliver the message whole, name the person it is meant for, and resist the urge to soften what may land hard. When we speak for someone else, accuracy is a form of love. It also frees us, since the weight of the message rests with the one who gave it.
Reflection & Prayer
Where have we been asked to relay something true that we would rather trim? Sitting with that question can be uncomfortable and clarifying at once. A prayer to borrow: Lord, give me the steadiness of a faithful messenger. Keep me honest with the words you have entrusted to me, gentle with the people who must hear them, and willing to hear hard words myself when they come my way.