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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)And if these nations truly learn the ways of my people, and if they learn to swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’ (just as they taught my people to swear by the name of Baal), then they will be given a place among my people.

Context of Jeremiah 12:16

14This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the people of Judah from among them. 15But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. 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. 17But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares 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 4:2and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast.”
• Jeremiah 5:2Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ still they are swearing falsely.”
• Deuteronomy 10:20Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name.
• Isaiah 9:18Surely wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns, it sets the forest thickets ablaze, so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
• Isaiah 45:23By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.
• Isaiah 65:16Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the one true God; whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the one true God. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.
• Romans 14:11It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ”
• Joshua 23:7Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them.
• Psalms 106:35but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.
• Zephaniah 1:5those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the Lord and who also swear by Molek,
• Isaiah 19:23In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.
• Isaiah 56:5to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.
• Zechariah 2:11“Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.
• Romans 11:17If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,
• 1 Corinthians 3:9For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
• Ephesians 2:19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his 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