Jeremiah 9:13
in Jeremiah 9And the LORD answered, “It is because they have forsaken My law, which I set before them; they have not walked in it or obeyed My voice.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein,
KJV
And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
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This verse in Jeremiah 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd the Lord saith,.... The Septuagint version adds, "to me"; there being no wise and understanding man, nor prophet (b), to take up this affair, and open the cause of it, therefore the Lord undertakes it himself: the question was put to them, but they not answering it, the Lord does it, because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; in a plain and easy manner, so as to be readily understood; yet this they attended not unto, but forsook it, neglected it, and cast it behind their backs.
This site's exposition
Who is the man wise enough to understand this
on Jeremiah 9:12-14
The question “Who is the man wise enough to understand this” tests wisdom by whether it can read the moment. The LORD answers in verse 13, “It is because they have forsaken My law, which I set before them”. They have “gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them”.
This site's exposition
they have forsaken My law
No wise man answers the question of verse 12, so the LORD answers it himself, as Gill observes. The Law had been set before them plainly, in a form easy to understand. Gill adds that the Septuagint has the LORD address the prophet.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 12 onwards) Who is the wise man who understands this, and to whom is the word of the Lord spoken, that he may declare it: why has the land perished and become scorched like a desert, because there is no one to pass through it? And the Lord said: Because they have forsaken my law that I gave to them, and have not listened to my voice, and have not walked in it, but have followed the stubbornness of their own hearts and after the Baals, which they learned from their fathers.
I was then about sixteen years of age. I did not know the true God. I was taken as a captive to Ireland with many thousands of people, and deservedly so, because we had turned away from God and did not keep his commandments and …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The judgment given upon this indictment, the sentence upon the convicted rebels, which must now be executed, for it was righteous and nothing could be moved in arrest of it: The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, hath said it (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | because | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עָזְבָם֙ | ʾazevam | have forsaken they | H5800 → | 215 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תּ֣וֹרָתִ֔י | torati | law my | H8451 → | 219 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֖תִּי | natati | I set | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִפְנֵיהֶ֑ם | lifneihem | <to> before them | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמְע֥וּ | shameu | they have listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְקוֹלִ֖י | vekoli | to voice my | H6963 → | 506 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָ֥לְכוּ | halkhu | they have walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בָֽהּ׃ | vah | in <the> it |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עַל־because
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עָזְבָם֙have forsaken they
ʾazevamH5800 →215 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
תּ֣וֹרָתִ֔יlaw my
toratiH8451 →219 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָתַ֖תִּיI set
natatiH5414 →2011 times
לִפְנֵיהֶ֑ם<to> before them
lifneihemH6440 →2123 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמְע֥וּthey have listened
shameuH8085 →1159 times
בְקוֹלִ֖יto voice my
vekoliH6963 →506 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָ֥לְכוּthey have walked
halkhuH1980 →1546 times
בָֽהּ׃in <the> it
vah
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
Proverbs 28:4Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.
it leads to
- Romans 1:32
Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.
- Ephesians 5:11
Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
- Matthew 14:4
because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
- Matthew 3:7
But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
- Psalms 10:3
For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
- Romans 1:32
Through
2 Chronicles 7:19But if you turn away and forsake the statutes and commandments I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods,
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:14
If, however, you fail to obey Me and to carry out all these commandments,
- Deuteronomy 28:15
If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
- Leviticus 26:14
Through
Jeremiah 22:9Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 34:25
because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out upon this place…
- 2 Chronicles 34:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick of Ireland, CONFESSION 1:1.