Jeremiah 9:21
For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.
Original Language Analysis
כִּֽי
H3588
כִּֽי
Strong's:
H3588
Word #:
1 of 11
(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
עָ֤לָה
is come up
H5927
עָ֤לָה
is come up
Strong's:
H5927
Word #:
2 of 11
to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount); used in a great variety of senses, primary and secondary, literal and figurative
מָ֙וֶת֙
For death
H4194
מָ֙וֶת֙
For death
Strong's:
H4194
Word #:
3 of 11
death (natural or violent); concretely, the dead, their place or state (hades); figuratively, pestilence, ruin
בָּ֖א
and is entered
H935
בָּ֖א
and is entered
Strong's:
H935
Word #:
5 of 11
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
לְהַכְרִ֤ית
to cut off
H3772
לְהַכְרִ֤ית
to cut off
Strong's:
H3772
Word #:
7 of 11
to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication, to destroy or consume; specifically, to covenant (i.e., make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutt
מִח֔וּץ
from without
H2351
מִח֔וּץ
from without
Strong's:
H2351
Word #:
9 of 11
properly, separate by a wall, i.e., outside, outdoors
Cross References
Jeremiah 6:11Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.Jeremiah 15:7And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways.2 Chronicles 36:17Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.
Historical Context
During sieges, death came through many means: famine, disease, fire, and finally enemy soldiers breaching walls. The Babylonian siege of Jerusalem brought all these. Windows and palaces falling to death suggests that wealth and fortification provide no protection. Lamentations 2:20-21 describes children and young men dying in streets and homes during Jerusalem's fall—precise fulfillment of this prophecy.
Questions for Reflection
- How does personifying Death as an invader capture the terrifying inevitability of judgment?
- What does Death's entry into palaces teach about wealth and status providing no ultimate security?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
This verse personifies Death as an invader: 'For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces.' The Hebrew maveth (מָוֶת, death) climbs through windows and enters palaces—no building provides safety. 'To cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.' Death claims children (olalim) playing outside and young men (bachurim) in public spaces. The imagery suggests sudden, comprehensive mortality—death stalking every space, claiming every generation. Ancient Near Eastern mythology personified death (Mot in Canaanite myth); Jeremiah uses this imagery to portray judgment's terrifying arrival.