Jeremiah 7:19
in Jeremiah 7But am I the One they are provoking? declares the LORD. Is it not themselves they spite, to their own shame?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Do they provoke me to anger? saith Jehovah; do they not provoke themselves, to the confusion of their own faces?
KJV
Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?
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This verse in Jeremiah 7
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Verse 19) Do they provoke me to anger? says the Lord. Do they not provoke themselves, to their own shame? The wretched fools do not understand that this dispute does not harm me, whom anger never affects: but it brings upon themselves confusion of their own countenance, and everlasting dishonor. Therefore, whatever we do, we do not harm God, who can never be harmed: but we prepare destruction for ourselves, storing up wrath for the day of wrath. Therefore, He established different duties for sons, fathers, mothers, and even wives, so that no age would dissent from impiety.
This site's exposition
do not pray for these people
on Jeremiah 7:16-20
The command “do not pray for these people” comes again at 11:14 and 14:11, three times in the book. At verse 18 the whole household serves the Queen of Heaven, idolatry built into the family's daily labor. The exiles keep the same devotion at 44:17-25, likely to Ishtar or Astarte.
This site's exposition
Is it not themselves they spite
The question turns the provocation back on the people who made it. Jerome answers that anger cannot harm God, so the wrong lands on those who do it and brings confusion on their own faces. Shame is their only gain.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
They show their spite against God, but they do the spite to themselves. Canst thou think any other than that a people, thus desperately set upon their own ruin, should be abandoned? God is resolved to proceed in his judgments against them, and will not be turned back by the prophet's prayers (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord,....
He sets before the people that fundamental maxim of religion that "to obey is better than sacrifice" ( 1 Sam. xv. 22 ), and that God would not accept the sacrifices of those that obstinately persisted in disobedience,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Do they not provoke ... - literally, Is it not themselves (“that they provoke”) to the shame of their faces?
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַאֹתִ֛י | haoti | ¿ <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הֵ֥ם | hem | [are] they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| מַכְעִסִ֖ים | makhisim | provoking | H3707 → | 54 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הֲל֣וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֹתָ֔ם | ʾotam | <obj.> themselves | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לְמַ֖עַן | lemaan | for [the] sake of | H4616 → | 272 times |
| בֹּ֥שֶׁת | boshet | [the] shame of | H1322 → | 30 times |
| פְּנֵיהֶֽם׃ ס | peneihem | faces their | H6440 → | 2123 times |
הַאֹתִ֛י¿ <obj.> me
haotiH853 →10935 times
הֵ֥ם[are] they
hemH1992 →553 times
מַכְעִסִ֖יםprovoking
makhisimH3707 →54 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הֲל֣וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
אֹתָ֔ם<obj.> themselves
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
לְמַ֖עַןfor [the] sake of
lemaanH4616 →272 times
בֹּ֥שֶׁת[the] shame of
boshetH1322 →30 times
פְּנֵיהֶֽם׃ סfaces their
peneihemH6440 →2123 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
Jeremiah 20:11But the LORD is with me like a fearsome warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly put to shame, with an everlasting…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 1:8
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 15:20
Then I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to save and deliver…
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Jeremiah 17:18
Let my persecutors be put to shame, but do not let me be put to shame. Let them be terrified, but do not let me be terrified. Bring upon them the day of disaster…
- Jeremiah 1:19
Through
1 Corinthians 10:22Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:21
They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will…
- Deuteronomy 32:16
They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.
- Deuteronomy 32:21
Through
Jeremiah 9:19For the sound of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How devastated we are! How great is our shame! For we have abandoned the land because our dwellings have been torn down.’”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:13
Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
- Jeremiah 4:13
Where this verse is studied
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); Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.