Jeremiah 21:9
He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.
Jeremiah 21:9 belongs to Jeremiah's warnings to the Jews during the reign of Zedekiah, when Jerusalem was besieged by the Babylonians and threatened with fall to the Chaldeans. Those who abode in the city would die by sword and by famine and by pestilence, but he that went out and fell to the besieging Chaldeans would live. The Hebrew word neh-phesh in the verse is translated as life. To have his life for a prey means the one who surrenders will survive with his life as his only remaining possession, with all else lost. The people refused to believe this message and therefore resisted the siege.