Jeremiah 8:6

Jeremiah 8:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
• New International Version (NIV)I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I listened and heard, But they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, As the horse rushes into the battle.

Context of Jeremiah 8:6

4‘Jeremiah, tell the people that this is what I, the Lord, say to them: When people fall down, they get up again. When people realize that they are on the wrong road, they turn around. 5So why have the people of Jerusalem not turned back to me? They turn away from me all the time. They believe the lies of false gods, and they refuse to return to me. I have listened carefully to them, but they do not say what is right. They are not sorry for the wicked things that they have done. None of them say, “I have done something wrong.” They all continue to do what they want to do. They are like horses that are running into a battle. 7Even birds know when it is time for them to move to a different place. That is true for storks, doves, swallows and cranes. Birds know when it is time to return, but my people do not know my laws. 8You say, “We are wise because we have the law of the Lord.” But I tell you, your teachers have changed my laws. They teach you lies instead.

Jeremiah 8:6 word by word

הִקְשַׁ֤בְתִּי וָֽאֶשְׁמָע֙ לוֹא־כֵ֣ן יְדַבֵּ֔רוּ אֵ֣ין אִ֗ישׁ נִחָם֙ עַל־רָ֣עָת֔וֹ לֵאמֹ֖ר מֶ֣ה עָשִׂ֑יתִי כֻּלֹּ֗ה שָׁ֚ב בִּמְר֣וּצָתָ֔ם כְּס֥וּס שׁוֹטֵ֖ף בַּמִּלְחָמָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• I hearkenedקָשַׁבqâshab · to listenH7181
• and heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• they spake not arightדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• no manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• repentedנָחַםnâcham · to be sorry: relentH5162
• him ofעַל‛al · uponH5921
• his wickednessרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
• sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• What have I doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• every one turnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: turn backH7725
• to his courseמְרוּצָהmerûtsâh merûtsâh · runningH4794
• as the horseסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
• rushethשָׁטַףshâţaph · to overflowH7857
• into the battleמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421

Cross-references for Jeremiah 8:6

• Job 33:27That person will say clearly to everyone, “I did things that were not right. I did wrong things, but God did not punish me as I deserved.
• Psalms 14:2The Lord is looking down from heaven. He looks at the people of the world, to see if there are any wise people among them. He looks to see if anyone wants to know God.
• Isaiah 30:18So the Lord is waiting for the right time to be kind to you. He is ready to show his great love for you. The Lord God does what is right and fair. Everyone who waits for him to come and help them is a happy person!
• Malachi 3:16Then the people who respected the Lord talked to each other. The Lord listened to what they said. While the Lord watched, someone wrote names on a scroll. Those were the names of the people who worshipped the Lord and respected the Lord's name. They wrote down their names so that people would remember them.
• 2 Peter 3:9The Lord is not being slow to do what he has promised to do. Some people may think that he is being slow to do it. But he is being patient with you. He does not want to destroy anyone. He wants all people to turn away from the wrong things that they do.
• Jeremiah 5:1The Lord said, ‘Run along all the streets of Jerusalem. Look carefully all around you. Look in all the public places of the city. Try to find one person who is honest. Try to find one person who wants to know the truth. If you find one person like that, I will forgive all the people in the city.
• Isaiah 59:16He saw that there was nobody who would help, and he was very upset. So he used his own strength to help. Because he had to do what was right, he made his people safe.
• Ezekiel 22:30I looked among the people for a man who would make the land safe. He would make it a good, strong place again, with nothing bad in it. Then I would not destroy it. But I could not find anyone like that.
• Micah 7:2There are no longer any people here who obey God. There are no good, honest people. Everyone is waiting to kill someone else. They are all like hunters, who try to catch each other.
• Job 10:2This is what I will say to God: “Do not say that I am guilty. Tell me what bad things you think I have done.
• Ezekiel 18:28That wicked person realized that he was doing bad things. So he turned away from his sins. Because of that he will certainly continue to live. He will not die.
• Haggai 1:5I, the Almighty Lord, tell you this: Think carefully about what is happening to you.
• Luke 15:17Then the son began to think about what he had done. He said to himself, “My father has many servants, and they have plenty of food to eat. They even have more food than they need. But I will die here because I do not have any food.
• Jeremiah 2:24You are like a wild female donkey that lives in the wilderness. She lifts her nose to smell the air. She wants to find a male donkey. Nobody can control her. Male donkeys do not have to chase her. She will come to them to have sex with them. You are like that as you chase after false gods.
• Job 39:19Did you, Job, give horses their strength? Did you give them the long hair that they have on their necks?

Commentaries on Jeremiah 8:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6As the horse rusheth into the battle - This strongly marks the unthinking, careless desperation of their conduct.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6I hearkened and heard - God, before passing sentence, carefully listens to the words of the people. Compare Genesis 11:5, where the divine judgment is preceded by the Almighty going down to see the tower. Not aright - Or, “not-right;” which in the Hebrew idiom means that which is utterly wrong. No man repented - The original phrase is very striking: No “man had pity upon his own wickedness.” If men understood the true nature of sin, the sinner would…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-13Verses 4-13 What brought this ruin? 1. The people would not attend to reason; they would not act in the affairs of their souls with common prudence. Sin is backsliding; it is going back from the way that leads to life, to that which leads to destruction. 2. They would not attend to the warning of conscience. They did not take the first step towards repentance: true repentance begins in serious inquiry as to what we have done, from conviction that we have…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6The Lord, who can hear everything (compare Luke 12:3), heard the people even when they spoke in private. Their words did not match reality, and no one felt sorry for doing wrong. Like a horse charging into battle without thinking of death or danger, they did not consider the consequences of their sins.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. spake not aright--that is, not so as penitently to confess that they acted wrong. Compare what follows. every one ... his course--The Keri reads "course," but the Chetib, "courses." "They persevere in the courses whatever they have once entered on." Their wicked ways were diversified. horse rusheth--literally, "pours himself forth," as water that has burst its embankment. The mad rapidity of the war horse is the point of comparison (Job 39:19-25).Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 8:6

• Backsliders
• Church
• Impenitence
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Repent
• Snorting
• Course
• Covenant, the New
• Exodus, the Book of
• Games
• Jeremiah (2)
• Repentance

Commentaries on Jeremiah 8

• 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