God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 16:12
12You have done worse than your ancestors. All of you are following your own stubborn, evil ways that keep you from obeying me.
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
10“When you tell the people all these things, they will ask you, ‘Why does the Lord threaten us with all these disasters? What have we done wrong? How have we sinned against the Lord our God?’ 11Then say to them, ‘It’s because your ancestors abandoned me, declares the Lord. They followed other gods, served them, worshiped them, and abandoned me. They didn’t obey my teachings. You have done worse than your ancestors. All of you are following your own stubborn, evil ways that keep you from obeying me. 13So I will throw you out of this land into a land that you and your ancestors haven’t heard of. There you will serve other gods day and night because I will no longer have pity on you.’ 14“That is why the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer begin an oath with, ‘The Lord brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. As the Lord lives….’
Read all of Jeremiah 16Jeremiah 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 you didn’t obey me or pay attention to me. You became impossible to deal with, and you were worse than your ancestors.
- Jeremiah 13:10These wicked people refuse to listen to me. They go their own stubborn ways and follow other gods in order to serve them and worship them. They are like this good-for-nothing belt.
- 2 Timothy 3:13But evil people and phony preachers will go from bad to worse as they mislead people and are themselves misled.
- Jeremiah 7:24But they didn’t obey me or pay attention to me. They followed their own plans and their stubborn, evil ways. They went backward and not forward.
- Jeremiah 9:14They followed their own stubborn ways and other gods—the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.”
- Deuteronomy 9:27Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Disregard the stubbornness, wickedness, and sin of these people.
- Deuteronomy 29:19Someone may hear the conditions of this promise. He may think that he is so blessed that he can say, “I’ll be safe even if I go my own stubborn way. After all, ⌞the Lord would never⌟ sweep away well-watered ground along with dry ground.”
- Judges 2:19But after each judge died, the people went back to their old ways and acted more corruptly than their parents. They followed, served, and worshiped other gods. They never gave up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
- 1 Samuel 15:23The sin of black magic is rebellion. Wickedness and idolatry are arrogance. Because you rejected the Lord’s word, he rejects you as king.”
- Jeremiah 17:9“The human mind is the most deceitful of all things. It is incurable. No one can understand how deceitful it is.
- Genesis 6:5The Lord saw how evil humans had become on the earth. All day long their deepest thoughts were nothing but evil.
- Ecclesiastes 8:12A sinner may commit a hundred crimes and yet live a long life. Still, I know with certainty that it will go well for those who fear God, because they fear him.
- Ecclesiastes 9:3This is the tragedy of everything that happens under the sun: Everyone shares the same destiny. Moreover, the hearts of mortals are full of evil. Madness is in their hearts while they are still alive. After that, they join the dead.
- Mark 7:21Evil thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder,
- Hebrews 3:12Be careful, brothers and sisters, that none of you ever develop a wicked, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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