Jeremiah 8:6

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 King James Version (NKJV)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.

Context of Jeremiah 8:6

4“Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back? 5Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back? They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around. 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! 7Even the stork that flies across the sky knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane. They all return at the proper time each year. But not my people! They do not know the Lord’s laws. 8“‘How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the Lord,” when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies?

Jeremiah 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 33:27He will declare to his friends, ‘I sinned and twisted the truth, but it was not worth it.
• Psalms 14:2The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.
• Isaiah 30:18So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.
• Malachi 3:16Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.
• 2 Peter 3:9The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
• Jeremiah 5:1“Run up and down every street in Jerusalem,” says the Lord. “Look high and low; search throughout the city! If you can find even one just and honest person, I will not destroy the city.
• Isaiah 59:16He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his justice sustained him.
• Ezekiel 22:30“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.
• Micah 7:2The godly people have all disappeared; not one honest person is left on the earth. They are all murderers, setting traps even for their own brothers.
• Job 10:2I will say to God, ‘Don’t simply condemn me— tell me the charge you are bringing against me.
• Ezekiel 18:28They will live because they thought it over and decided to turn from their sins. Such people will not die.
• Haggai 1:5This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you!
• Luke 15:17“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!
• Jeremiah 2:24You are like a wild donkey, sniffing the wind at mating time. Who can restrain her lust? Those who desire her don’t need to search, for she goes running to them!
• Job 39:19“Have you given the horse its strength or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?

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

• Backsliders
• Church
• Impenitence
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Repent
• Snorting
• Course
• Covenant, the New
• Exodus, the Book of
• Games
• Jeremiah (2)
• Repentance

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