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 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

14Thus says the Lord: “Against all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit—behold, I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. 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. 17But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,” 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 4:2And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’ In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory.”
• Jeremiah 5:2Though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.”
• Deuteronomy 10:20You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name.
• Isaiah 9:18For wickedness burns as the fire; It shall devour the briers and thorns, And kindle in the thickets of the forest; They shall mount up like rising smoke.
• Isaiah 45:23I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath.
• Isaiah 65:16So that he who blesses himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My eyes.
• Romans 14:11For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.”
• Joshua 23:7and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them,
• Psalms 106:35But they mingled with the Gentiles And learned their works;
• Zephaniah 1:5Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, But who also swear by Milcom;
• Isaiah 19:23In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians.
• Isaiah 56:5Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off.
• Zechariah 2:11“Many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
• Romans 11:17And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,
• 1 Corinthians 3:9For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.
• Ephesians 2:19Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

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