Keraia
People

Jeremiah

Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, was a prophet who ministered during the reigns of the last kings of Judah, warning of the Babylonian exile and calling for repentance.

The name Jeremiah means “exaltation of the Lord”

MaleProphetDivided Monarchy eraOld & New Testaments5 books357 verses

Summary

A prophet living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 2 Chronicles 35:25; referred to as Jeremiah (יִרְמְיָ֫הוּ) or Jeremiah; a son of Hilkiah.

Profile

Jeremiah was a prophet in Jerusalem before its destruction in 586 BC. People sometimes call him the "weeping prophet" because he shared his struggles and sorrows while delivering God's messages.

Jeremiah was born in Anathoth, near Jerusalem, during Manasseh’s reign. His father was Hilkiah from the tribe of Benjamin. Jeremiah became a prophet in the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign (627 BC). At first, Jeremiah hesitated to accept his role (Jeremiah 1:6), but God promised to guide and protect him and to provide the words he needed, even when facing opposition (Jeremiah 1:7–8, 18–19).

Jeremiah warned the kings and people of Judah to repent to avoid exile. They had broken God's covenant (special agreement), mainly through idol worship (Jeremiah 10:1–16), and faced the consequences (Deuteronomy 27–28). They refused God's call to repent, so Jeremiah later announced that God's judgment was unavoidable.

Judah's leaders especially disliked Jeremiah. King Jehoiakim despised him and tried to stop him from speaking. King Zedekiah secretly asked for Jeremiah's advice but gave in to his officials when they wanted to silence the prophet. However, God's word could not be stopped. The promised judgment occurred in 586 BC: Jerusalem was attacked, the temple was destroyed, and Judah's leaders were either killed or sent to Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, knew about Jeremiah and liked him (Jeremiah 39:11–12). Because of this, the captain of the Babylonian army let Jeremiah stay with the people left in Judah. Jeremiah advised those who stayed to accept Babylon's rule, even after Judean rebels killed Gedaliah, the governor appointed by Babylon. The Judeans ignored Jeremiah's advice and fled to Egypt. Jeremiah was taken with them, and little more is known about him after that. Tradition says he was stoned to death by Jewish exiles in Tahpanhes, Egypt.

Jeremiah was constantly rejected, imprisoned, and physically abuse during his life. But, his ministry did have positive aspects. He predicted that the exile to Babylon would be temporary (Jeremiah 25:1–14) and that God would create a new covenant with his people (31:31–34). Jesus Christ fulfilled this promise (Luke 22:20).

Passages for Further Study

2 Chronicles 35:25; 36:12, 21; Jeremiah 1:1–10; Jeremiah 13:1–14; 18:1–12; 19:1–20:6; 24:1–10; 26:1–29:32; 32:1–15; 36:1–44:30; Daniel 9:2; Matthew 16:14; 27:9

Events

Dates are approximate

Glossary entries

Jeremiah (Person)

Family members

Father

Hilkiah

Family tree

0 people
Loading the family network…
Lines join parents and children, and spouses. Zoom in to see more names. Larger circles: mentioned more often. Click a person to see their line.

Alternative names

Mentions

357 verses

Includes 233 verses that refer to Jeremiah without naming them, as “he”, “she”, or the subject of a verb.

