Jeremiah 32:18
in Jeremiah 32You show loving devotion to thousands but lay the iniquity of the fathers into the laps of their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of Hosts,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
who showest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty God, Jehovah of hosts is his name;
KJV
Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name,
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This verse in Jeremiah 32
Commentary
5 notes on this verse(Verse 18) You show mercy to thousands and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O mighty, great, powerful (which is said in Hebrew) Gibbor: The Lord of hosts (or of powers) is your name. You show mercy to thousands; and you repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them. The great mercy of the Creator, to extend his mercy to a thousand generations, and to show justice immediately in the next generation, which, however, is also mixed with mercy.
This site's exposition
I prayed unto the Lord, saying
on Jeremiah 32:16-25
Jeremiah's prayer opens with the largest possible confession, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power, before narrowing to the history he knows firsthand, the exodus, the land given by oath, and the disobedience that followed it into the very siege now closing around him. The prayer does not hide its own confusion; verse 25 sets God's fresh command to buy the field beside the plain fact that the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, the prophet naming the tension rather than resolving it himself. Calvin reads the prayer as honest wrestling rather than performed confidence, a man obeying a sign he does not yet fully understand.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
His reprieves are not pardons, but if in mercy he spares the parents, that they may be led to repentance, yet such a hatred has he to sin, and such a displeasure against sinners, that he recompenses their iniquity into the bosom of their children, and yet does them no wrong; so hateful is the unrighteousness of man, and so jealous of its own honour is the righteousness of God.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Recompensest - The recompence is placed in the bosom, because, in the East, the garments are so arranged as to form a pocket there. Thus then, men must receive and carry with them God’s requital for their deeds.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
This is taken from the decalogue (Ex 20:5, 6). This is a second consideration to check hasty judgments as to God's ways: Thou art the gracious and righteous Judge of the world.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֹ֤שֶׂה | ʾoseh | [who] does | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| חֶ֙סֶד֙ | chesed | covenant loyalty | H2617 → | 247 times |
| לַֽאֲלָפִ֔ים | laalafim | to thousands | H505 → | 505 times |
| וּמְשַׁלֵּם֙ | umeshalem | and [who] pays back | H7999 → | 116 times |
| עֲוֹ֣ן | ʾavon | [the] iniquity of | H5771 → | 233 times |
| אָב֔וֹת | ʾavot | fathers | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חֵ֥יק | cheik | [the] bosom of | H2436 → | |
| בְּנֵיהֶ֖ם | beneihem | children their | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אַחֲרֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾachareihem | after them | H310 → | 715 times |
| הָאֵ֤ל | hael | <the> God | H410 → | |
| הַגָּדוֹל֙ | hagadol | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| הַגִּבּ֔וֹר | hagibor | <the> mighty | H1368 → | 158 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | [is] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֖וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| שְׁמֽוֹ׃ | shemo | name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
עֹ֤שֶׂה[who] does
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
חֶ֙סֶד֙covenant loyalty
chesedH2617 →247 times
לַֽאֲלָפִ֔יםto thousands
laalafimH505 →505 times
וּמְשַׁלֵּם֙and [who] pays back
umeshalemH7999 →116 times
עֲוֹ֣ן[the] iniquity of
ʾavonH5771 →233 times
אָב֔וֹתfathers
ʾavotH1 →1212 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
חֵ֥יק[the] bosom of
cheikH2436 →
בְּנֵיהֶ֖םchildren their
beneihemH1121 →4930 times
אַחֲרֵיהֶ֑םafter them
ʾachareihemH310 →715 times
הָאֵ֤ל<the> God
haelH410 →
הַגָּדוֹל֙<the> great
hagadolH1419 →526 times
הַגִּבּ֔וֹר<the> mighty
hagiborH1368 →158 times
יְהוָ֥ה[is] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֖וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
שְׁמֽוֹ׃name his
shemoH8034 →864 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
Exodus 34:7maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and…
it leads to
- Exodus 20:5–6
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
- Psalms 103:3
He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases,
- Deuteronomy 5:9–10
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
- Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
- 1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- Exodus 20:5–6
Through
Jeremiah 10:16The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:9
But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance.
- Jeremiah 31:35
Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the…
- Deuteronomy 32:9
Through
Isaiah 10:21A remnant will return—a remnant of Jacob—to the Mighty God.
it leads to
- Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…
- Isaiah 9:6
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
This page draws on 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 Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.