Jeremiah 16:12

Jeremiah 16:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:
• New International Version (NIV)But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors. See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts instead of obeying me.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.

Context of Jeremiah 16:12

10Tell the people everything that I have said. Then they will ask you, “Why has the Lord told us that he will punish us so much? What wrong things have we done? What sin have we done against the Lord, our God?” 11Then you must tell them what I say: “It is because your ancestors turned against me. They went to other gods. They worshipped and they served those gods. They turned against me and they did not obey my law. And you have done even more wicked things than your ancestors! You do any wicked thing that you want to do. You refuse to change. You do not obey me. 13So I will throw you out of this land. I will send you away to a land that you and your ancestors never knew. There you will worship other gods, as much as you like. I will no longer help you.” ’ 14The Lord also said, ‘Listen! A better time will come. When people make a promise, they will not say, “I promise to do this as surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites safely out of Egypt.”

Jeremiah 16:12 word by word

וְאַתֶּ֛ם הֲרֵעֹתֶ֥ם לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת מֵאֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶ֑ם וְהִנְּכֶ֣ם הֹלְכִ֗ים אִ֚ישׁ אַֽחֲרֵי֙ שְׁרִר֣וּת לִבּֽוֹ־הָרָ֔ע לְבִלְתִּ֖י שְׁמֹ֥עַ אֵלָֽי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And ye have doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• worseרָעַעrâ‛a‛ · be evilH7489
• than your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• for, beholdהִנֵּהhinnêh · beholdH2009
• ye walkהָלַךְhâlak · to go: followH1980
• every oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• the imaginationשְׁרִירוּתsherîyrûth · stubbornnessH8307
• of his evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• that they may not hearkenשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: obeyH8085

Cross-references for Jeremiah 16:12

• Jeremiah 7:26But my people did not listen to me. They have refused to obey me. They have continued to do evil things, even worse than their ancestors did.’
• Jeremiah 13:10Those wicked people refuse to listen to my words. They do whatever they want to do. They are too proud to change. They serve other gods and they worship them. Now they will become as useless as this linen belt.
• 2 Timothy 3:13Bad people like that will become even worse. Some of them will teach a false message and people will believe their lies. Those false teachers even believe their own lies!
• Jeremiah 7:24But your ancestors refused to obey me. They did anything that their wicked thoughts made them want to do. They refused to return to me. Instead, they went further away.
• Jeremiah 9:14Instead, they have done whatever they wanted to do. They have served the gods of Baal, as their ancestors taught them to do.’
• Deuteronomy 9:27Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Do not think about these proud people who are so wicked. Please forgive their sins.
• Deuteronomy 29:19Nobody who hears the message of this covenant should think that they can go against it. Someone might say to himself, ‘I do not have to obey this covenant. I will be safe, whatever happens. God will still bless me.’ A person who thinks like that will bring trouble on everyone and on everything.
• Judges 2:19But when the leader died, the people would stop serving the Lord. They would do even more wicked things than their fathers had done. They would serve false gods and they would worship them. They refused to stop doing the wicked things that they wanted to do.
• 1 Samuel 15:23You have turned against God. That is worse than using magic. You think that you know what is right better than God does. That is as bad as worshipping idols. You decided not to obey the Lord's command. Now the Lord has decided that you will not be king any longer.’
• Jeremiah 17:9A person's own mind deceives him, more than anything else does. Nobody can change it to be better. Nobody completely understands it.
• Genesis 6:5The Lord saw that men and women on the earth had become very bad. They thought only of evil things all the time.
• Ecclesiastes 8:12People who do lots of wicked things may live for a long time. But if someone respects and obeys God, they will surely enjoy a good life.
• Ecclesiastes 9:3Finally, the same thing happens to everyone on the earth. That seems to be a terrible thing. People choose to do evil things. While they are alive, they choose to live like fools. And after that, they die.
• Mark 7:21Evil thoughts come out from people's minds. As a result they do wrong things. They have sex in wrong ways. They rob people. They murder people.
• Hebrews 3:12So be careful, my Christian friends. Do not refuse to trust God. That would be a very bad thing to do. Do not turn away from the God who lives for ever.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 16:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12And ye have done worse than your fathers - The sins of the fathers would not have been visited on the children, had they not followed their example, and become even worse than they.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Imaginations - Read stubbornness.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-13Verses 10-13 Here seems to be the language of those who quarrel at the word of God, and instead of humbling and condemning themselves, justify themselves, as though God did them wrong. A plain and full answer is given. They were more obstinate in sin than their fathers, walking every one after the devices of his heart. Since they will not hearken, they shall be hurried away into a far country, a land they know not. If they had God's favour, that would…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-13Jeremiah's response was the message he got when he was given his mission: The people left the Lord for idols (Jeremiah 2), so the Lord would leave them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. ye--emphatic: so far from avoiding your fathers' bad example, ye have done worse (Jr 7:26; 1Ki 14:9). imagination--rather, "stubborn perversity." that they may not hearken--rather, connected with "ye"; "ye have walked ... so as not to hearken to Me."Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 16:12

• Depravity of Man
• Example
• Impenitence
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Imagination
• Iron

Commentaries on Jeremiah 16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings