Jeremiah 16:10
in Jeremiah 16When you tell these people all these things, they will ask you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? What is our guilt? What is the sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath Jehovah pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against Jehovah our God?
KJV
And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?
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This verse in Jeremiah 16
Commentary
4 notes on this verseNote, It is amazing to see how hardly sinners are brought to justify God and judge themselves when they are in trouble, and to own the iniquity and the sin that have procured them the trouble.
This site's exposition
When you tell these people all these things
on Jeremiah 16:10-13
When the people ask “What is our guilt”, the answer indicts the present generation beyond the fathers, “you have done more evil than your fathers”. The sentence fits the sin, exile to a land they have not known, where they will serve other gods day and night.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 9 onwards) For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will remove from this place in your sight and in your days the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, 'Why has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?'
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words,....
The words behind it
29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֗ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תַגִּיד֙ | tagid | you will tell | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לָעָ֣ם | laam | to the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַזֶּ֔ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אֵ֥ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַדְּבָרִ֖ים | hadevarim | the words | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הָאֵ֑לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| וְאָמְר֣וּ | veameru | and they will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלֶ֗יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | concerning | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מֶה֩ | meh | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| דִבֶּ֨ר | diber | has he spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙ | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֵ֣ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָרָעָ֤ה | haraah | the calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
| הַגְּדוֹלָה֙ | hagedolah | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| הַזֹּ֔את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| וּמֶ֤ה | umeh | and what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| עֲוֹנֵ֙נוּ֙ | ʾavonenu | [is] iniquity our | H5771 → | 233 times |
| וּמֶ֣ה | umeh | and what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| חַטָּאתֵ֔נוּ | chatatenu | [is] sin our | H2403 → | 295 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| חָטָ֖אנוּ | chatanu | we have sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
| לַֽיהוָ֥ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
וְהָיָ֗הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
כִּ֤יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
תַגִּיד֙you will tell
tagidH5046 →370 times
לָעָ֣םto the people
laamH5971 →1873 times
הַזֶּ֔ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
אֵ֥ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַדְּבָרִ֖יםthe words
hadevarimH1697 →1440 times
הָאֵ֑לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
וְאָמְר֣וּand they will say
veameruH559 →5305 times
אֵלֶ֗יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
עַל־concerning
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מֶה֩what?
mehH4100 →752 times
דִבֶּ֨רhas he spoken
diberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙on us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
אֵ֣ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָרָעָ֤הthe calamity
haraahH7451 →662 times
הַגְּדוֹלָה֙<the> great
hagedolahH1419 →526 times
הַזֹּ֔את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
וּמֶ֤הand what?
umehH4100 →752 times
עֲוֹנֵ֙נוּ֙[is] iniquity our
ʾavonenuH5771 →233 times
וּמֶ֣הand what?
umehH4100 →752 times
חַטָּאתֵ֔נוּ[is] sin our
chatatenuH2403 →295 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
חָטָ֖אנוּwe have sinned
chatanuH2398 →238 times
לַֽיהוָ֥הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃God our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 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
Hosea 12:8And Ephraim boasts: “How rich I have become! I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful.”
it leads to
- Revelation 3:17
You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.
- Psalms 62:10
Place no trust in extortion, or false hope in stolen goods. If your riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.
- Revelation 3:17
Through
Jeremiah 5:19And when the people ask, ‘For what offense has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ You are to tell them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 9:8–9
And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land…
- Deuteronomy 28:47–48
Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance,
- Jeremiah 22:8–9
And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
- Jeremiah 16:13
So I will cast you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you…
- 1 Kings 9:8–9
Through
Jeremiah 13:22And if you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?” It is because of the magnitude of your iniquity that your skirts have been stripped off and your body has been exposed.
it leads to
- Nahum 3:5
“Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms.
- Jeremiah 16:10–11
When you tell these people all these things, they will ask you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? What is our guilt? What is the sin that we have…
- Nahum 3:5
About Jeremiah

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
