Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;

thus saith Jehovah concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;

Surely thus said Jehovah concerning the king who is sitting on the throne of David, and concerning all the people that is dwelling in this city, your brethren who went not forth with you in the removal;

Know that thus said the LORD of the king that sits on the throne of David, and of all the people that dwells in this city, and of your brothers that are not gone forth with you into captivity;

For this is what the Lord has said about the king who is seated on the seat of David's kingdom, and about all the people living in this town, your countrymen who have not gone out with you as prisoners;

For thus says the Lord, to the king who sits upon the throne of David, and to all the people who live in this city, to your brothers who have not departed with you in the transmigration:

Ideo sic dicit Jehova regi sedenti super solium Davidis et toti populo sedenti in hac urbe (hoc est, habitanti, nam yvsv hic diversis modis accipitur,) fratribus vestris, qui non egressi sunt vobiscum in exilium;

These verses are not in the Septuagint. But the text of the Septuagint is here throughout so brief and confused as to be explicable only on the supposition, that it represents what was left behind in Egypt when Jeremiah died, copied probably with extreme haste, and with no opportunity of careful collation afterward. On the other hand the Hebrew text represents no hurried transcript, but the original manuscript, and is especially trustworthy in the case of these letters sent to Babylon (see also Jeremiah. 51), because the originals of them would be available for collation with the text preserved by Jeremiah himself. The verses were probably intended to allay excitement in Babylon consequent upon the knowledge that the representatives of various kings were assembled at that very time at Jerusalem to form a coalition against Babylon Jeremiah 27:3.

Know that thus saith the Lord,.... Or "for", or "wherefore thus saith the Lord" (x); for the word "know" is not in the text, and seems needless; though it is also supplied by other interpreters (y). The words are illative, and follow upon the former; and the sense is, that since they gave heed to their false prophets in Babylon, who told them that they should quickly return; therefore the Lord sent the following message to them, informing them that it was so far from being true that they should in a short time return to Jerusalem, that, on the other hand, they that were there should soon be with them in captivity, or be destroyed:
of, or "concerning"
the king that sitteth on the throne of David; that is, King Zedekiah, who was then the reigning king at Jerusalem:
and of all the people that dwelleth in this city; the city Jerusalem, where Jeremiah was, and from whence this letter was written, in the name of the Lord, to the captives at Babylon:
and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; that lived in the several parts of the land of Judea, who were left behind, and not carried captive, when those were to whom these words are directed.
(x) "nam sic ait", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius; "ideo", Calvin; "ita namque", Schmidt. (y) "Scitote quod", Vatablus.

people . . . in this city . . . not gone forth--So far from your returning to Jerusalem soon, even your brethren still left dwelling there shall themselves also be cast into exile. He mentions "the throne of David," lest they should think that, because David's kingdom was to be perpetual, no severe, though temporary, chastisements could interpose (Psalm 89:29-36).

Of the king - Zedekiah.