Jeremiah 16:12

Jeremiah 16:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:
• New International Version (NIV)But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors. See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts instead of obeying me.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.

Context of Jeremiah 16:12

10“When you tell the people all these things, they will ask, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such terrible things against us? What have we done to deserve such treatment? What is our sin against the Lord our God?’ 11“Then you will give them the Lord’s reply: ‘It is because your ancestors were unfaithful to me. They worshiped other gods and served them. They abandoned me and did not obey my word. And you are even worse than your ancestors! You stubbornly follow your own evil desires and refuse to listen to me. 13So I will throw you out of this land and send you into a foreign land where you and your ancestors have never been. There you can worship idols day and night—and I will grant you no favors!’ 14“But the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when people who are taking an oath will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’

Jeremiah 16:12 word by word

וְאַתֶּ֛ם הֲרֵעֹתֶ֥ם לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת מֵאֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶ֑ם וְהִנְּכֶ֣ם הֹלְכִ֗ים אִ֚ישׁ אַֽחֲרֵי֙ שְׁרִר֣וּת לִבּֽוֹ־הָרָ֔ע לְבִלְתִּ֖י שְׁמֹ֥עַ אֵלָֽי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And ye have doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• worseרָעַעrâ‛a‛ · be evilH7489
• than your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• for, beholdהִנֵּהhinnêh · beholdH2009
• ye walkהָלַךְhâlak · to go: followH1980
• every oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• the imaginationשְׁרִירוּתsherîyrûth · stubbornnessH8307
• of his evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• that they may not hearkenשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: obeyH8085

Cross-references for Jeremiah 16:12

• Jeremiah 7:26But my people have not listened to me or even tried to hear. They have been stubborn and sinful—even worse than their ancestors.
• Jeremiah 13:10These wicked people refuse to listen to me. They stubbornly follow their own desires and worship other gods. Therefore, they will become like this loincloth—good for nothing!
• 2 Timothy 3:13But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived.
• Jeremiah 7:24“But my people would not listen to me. They kept doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backward instead of forward.
• Jeremiah 9:14Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them.
• Deuteronomy 9:27Please overlook the stubbornness and the awful sin of these people, and remember instead your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• Deuteronomy 29:19“Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, ‘I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.’ This would lead to utter ruin!
• Judges 2:19But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
• 1 Samuel 15:23Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
• Jeremiah 17:9“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?
• Genesis 6:5The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.
• Ecclesiastes 8:12But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off.
• Ecclesiastes 9:3It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. Already twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.
• Mark 7:21For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,
• Hebrews 3:12Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 16:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12And ye have done worse than your fathers - The sins of the fathers would not have been visited on the children, had they not followed their example, and become even worse than they.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Imaginations - Read stubbornness.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-13Verses 10-13 Here seems to be the language of those who quarrel at the word of God, and instead of humbling and condemning themselves, justify themselves, as though God did them wrong. A plain and full answer is given. They were more obstinate in sin than their fathers, walking every one after the devices of his heart. Since they will not hearken, they shall be hurried away into a far country, a land they know not. If they had God's favour, that would…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-13Jeremiah's response was the message he got when he was given his mission: The people left the Lord for idols (Jeremiah 2), so the Lord would leave them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. ye--emphatic: so far from avoiding your fathers' bad example, ye have done worse (Jr 7:26; 1Ki 14:9). imagination--rather, "stubborn perversity." that they may not hearken--rather, connected with "ye"; "ye have walked ... so as not to hearken to Me."Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 16:12

• Depravity of Man
• Example
• Impenitence
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Imagination
• Iron

Commentaries on Jeremiah 16

• 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