Jeremiah 19:4
in Jeremiah 19because they have abandoned Me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in this place to other gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have ever known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, that they knew not, they and their fathers and the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents,
KJV
Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;
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This verse in Jeremiah 19
Commentary
7 notes on this verseBecause they have forsaken me,.... My worship, as the Targum; they had apostatized from God, relinquished his service, neglected and despised his word and ordinances, and left the religion they had been brought up in, and was agreeable to the will of God.
This site's exposition
because they have abandoned Me and
on Jeremiah 19:4-5
They “have abandoned Me,” and “filled this place with the blood of the innocent.” Verse 5 names the worst, children burned, of which the LORD says, “I never commanded or mentioned, nor did it even enter My mind.” The threefold denial leaves the rite wholly of Judah’s own making.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verses 4-6.) Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring calamity (or evil) upon this place, such that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle, because they have forsaken me and have made this place a foreign land, and have burned incense in it to foreign gods, whom they and their fathers and the kings of Judah did not know.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They also stand charged with murder, wilful murder, from malice prepense: They have filled this place with the blood of innocents. It was Manasseh's sin ( 2 Kings xxiv.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Have estranged this place - They have not recognized the sanctity of this place, but have treated it as a strange place, by worshipping in it strange gods. Innocents - i. e., guiltless persons.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
(Isa 65:11). estranged this place--devoted it to the worship of strange gods: alienating a portion of the sacred city from God, the rightful Lord of the temple, city, and whole land. nor their fathers--namely, the godly among them; their ungodly fathers God makes no account of. blood of innocents--slain in honor of Molech (Jer 7:31;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Estranged this place - Ye have devoted my temple to a widely different purpose from that for which it was erected.
The words behind it
24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יַ֣עַן׀ | yaan | because | H3282 → | 99 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עֲזָבֻ֗נִי | ʾazavuni | they have forsaken me | H5800 → | 215 times |
| וַֽיְנַכְּר֞וּ | vaynakeru | and they have treated as foreign | H5234 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמָּק֤וֹם | hamakom | the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| הַזֶּה֙ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וַיְקַטְּרוּ־ | vaykateru- | and they have made smoke | H6999 → | 116 times |
| בוֹ֙ | vo | in <the> it | ||
| לֵאלֹהִ֣ים | lelohim | to gods | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲחֵרִ֔ים | ʾacherim | other | H312 → | 166 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֧ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְדָע֛וּם | yedaum | they knew them | H3045 → | 945 times |
| הֵ֥מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| וַאֲבֽוֹתֵיהֶ֖ם | vaavoteihem | and ancestors their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וּמַלְכֵ֣י | umalkhei | and [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יְהוּדָ֑ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וּמָֽלְא֛וּ | umalu | and they have filled | H4390 → | 249 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמָּק֥וֹם | hamakom | the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| דַּ֥ם | dam | [the] blood of | H1818 → | 360 times |
| נְקִיִּֽם׃ | nekiyim | innocent [ones] | H5355 → | 43 times |
יַ֣עַן׀because
yaanH3282 →99 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עֲזָבֻ֗נִיthey have forsaken me
ʾazavuniH5800 →215 times
וַֽיְנַכְּר֞וּand they have treated as foreign
vaynakeruH5234 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמָּק֤וֹםthe place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
הַזֶּה֙<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
וַיְקַטְּרוּ־and they have made smoke
vaykateru-H6999 →116 times
בוֹ֙in <the> it
vo
לֵאלֹהִ֣יםto gods
lelohimH430 →2601 times
אֲחֵרִ֔יםother
ʾacherimH312 →166 times
אֲשֶׁ֧רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יְדָע֛וּםthey knew them
yedaumH3045 →945 times
הֵ֥מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
וַאֲבֽוֹתֵיהֶ֖םand ancestors their
vaavoteihemH1 →1212 times
וּמַלְכֵ֣יand [the] kings of
umalkheiH4428 →2525 times
יְהוּדָ֑הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וּמָֽלְא֛וּand they have filled
umaluH4390 →249 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמָּק֥וֹםthe place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
דַּ֥ם[the] blood of
damH1818 →360 times
נְקִיִּֽם׃innocent [ones]
nekiyimH5355 →43 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
Deuteronomy 28:20The LORD will send curses upon you, confusion and reproof in all to which you put your hand, until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the wickedness you have committed in forsaking…
it leads to
- Isaiah 66:15
For behold, the LORD will come with fire—His chariots are like a whirlwind—to execute His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire.
- Malachi 2:2
If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse…
- Isaiah 51:20
Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street, like an antelope in a net. They are full of the wrath of the LORD, the rebuke of your God.
- Deuteronomy 4:26
I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it,…
- John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
- Isaiah 66:15
Through
Jeremiah 7:9Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,
it leads to
- Exodus 20:3
You shall have no other gods before Me.
- Jeremiah 7:6
if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm,
- Exodus 20:3
Through
Jeremiah 2:34Moreover, your skirts are stained with the blood of the innocent poor, though you did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things
it leads to
- 2 Kings 21:16
Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the…
- 2 Kings 21:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
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About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.