Jeremiah 44:4
in Jeremiah 44Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets again and again, saying: ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.
KJV
Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.
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This verse in Jeremiah 44
Commentary
6 notes on this verseO, do not this abominable thing - A strong specimen of affectionate entreaty. One of the finest figures of poetry, when judiciously managed, the anthropopathia, the ascribing human passions to God, is often used by this prophet: so God is said to grieve, to mourn, to have his bowels moved with compassion, to repent, to be angry, etc. Here he is represented as tenderly expostulating: O, do not; or, I entreat you, do not that abominable thing which I hate. 1. Do it not: your God commands. 2. O, do it not: your Father entreats.
This site's exposition
This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt
on Jeremiah 44:1-6
The word goes to the Jews in Egypt, from Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis in the north to Pathros in the south. “You have seen all the disaster that I brought against Jerusalem.” The cause was incense burned to “other gods that neither they nor you nor your fathers ever knew.”
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Howbeit, I sent unto you all my servants the prophets,....
The prophets were sent with a great deal of care to call to them, saying, Oh! do not this abominable thing that I hate. It becomes us to speak of sin with the utmost dread and detestation as an abominable thing; it is certainly so, for it is that which God hates, and we are sure that hid judgment is according to truth.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2684: “Two Arguments Against Sin” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
THIS verse portrays what a minister should be and the picture is a burden upon my heart and conscience, for it shows that the true preacher, or Prophet, or man of God, should be one whom God sends early to do His work. It is, as it were, as though his Master were up early in the morning, bidding him make haste to go to His service and not let the grass grow under his feet, for men are sinning—and to suffer them to continue in sin unrebuked, even for an hour, is truly dreadful.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2684: “Two Arguments Against Sin” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
THIS verse portrays what a minister should be and the picture is a burden upon my heart and conscience, for it shows that the true preacher, or Prophet, or man of God, should be one whom God sends early to do His work. It is, as it were, as though his Master were up early in the morning, bidding him make haste to go to His service and not let the grass grow under his feet, for men are sinning—and to suffer them to continue in sin unrebuked, even for an hour, is truly dreadful. It is as though one were to leave a house burning without giving an alarm and calling the firemen, or to see a person in imminent peril in the street without immediately attempting to do something for his rescue. Notice that in this verse God represents Himself as rising early, to show how He realized the greatness of man's danger and the importance of his being speedily delivered from it. The Lord said that He rose early in order that He might send His Prophets—of course that theymight go early, that they might go at once and waste no time—but be instant in season and out of season to warn men not to do the abominable thing which God hated! A minister, then, is one who should be diligent in his Master's business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord by endeavoring to warn men of the terrible nature and consequences of sin. He is also to be one who speaks as God's representative.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֶשְׁלַ֤ח | vaeshlach | and I sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֲלֵיכֶם֙ | ʾaleikhem | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֲבָדַ֣י | ʾavadai | servants my | H5650 → | 799 times |
| הַנְּבִיאִ֔ים | haneviim | the prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
| הַשְׁכֵּ֥ים | hashkeim | rising early | H7925 → | 65 times |
| וְשָׁלֹ֖חַ | veshaloach | and sending | H7971 → | 845 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| נָ֣א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| תַעֲשׂ֗וּ | taasu | you do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֵ֛ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דְּבַֽר־ | devar- | [the] thing of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַתֹּעֵבָ֥ה | hatoevah | <the> abomination | H8441 → | 117 times |
| הַזֹּ֖את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׂנֵֽאתִי׃ | saneti | I hate | H8130 → |
וָאֶשְׁלַ֤חand I sent
vaeshlachH7971 →845 times
אֲלֵיכֶם֙to you
ʾaleikhemH413 →5510 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עֲבָדַ֣יservants my
ʾavadaiH5650 →799 times
הַנְּבִיאִ֔יםthe prophets
haneviimH5030 →314 times
הַשְׁכֵּ֥יםrising early
hashkeimH7925 →65 times
וְשָׁלֹ֖חַand sending
veshaloachH7971 →845 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
נָ֣אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
תַעֲשׂ֗וּyou do
taasuH6213 →2628 times
אֵ֛ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
דְּבַֽר־[the] thing of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
הַתֹּעֵבָ֥ה<the> abomination
hatoevahH8441 →117 times
הַזֹּ֖את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
שָׂנֵֽאתִי׃I hate
sanetiH8130 →
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
Jeremiah 7:13And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 7:25
From the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets again and again.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 65:12
I will destine you for the sword, and you will all kneel down to be slaughtered, because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not listen; you did evil…
- Proverbs 1:24
Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand,
- Jeremiah 7:25
Through
2 Chronicles 36:15Again and again the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to His people through His messengers because He had compassion on them and on His dwelling place.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 7:13
And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 25:3–4
“From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 7:13
Through
Zechariah 7:7Are these not the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:16–20
Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
- Jeremiah 17:26
And people will come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, and from the foothills, the hill country, and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices,…
- Isaiah 1:16–20
Through
Jeremiah 7:25From the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets again and again.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 25:4
And the LORD has sent all His servants the prophets to you again and again, but you have not listened or inclined your ear to hear.
- Jeremiah 25:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2684: “Two Arguments Against Sin” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.