Jeremiah 8:12
in Jeremiah 8Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse, says the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall; in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith Jehovah.
KJV
Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.
⋯
This verse in Jeremiah 8
Commentary
5 notes on this verse(Verse 12.) They were confused because they committed abominations. However, they were not confused by their confusion, and they did not blush. Questioningly, is this to be read, so that the meaning would be: Did they blush at their crimes and understand the abominations they had committed? By no means, but they burst forth into such madness that they neither desired to correct their vices through confusion, nor to confess their crimes in the hope of forgiveness. They will fall among the fallen (or rushing), at the time of their visitation they will fall, says the Lord.
This site's exposition
give their wives unto others
on Jeremiah 8:10-12
The penalty answers the sin in kind, wives and fields given to others because everyone from least to greatest is given to covetousness, priest and prophet alike dealing falsely. The famous line falls at verse 11, they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace, false comfort diagnosed as a wound bandaged without being cleaned, the same charge repeated word for word at 6:14. Verse 12 removes the last excuse, were they ashamed... nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush, shame itself worn out by repetition.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
(2.) They made no conscience of speaking truth, no, not when they spoke as priests and prophets: Every one deals falsely, looks one way and rows another. There is no such thing as sincerity among them. (3.) They flattered people in their sins, and so flattered them into destruction.
In the time of their visitation, when the wickedness of the land comes to be enquired into, it will be found that they have contributed to it more than any, and therefore they shall be sure to be cast down and cast out. He gives a reason for these judgments (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? In these verses we have, I. God threatening the destruction of a sinful people.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:24w-of-38
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
They shall be put to shame Shame and embarrassment shall come upon them.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
I will utterly consume them This is an expression of destruction. Comp. (Zeph.:2) “I will utterly consume (אסף אסף) everything from upon the face of the earth.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֹבִ֕שׁוּ | hovishu | are they ashamed? | H954 → | 127 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תוֹעֵבָ֖ה | toevah | an abomination | H8441 → | 117 times |
| עָשׂ֑וּ | ʾasu | they have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| בּ֣וֹשׁ | boosh | at all <ashamed> | H954 → | 127 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵבֹ֗שׁוּ | yevoshu | they are ashamed | H954 → | 127 times |
| וְהִכָּלֵם֙ | vehikalem | and to be ashamed | H3637 → | 38 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָדָ֔עוּ | yadau | they know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| לָכֵ֞ן | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יִפְּל֣וּ | yipelu | they will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| בַנֹּפְלִ֗ים | vanofelim | among <the> [those who] fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| בְּעֵ֧ת | beet | at [the] time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| פְּקֻדָּתָ֛ם | pekudatam | punishment their | H6486 → | 32 times |
| יִכָּשְׁל֖וּ | yikashelu | they will stumble | H3782 → | 62 times |
| אָמַ֥ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ ס | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
הֹבִ֕שׁוּare they ashamed?
hovishuH954 →127 times
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
תוֹעֵבָ֖הan abomination
toevahH8441 →117 times
עָשׂ֑וּthey have done
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
בּ֣וֹשׁat all <ashamed>
booshH954 →127 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יֵבֹ֗שׁוּthey are ashamed
yevoshuH954 →127 times
וְהִכָּלֵם֙and to be ashamed
vehikalemH3637 →38 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָדָ֔עוּthey know
yadauH3045 →945 times
לָכֵ֞ן<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
יִפְּל֣וּthey will fall
yipeluH5307 →435 times
בַנֹּפְלִ֗יםamong <the> [those who] fall
vanofelimH5307 →435 times
בְּעֵ֧תat [the] time of
beetH6256 →296 times
פְּקֻדָּתָ֛םpunishment their
pekudatamH6486 →32 times
יִכָּשְׁל֖וּthey will stumble
yikasheluH3782 →62 times
אָמַ֥רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָֽה׃ סYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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 32:35Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
it leads to
- Romans 12:19
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- Hebrews 10:30
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
- Nahum 1:2
The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.
- Psalms 73:17–19
until I entered God’s sanctuary; then I discerned their end.
- Romans 12:19
Through
Jeremiah 6:15Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 3:3
Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 3:3
Through
Jeremiah 3:3Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:19
I will break down your stubborn pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze,
- Jeremiah 5:24
They have not said in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rains, both autumn and spring, in season, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of harvest.’
- Leviticus 26:19
Through
Psalms 52:7“Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:5
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Jeremiah 17:5
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.