Jeremiah 14:10
in Jeremiah 14This is what the LORD says about this people: “Truly they love to wander; they have not restrained their feet. So the LORD does not accept them; He will now remember their guilt and call their sins to account.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith Jehovah unto this people, Even so have they loved to wander; they have not refrained their feet: therefore Jehovah doth not accept them; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
KJV
Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the Lord doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
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This verse in Jeremiah 14
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The answer is addressed to the people. Jeremiah had prayed as their representative, but he must not intercede: for to the same degree that God was determined to punish them, to the same degree (thus) they love to continue their offence.” Compare Jer 15:6 note. Therefore the Lord ... - Translate: “And Yahweh hath no pleasure in them: Now will He remember their iniquity and visit their sins.” Interference in their behalf is out of the question.
This site's exposition
Truly they love to wander
on Jeremiah 14:10-12
The LORD answers the prayer by naming the pattern beneath it, “Truly they love to wander”. Jeremiah is told, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people”, and fasting and burnt offerings will not be accepted. The prophet is forbidden the very intercession his office exists to make.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Athanasius of Alexandria296–373
LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF EGYPT 1:6 · Written before 373.
proposed
Hence it is that they are always writing, and always altering their own previous statements, and thus they shew an uncertain faith, or rather a manifest unbelief and perverseness.
(Verse 10.) Thus says the Lord to this people, because they loved (or loved to) move their feet and did not rest (or did not spare (Alternative reading: spared)) and did not please the Lord (or and God did not please (Alternative reading: was pleased)) in them; now their iniquities will be remembered, and their sins will be visited. When the people say: why have you become a stranger, a traveler, and a wanderer, to forsake your own dwelling? The Lord answers his former people: Do you want to know the reason? Listen to what is said: Because the people loved to move their feet, and did not take them off from the shackles of sin, they did not rest, and could not stand: therefore I have forsaken them, and there is no pleasure in them for me. Therefore, those who have delayed for a long time, and have not wanted to punish the sinners through patience, because they have remained in wickedness; He will remember their iniquities; and like those who are sick and do not perceive God, He will visit their sins, so that they may cease to sin any further. But it should be noted in the Holy Scriptures that the feet of sinners are always moved, and it is said to the Saints with Moses: But you stand here with me (Deut. 5:31). And elsewhere it is written: Praise the servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God (Psalm 134:1, 2).
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He takes no pleasure in them (so the word is); for what pleasure can the holy God take in those that take pleasure in his rivals, in any service, in any society, rather than his? " When they fast (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Thus saith the Lord unto this people,....
It is true they were called by his name, and had the tokens of his presence among them; but they had sinned, and provoked God to withdraw. This the prophet had owned, and had hoped to obtain mercy for them, notwithstanding this, through intercession and sacrifice; therefore God here tells him, 1.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Jehovah's reply to the prayer (Jer 14:7-9; Thus--So greatly. loved-- (Jer 5:31). not refrained . . . feet--They did not obey God's command; "withhold thy foot" (Jer 2:25), namely, from following after idols. remember . . . iniquity-- (Ho 8:13; Their sin is so great, God must punish them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Thus have they loved to wander - And the measure of your iniquity being now full, ye must be punished.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
So have they loved to wander So, just as I have decreed upon them exile (to Egypt and Babylon - Warsaw edition), they loved it there to go into exile to worship distant idols.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֨ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לָעָ֣ם | laam | of the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַזֶּ֗ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| כֵּ֤ן | ken | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| אָֽהֲבוּ֙ | ʾahavu | they have loved | H157 → | 211 times |
| לָנ֔וּעַ | lanua' | to wander | H5128 → | |
| רַגְלֵיהֶ֖ם | ragleihem | feet their | H7272 → | 247 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| חָשָׂ֑כוּ | chasakhu | they have restrained | H2820 → | |
| וַיהוָה֙ | vayahweh | and Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| רָצָ֔ם | ratzam | he has accepted them | H7521 → | |
| עַתָּה֙ | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| יִזְכֹּ֣ר | yizkor | he will remember | H2142 → | 230 times |
| עֲוֹנָ֔ם | ʾavonam | iniquity their | H5771 → | 233 times |
| וְיִפְקֹ֖ד | veyifkod | so he may punish | H6485 → | 303 times |
| חַטֹּאתָֽם׃ ס | chatotam | sins their | H2403 → | 295 times |
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַ֨רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לָעָ֣םof the people
laamH5971 →1873 times
הַזֶּ֗ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
כֵּ֤ןthus
kenH3651 →771 times
אָֽהֲבוּ֙they have loved
ʾahavuH157 →211 times
לָנ֔וּעַto wander
lanua'H5128 →
רַגְלֵיהֶ֖םfeet their
ragleihemH7272 →247 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
חָשָׂ֑כוּthey have restrained
chasakhuH2820 →
וַיהוָה֙and Yahweh
vayahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
רָצָ֔םhe has accepted them
ratzamH7521 →
עַתָּה֙now
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
יִזְכֹּ֣רhe will remember
yizkorH2142 →230 times
עֲוֹנָ֔םiniquity their
ʾavonamH5771 →233 times
וְיִפְקֹ֖דso he may punish
veyifkodH6485 →303 times
חַטֹּאתָֽם׃ סsins their
chatotamH2403 →295 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 6:20What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please Me.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:11
“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 1:11
Through
Psalms 119:101I have kept my feet from every evil path, that I may keep Your word.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 3:10–11
For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.
- Proverbs 1:15
my son, do not walk the road with them or set foot upon their path.
- 1 Peter 3:10–11
Through
Hosea 9:9They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.
it leads to
- Hosea 10:9
Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity?
- Judges 19:16
That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was residing in Gibeah (the men of that place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the field.
- Hosea 10:9
Through
Amos 5:22Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard.
it leads to
- Micah 6:6–7
With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
- Amos 4:4–5
“Go to Bethel and transgress; rebel even more at Gilgal! Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days.
- Micah 6:6–7
Through
Hosea 8:13Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to…
it leads to
- Hosea 9:9
They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.
- Hosea 9:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Athanasius of Alexandria, LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF EGYPT 1:6; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