  1. Jeremiah 39:11
    Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, saying,
  2. Jeremiah 39:12Referred to, not named
    “Take him, look after him, and do not let any harm come to him; do for him whatever he says.”
  3. Jeremiah 39:14
    …had Jeremiah brought from the courtyard of the guard, and they turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So Jeremiah remained among his own people.
  4. Jeremiah 39:15
    And while Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD had come to him:
  5. Jeremiah 39:16Referred to, not named
    “Go and tell Ebed-melech the Cushite that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to fulfill My words against this city for harm and not for good, and on that day they will be fulfilled before your eyes.
  6. Jeremiah 40:1
    This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had released him at Ramah, having found him bound in chains among all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.
  7. Jeremiah 40:2
    The captain of the guard found Jeremiah and said to him, “The LORD your God decreed this disaster on this place,
  8. Jeremiah 40:3Referred to, not named
    …and now the LORD has fulfilled it; He has done just as He said. Because you people have sinned against the LORD and have not obeyed His voice, this thing has happened to you.
  9. Jeremiah 40:4Referred to, not named
    But now, behold, I am freeing you today from the chains that were on your wrists. If it pleases you to come with me to Babylon, then come, and I will take care of you. But if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, go no farther. Look, the whole land is before you. Wherever it seems good and right to you, go there.”
  10. Jeremiah 40:5Referred to, not named
    But before Jeremiah turned to go, Nebuzaradan added, “Return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people, or go anywhere else that seems right.” Then the captain of the guard gave him a ration and a gift and released him.
  11. Jeremiah 40:6
    So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.
  12. Jeremiah 42:2
    Jeremiah the prophet and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to the LORD your God on behalf of this entire remnant. For few of us remain of the many, as you can see with your own eyes.
  13. Jeremiah 42:3Referred to, not named
    Pray that the LORD your God will tell us the way we should walk and the thing we should do.”
  14. Jeremiah 42:4
    “I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will surely pray to the LORD your God as you request, and I will tell you everything that the LORD answers. I will not withhold a word from you.”
  15. Jeremiah 42:5
    Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act upon every word that the LORD your God sends you to tell us.
  16. Jeremiah 42:6Referred to, not named
    Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God!”
  17. Jeremiah 42:7
    After ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah,
  18. Jeremiah 42:8Referred to, not named
    …and he summoned Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest.
  19. Jeremiah 42:9Referred to, not named
    Jeremiah told them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition:
  20. Jeremiah 42:19Referred to, not named
    The LORD has told you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Know for sure that I have warned you today!
  21. Jeremiah 42:20Referred to, not named
    For you have deceived yourselves by sending me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray to the LORD our God on our behalf, and as for all that the LORD our God says, tell it to us and we will do it.’
  22. Jeremiah 42:21Referred to, not named
    For I have told you today, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God in all He has sent me to tell you.
  23. Jeremiah 43:1
    When Jeremiah had finished telling all the people all the words of the LORD their God—everything that the LORD had sent him to say—
  24. Jeremiah 43:2
    Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to reside there.’
  25. Jeremiah 43:3Referred to, not named
    Rather, Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans, so that they may put us to death or exile us to Babylon!”
  26. Jeremiah 43:6
    …the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had allowed to remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as well as Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah.
  27. Jeremiah 43:8
    Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes:
  28. Jeremiah 43:9Referred to, not named
    “In the sight of the Jews, pick up some large stones and bury them in the clay of the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace at Tahpanhes.
  29. Jeremiah 43:10Referred to, not named
    Then tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones that I have embedded, and he will spread his royal pavilion over them.
  30. Jeremiah 44:1
    This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis—and in the land of Pathros:
  31. Jeremiah 44:15
    Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by—a great assembly—along with all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros, said to Jeremiah,
  32. Jeremiah 44:16Referred to, not named
    “As for the word you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you!
  33. Jeremiah 44:20
    Then Jeremiah said to all the people, both men and women, who were answering him,
  34. Jeremiah 44:24
    Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all those of Judah who are in the land of Egypt.
  35. Jeremiah 45:1
    This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Neriah when he wrote these words on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:
  36. Jeremiah 45:4Referred to, not named
    Thus Jeremiah was to say to Baruch: “This is what the LORD says: Throughout the land I will demolish what I have built and uproot what I have planted.
  37. Jeremiah 46:1
    This is the word of the LORD about the nations—the word that came to Jeremiah the prophet
  38. Jeremiah 46:10Referred to, not named
    For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance against His foes. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, until it is quenched with their blood. For the Lord GOD of Hosts will hold a sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
  39. Jeremiah 46:13
    This is the word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
  40. Jeremiah 47:1
    This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.
  41. Jeremiah 49:5Referred to, not named
    Behold, I am about to bring terror upon you, declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, from all those around you. You will each be driven headlong, with no one to regather the fugitives.
  42. Jeremiah 49:14Referred to, not named
    I have heard a message from the LORD; an envoy has been sent to the nations: “Assemble yourselves to march against her! Rise up for battle!”
  43. Jeremiah 49:34
    This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
  44. Jeremiah 50:1
    This is the word that the LORD spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans:
  45. Jeremiah 50:25Referred to, not named
    The LORD has opened His armory and brought out His weapons of wrath, for this is the work of the Lord GOD of Hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.
  46. Jeremiah 50:28Referred to, not named
    Listen to the fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon, declaring in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance for His temple.
  47. Jeremiah 50:31Referred to, not named
    “Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, “for your day has come, the time when I will punish you.
  48. Jeremiah 51:10Referred to, not named
    “The LORD has brought forth our vindication; come, let us tell in Zion what the LORD our God has accomplished.”
  49. Jeremiah 51:59
    This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet gave to the quartermaster Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign.
  50. Jeremiah 51:60
    Jeremiah had written on a single scroll about all the disaster that would come upon Babylon—all these words that had been written concerning Babylon.
  51. Jeremiah 51:61
    And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud,
  52. Jeremiah 51:64
    Then you are to say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again, because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will grow weary.’” Here end the words of Jeremiah.
  53. Daniel 9:2
    …in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the sacred books, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.
  54. Matthew 2:17
    Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
  55. Matthew 16:14
    They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
  56. Matthew 27:9
    Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on Him by the people of Israel,
  57. Matthew 27:10Referred to, not named
    …and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord had commanded me.”