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

14Now this is what the Lord says: “I will uproot from their land all the evil nations reaching out for the possession I gave my people Israel. And I will uproot Judah from among them. 15But afterward I will return and have compassion on all of them. I will bring them home to their own lands again, each nation to its own possession. 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. 17But any nation who refuses to obey me will be uprooted and destroyed. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

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 4:2Then when you swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ you could do so with truth, justice, and righteousness. Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world, and all people would come and praise my name.”
• Jeremiah 5:2But even when they are under oath, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ they are still telling lies!”
• Deuteronomy 10:20You must fear the Lord your God and worship him and cling to him. Your oaths must be in his name alone.
• Isaiah 9:18This wickedness is like a brushfire. It burns not only briers and thorns but also sets the forests ablaze. Its burning sends up clouds of smoke.
• Isaiah 45:23I have sworn by my own name; I have spoken the truth, and I will never go back on my word: Every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to me.”
• Isaiah 65:16All who invoke a blessing or take an oath will do so by the God of truth. For I will put aside my anger and forget the evil of earlier days.
• Romans 14:11For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’”
• Joshua 23:7Make sure you do not associate with the other people still remaining in the land. Do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or serve them or worship them.
• Psalms 106:35Instead, they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs.
• Zephaniah 1:5For they go up to their roofs and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars. They claim to follow the Lord, but then they worship Molech, too.
• Isaiah 19:23In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will both worship God.
• Isaiah 56:5I will give them—within the walls of my house— a memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters could give. For the name I give them is an everlasting one. It will never disappear!
• Zechariah 2:11Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they, too, will be my people. I will live among you, and you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies sent me to you.
• Romans 11:17But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.
• 1 Corinthians 3:9For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.
• Ephesians 2:19So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.

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