Jeremiah 3:24
in Jeremiah 3From our youth, that shameful god has consumed what our fathers have worked for—their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the shameful thing hath devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
KJV
For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
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This verse in Jeremiah 3
Commentary
10 notes on this verseFor shame hath devoured - The word shame, here and in Jer 11:13; Hos 9:10, is supposed to signify Baal, the idol which they worshipped. That thing or shame which has brought you into contempt, confusion, and ruin. Sooner or later every sinner must be ashamed of his conduct; next, confounded; and, lastly, ruined by it, unless by true faith and hearty repentance he returns to the Lord.
This site's exposition
Return, O faithless children, and I will heal your faithlessness
on Jeremiah 3:22-25
The invitation is answered at once: “Here we are. We come to You, for You are the LORD our God”. The people say deception comes from the hills and “the salvation of Israel is in the LORD our God”, naming high places a false hope.
This site's exposition
that shameful god has consumed what our fathers have worked for
The shameful god is Baal, whose name the prophets replaced with bosheth, shame, as at Jeremiah 11:13 and Hosea 9:10. The flocks and herds went to its altars. The sons and daughters went there too, in child sacrifice.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 24.) The confusion devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth: their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters. All the labors of the heretics, of which it is written, They have failed in searching examination (Psalm 63:7), from their youth whom they deceived, their sons and daughters who progressed in heresy or were merely held captive by luxury, our confusion has overwhelmed them. From this they conclude:
Therefore we who are of the nations say, concerning ourselves, repenting over the false things which we thought to be true: "Truly the hills were for a lie, and the power of the mountains"; and concerning Israel who shall be saved after us: "yet through the Lord our God is the salvation of the house of Israel." Then, confessing concerning the sins in which both our fathers came to be and we ourselves, worshipping idols, we say: "But shame has consumed the toils of our fathers from their youth, their sheep and their oxen, their sons and their daughters." "Shame has consumed the toils of our fathers," and the rest of what is said. If, then, the wretched toil and the false work of the fathers is to be consumed, shame must come about; for before shame the toil of the fathers is not consumed, and the things brought in after. On this account let us consider the differences of those who sin. There are those who sin and are not ashamed nor feel any shame over their sins, nor blush. Such are those who have become past feeling and have given themselves over to all licentiousness and all uncleanness. For look at those of the nations, in what manner they at times recount their fornications and their adulteries as though they were deeds of valor, not even ashamed to confess that they have done such things, and they do not call them sins. Insofar as they are not ashamed, their toils are not consumed. Their sins are not consumed. It is the beginning of good things that a man be ashamed of the things of which he was not ashamed. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Or, rather, Secondly, These had been sacrificed to their idols, had been separated unto that shame ( Hos. ix. 10 ), and they had devoured them without mercy; they did eat the fat of their sacrifices ( Deut. xxxii. 38 ), even their human sacrifices.
For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth,....
The charge runs very high here. They had multiplied their idols and their idolatries. To have admitted one strange God among them would have been bad enough, but they were insatiable in their lustings after false worships: Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers,
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
shame--that is, the idols, whose worship only covers us with shame (Jer 11:13; So far from bringing us "salvation," they have cost us our cattle and even our children, whom we have sacrificed to them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For ... - And. It is the continuation of the thought in Jer 3:23. Idolatry was there described as unprofitable, here as ruinous and hurtful. Shame - literally, the shame (Bosheth, personified), that is, “Baal.” The names “Bosheth” and “Baal” are constantly interchanged. Compare Jdg 6:31-32. Their flocks and their herds - The temperate and sober enjoyments connected with Yahweh’s sacrifices led to no excess, whereas in idol-worship the people, after sitting down “to eat and drink, rose up to play,” and wasted both health and substance in licentious revelry. Their sons ... - This probably refers to human sacrifices.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַבֹּ֗שֶׁת | vehaboshet | and the shameful thing | H1322 → | 30 times |
| אָֽכְלָ֛ה | ʾakhelah | it has consumed | H398 → | 810 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְגִ֥יעַ | yegia' | [the] toil of | H3018 → | |
| אֲבוֹתֵ֖ינוּ | ʾavoteinu | ancestors our | H1 → | 1212 times |
| מִנְּעוּרֵ֑ינוּ | mineureinu | since youth<s> our | H5271 → | 47 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צֹאנָם֙ | tzonam | flock[s] their | H6629 → | 274 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּקָרָ֔ם | bekaram | herd[s] their | H1241 → | 183 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵיהֶ֖ם | beneihem | sons their | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃ | benoteihem | daughters their | H1323 → | 588 times |
וְהַבֹּ֗שֶׁתand the shameful thing
vehaboshetH1322 →30 times
אָֽכְלָ֛הit has consumed
ʾakhelahH398 →810 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְגִ֥יעַ[the] toil of
yegia'H3018 →
אֲבוֹתֵ֖ינוּancestors our
ʾavoteinuH1 →1212 times
מִנְּעוּרֵ֑ינוּsince youth<s> our
mineureinuH5271 →47 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
צֹאנָם֙flock[s] their
tzonamH6629 →274 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בְּקָרָ֔םherd[s] their
bekaramH1241 →183 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֵיהֶ֖םsons their
beneihemH1121 →4930 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בְּנוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃daughters their
benoteihemH1323 →588 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
Ezekiel 16:63so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD.”
it leads to
- Psalms 39:9
I have become mute; I do not open my mouth because of what You have done.
- Romans 3:19
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- Titus 3:3–7
For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
- Ezekiel 36:31–32
Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and abominations.
- Psalms 39:9
Through
Hosea 2:8For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:3
The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.”
- Isaiah 1:3
Through
Hosea 10:6Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.
it leads to
- Hosea 5:13
When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.
- Isaiah 30:3
But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.
- Jeremiah 7:24
Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
- Hosea 5:13
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); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 5.