Jeremiah 19:15
in Jeremiah 19“This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and on all the villages around it every disaster I have pronounced against them, because they have stiffened their necks so as not to heed My words.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all its towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it; because they have made their neck stiff, that they may not hear my words.
KJV
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.
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This verse in Jeremiah 19
Commentary
7 notes on this verseBecause they have hardened their necks - A metaphor taken from unruly and unbroken oxen, who resist the yoke, break and run away with their gears. So this people had broken and destroyed the yoke of the law.
This site's exposition
Then Jeremiah returned from Topheth, where
on Jeremiah 19:14-15
Jeremiah “returned from Topheth” and “stood in the courtyard of the house of the LORD,” repeating the sentence before “all the people.” The reason given, “they have stiffened their necks so as not to heed My words,” is the language Moses used of the wilderness generation.
This site's exposition
This is what the LORD of Hosts
Adam Clarke takes the stiffened neck from oxen that fight the yoke, break the harness and run. Judah had thrown off the yoke of the law in the same way. Disaster comes on the city and its villages.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 14, 15) But Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the court of the house of the Lord and said to all the people: This is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all its towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks, refusing to hear my words.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It is certain that the greatest of men is less than the least of the ordinances of God. He must go to the valley of the son of Hinnom, and deliver this message there; for the word of the Lord is not bound to any one place; as good a sermon may be preached in the valley of Tophet as in the gate of the temple. Christ preached on a mountain and out of a ship.
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,....
Here, as often before, he both assures them of judgments coming upon them and assigns the cause of them, which was their sin. Both these are here put together in a little compass, with a reference to all that had gone before. The accomplishment of the prophecies is here the judgment threatened.
The words behind it
28 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 |
| אָמַ֞ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָאוֹת֙ | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֣י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הִנְנִ֨י | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| מֵבִ֜יא | mevi' | [am] about to bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעִ֤יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַזֹּאת֙ | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עָרֶ֔יהָ | ʾareiha | cities its | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| אֵ֚ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָ֣רָעָ֔ה | haraah | the calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי | dibarti | I have spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| עָלֶ֑יהָ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִקְשׁוּ֙ | hikshu | they have stiffened | H7185 → | 28 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עָרְפָּ֔ם | ʾarepam | neck their | H6203 → | 33 times |
| לְבִלְתִּ֖י | levilti | to not | H1115 → | 112 times |
| שְׁמ֥וֹעַ | shemoa' | to hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דְּבָרָֽי׃ | devarai | words my | H1697 → | 1440 times |
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַ֞רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָאוֹת֙of hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הִנְנִ֨יhere I
hiniH2005 →316 times
מֵבִ֜יא[am] about to bring
mevi'H935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעִ֤ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
הַזֹּאת֙<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עָרֶ֔יהָcities its
ʾareihaH5892 →1090 times
אֵ֚ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָ֣רָעָ֔הthe calamity
haraahH7451 →662 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבַּ֖רְתִּיI have spoken
dibartiH1696 →1141 times
עָלֶ֑יהָon it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הִקְשׁוּ֙they have stiffened
hikshuH7185 →28 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עָרְפָּ֔םneck their
ʾarepamH6203 →33 times
לְבִלְתִּ֖יto not
leviltiH1115 →112 times
שְׁמ֥וֹעַto hear
shemoa'H8085 →1159 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דְּבָרָֽי׃words my
devaraiH1697 →1440 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
Nehemiah 9:17They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a…
it leads to
- Psalms 86:5
For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.
- Joel 2:13
So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.
- Psalms 86:15
But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.
- Psalms 145:8–9
The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.
- Psalms 86:5
Through
Nehemiah 9:29You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They stubbornly…
it leads to
- Zechariah 7:11–12
But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 18:5
Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
- Nehemiah 9:16
But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey Your commandments.
- Zechariah 7:11–12
Through
Jeremiah 17:23Yet they would not listen or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and would not listen or receive My discipline.
it leads to
- Proverbs 29:1
A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- Proverbs 29:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
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 Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
