New King James Version
Jeremiah 8:6
6I listened and heard, But they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, As the horse rushes into the battle.
Jeremiah 8:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
- New International Version (NIV)I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
- New Living Translation (NLT)I listen to their conversations and don’t hear a word of truth. Is anyone sorry for doing wrong? Does anyone say, “What a terrible thing I have done”? No! All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle!
Context of Jeremiah 8:6
4“Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Will they fall and not rise? Will one turn away and not return? 5Why has this people slidden back, Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, They refuse to return. I listened and heard, But they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, As the horse rushes into the battle. 7“Even the stork in the heavens Knows her appointed times; And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow Observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the judgment of the Lord. 8“How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the Lord is with us’? Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.
Read all of Jeremiah 8Jeremiah 8:6 word by word
הִקְשַׁ֤בְתִּי וָֽאֶשְׁמָע֙ לוֹא־כֵ֣ן יְדַבֵּ֔רוּ אֵ֣ין אִ֗ישׁ נִחָם֙ עַל־רָ֣עָת֔וֹ לֵאמֹ֖ר מֶ֣ה עָשִׂ֑יתִי כֻּלֹּ֗ה שָׁ֚ב בִּמְר֣וּצָתָ֔ם כְּס֥וּס שׁוֹטֵ֖ף בַּמִּלְחָמָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- I hearkenedקָשַׁבqâshab · to listenH7181
- and heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- they spake not arightדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- no manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- repentedנָחַםnâcham · to be sorry: relentH5162
- him ofעַל‛al · uponH5921
- his wickednessרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- What have I doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- every one turnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: turn backH7725
- to his courseמְרוּצָהmerûtsâh merûtsâh · runningH4794
- as the horseסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
- rushethשָׁטַףshâţaph · to overflowH7857
- into the battleמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
Cross-references for Jeremiah 8:6
- Job 33:27Then he looks at men and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted what was right, And it did not profit me.’
- Psalms 14:2The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
- Isaiah 30:18Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
- Malachi 3:16Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, And the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name.
- 2 Peter 3:9The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
- Jeremiah 5:1“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; See now and know; And seek in her open places If you can find a man, If there is anyone who executes judgment, Who seeks the truth, And I will pardon her.
- Isaiah 59:16He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
- Ezekiel 22:30So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
- Micah 7:2The faithful man has perished from the earth, And there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every man hunts his brother with a net.
- Job 10:2I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Show me why You contend with me.
- Ezekiel 18:28Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
- Haggai 1:5Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!
- Luke 15:17“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
- Jeremiah 2:24A wild donkey used to the wilderness, That sniffs at the wind in her desire; In her time of mating, who can turn her away? All those who seek her will not weary themselves; In her month they will find her.
- Job 39:19“Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with thunder?
Commentaries on Jeremiah 8:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6As the horse rusheth into the battle - This strongly marks the unthinking, careless desperation of their conduct.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6I hearkened and heard - God, before passing sentence, carefully listens to the words of the people. Compare Genesis 11:5, where the divine judgment is preceded by the Almighty going down to see the tower. Not aright - Or, “not-right;” which in the Hebrew idiom means that which is utterly wrong. No man repented - The original phrase is very striking: No “man had pity upon his own wickedness.” If men understood the true nature of sin, the sinner would…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-13Verses 4-13 What brought this ruin? 1. The people would not attend to reason; they would not act in the affairs of their souls with common prudence. Sin is backsliding; it is going back from the way that leads to life, to that which leads to destruction. 2. They would not attend to the warning of conscience. They did not take the first step towards repentance: true repentance begins in serious inquiry as to what we have done, from conviction that we have…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6The Lord, who can hear everything (compare Luke 12:3), heard the people even when they spoke in private. Their words did not match reality, and no one felt sorry for doing wrong. Like a horse charging into battle without thinking of death or danger, they did not consider the consequences of their sins.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. spake not aright--that is, not so as penitently to confess that they acted wrong. Compare what follows. every one ... his course--The Keri reads "course," but the Chetib, "courses." "They persevere in the courses whatever they have once entered on." Their wicked ways were diversified. horse rusheth--literally, "pours himself forth," as water that has burst its embankment. The mad rapidity of the war horse is the point of comparison (Job 39:19-25).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 8:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 8
- 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries