New English Translation
Jeremiah 4:3
3Yes, the Lord has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives.
Jeremiah 4:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
- New International Version (NIV)This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: "Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.
Context of Jeremiah 4:3
1“If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord, “if you want to come back to me you must get those disgusting idols out of my sight and must no longer go astray. 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.” Yes, the Lord has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. 4Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment, you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the Lord and get rid of everything that hinders your commitment to me, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you do not, my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you that no one will be able to extinguish. That will happen because of the evil you have done.” 5The Lord said, “Announce this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’ Shout out loudly, ‘Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!’
Read all of Jeremiah 4Jeremiah 4:3 word by word
כִּי־כֹ֣ה׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֗ה לְאִ֤ישׁ יְהוּדָה֙ וְלִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם נִ֥ירוּ לָכֶ֖ם נִ֑יר וְאַֽל־תִּזְרְע֖וּ אֶל־קוֹצִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For thus saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- to the menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- of Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
- and Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
- Break upנִירnîyr · to breakH5214
- your fallow groundנִירnîyr nir · fallow groundH5215
- and sowזָרַעzâra‛ · to sowH2232
- not among thornsקוֹץqôts qôts · thornH6975
Cross-references for Jeremiah 4:3
- Genesis 3:18It will produce thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grain of the field.
- Hosea 10:12Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap unfailing love. Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves, for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers deliverance on you.
- Matthew 13:7Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them.
- Mark 4:7Other seed fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked it, and it did not produce grain.
- Luke 8:7Other seed fell among the thorns, and they grew up with it and choked it.
- Galatians 6:7Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows,
Commentaries on Jeremiah 4:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Break up your fallow ground - Fallow ground is either that which, having been once tilled, has lain long uncultivated; or, ground slightly ploughed, in order to be ploughed again previously to its being sown. Ye have been long uncultivated in righteousness; let true repentance break up your fruitless and hardened hearts; and when the seed of the word of life is sown in them, take heed that worldly cares and concerns do not arise, and, like thorns, choke…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3To the men - To each man “of Judah.” They are summoned individually to repentance. Break up - literally, Fallow for you a fallow ground, i. e., do not sow the seeds of repentance in unfit soil, but just as the farmer prepares the ground, by clearing it of weeds, and exposing it to the sun and air, before entrusting to it the seed, so must you regard repentance as a serious matter, requiring forethought, and anxious labor. To sow in unfallowed ground was…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3Verse 3 ,4 An unhumbled heart is like ground untilled. It is ground which may be improved; it is our ground let out to us; but it is fallow; it is over-grown with thorns and weeds, the natural product of the corrupt heart. Let us entreat the Lord to create in us a clean heart, and to renew a right spirit within us; for except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Sinners need to recognize their wrong actions and change by admitting their mistakes and seeking forgiveness (Hosea 10:12; see also Matthew 13:1–9).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Transition to Judah. Supply mentally. All which (the foregoing declaration as to Israel) applies to Judah. and Jerusalem--that is, and especially the men of Jerusalem, as being the most prominent in Judea. Break ... fallow ground--that is, Repent of your idolatry, and so be prepared to serve the Lord in truth (Ho 10:12; Mt 13:7). The unhumbled heart is like ground which may be improved, being let out to us for that purpose, but which is as yet fallow…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 4:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 4
- 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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