Jeremiah 12:16

Jeremiah 12:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people.
• New International Version (NIV)And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among my people.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, 'As the Lord lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be established in the midst of My people.

Context of Jeremiah 12:16

14“I, the Lord, also have something to say concerning the wicked nations who surround my land and have attacked and plundered the land that I gave to my people as a permanent possession. I say: ‘I will uproot the people of those nations from their lands and I will free the people of Judah who have been taken there. 15But after I have uprooted the people of those nations, I will relent and have pity on them. I will restore the people of each of those nations to their own lands and to their own country. But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.” If they do these things, then they will be included among the people I call my own. 17But I will completely uproot and destroy any of those nations that will not pay heed,’” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 12:16 word by word

וְהָיָ֡ה אִם־לָמֹ֣ד יִלְמְדוּ֩ אֶת־דַּֽרְכֵ֨י עַמִּ֜י לְהִשָּׁבֵ֤עַ בִּשְׁמִי֙ חַי־יְהוָ֔ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר לִמְּדוּ֙ אֶת־עַמִּ֔י לְהִשָּׁבֵ֖עַ בַּבָּ֑עַל וְנִבְנ֖וּ בְּת֥וֹךְ עַמִּֽי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it shall come to pass, if they will diligentlyלָמַדlâmad · to learn: learnH3925
• learnלָמַדlâmad · to learn: teachH3925
• the waysדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
• of my peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• to swearשָׁבַעshâba‛ · to swearH7650
• by my nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• livethחַיchay · aliveH2416
• by Baalבַּעַלba‛al · BaalH1168
• then shall they be builtבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• in the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432

Cross-references for Jeremiah 12:16

• Jeremiah 4:2You must be truthful, honest and upright when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ If you do, the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are and will make him the object of their boasting.”
• Jeremiah 5:2These people make promises in the name of the Lord. But the fact is, what they swear to is really a lie.”
• Deuteronomy 10:20Revere the Lord your God, serve him, be loyal to him and take oaths only in his name.
• Isaiah 9:18For evil burned like a fire, it consumed thorns and briers; it burned up the thickets of the forest, and they went up in smoke.
• Isaiah 45:23I solemnly make this oath – what I say is true and reliable: ‘Surely every knee will bow to me, every tongue will solemnly affirm;
• Isaiah 65:16Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth will do so in the name of the faithful God; whoever makes an oath in the earth will do so in the name of the faithful God. For past problems will be forgotten; I will no longer think about them.
• Romans 14:11For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.”
• Joshua 23:7or associate with these nations that remain near you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods! You must not worship or bow down to them!
• Psalms 106:35They mixed in with the nations and learned their ways.
• Zephaniah 1:5I will remove those who worship the stars in the sky from their rooftops, those who swear allegiance to the Lord while taking oaths in the name of their ‘king,’
• Isaiah 19:23At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.
• Isaiah 56:5I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument that will be better than sons and daughters. I will set up a permanent monument for them that will remain.
• Zechariah 2:11“Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation, and they will also be my people. Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all.” Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you.
• Romans 11:17Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in the richness of the olive root,
• 1 Corinthians 3:9We are coworkers belonging to God. You are God’s field, God’s building.
• Ephesians 2:19So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,

Commentaries on Jeremiah 12:16

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16The accomplishment of this blessing depends upon both Judah and the Gentiles reversing their past conduct. Then shall the believing Gentile be admitted within the fold of the true, because spiritual, Israel - Christ‘s Church.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-17Verses 14-17 The Lord would plead the cause of his people against their evil neighbours. Yet he would afterwards show mercy to those nations, when they should learn true religion. This seems to look forward to the times when the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in. Those who would have their lot with God's people, and a last end like theirs, must learn their ways, and walk in them.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16To experience God's compassion (Jeremiah 12:15), people from other nations needed to stop worshiping idols and learn God's ways. This change required publicly accepting the Sinai covenant, which included saying, as surely as the Lord lives. They also needed to reject any promises made in Baal's name, which had led Israelites to worship foreign idols.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1714-17. Prophecy as to the surrounding nations, the Syrians, Ammonites, &c., who helped forward Judah's calamity: they shall share her fall; and, on their conversion, they shall share with her in the future restoration. This is a brief anticipation of the predictions in the forty-seventh, forty-eighth, and forty-ninth chapters. touch--(Zec 2:8). pluck them out ... pluck out ... Judah--(Compare end of Jr 12:16). During the thirteen years that the…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 12:16

• Blessing
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Oath

In the dictionaries

• Baal
• Pluck
• Talk
• Builder
• Covenant, the New
• Crime; Crimes
• Eschatology of the Old Testament
• Oath

Commentaries on Jeremiah 12

• 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