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Jeremiah 11:13

in Jeremiah 11

Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, O Judah; the altars of shame you have set up—the altars to burn incense to Baal—are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

For according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to the shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.

KJV

For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.

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This verse in Jeremiah 11

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Jeremiah · Written before 420.

(Verse 13) For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah, and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars of confusion to burn incense to Baal. Let us read the books of Kings and Chronicles (2 Kings 21, 2 Chronicles 33), and we will find that Judah and Jerusalem have done far worse than Israel, so that as many cities as they had, they had just as many idols.

This site's exposition

I am about to bring upon them a disaster

on Jeremiah 11:11-13

The judgment is inescapable and closed to prayer, “They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them”. Verse 13 counts the idols by the cities themselves, “Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, O Judah”. The count answers the polemic of chapter 10.

This site's exposition

Your gods are indeed as numerous

Shame here is a name for Baal. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, after Calvin, read the word as the idol itself, the thing that will bring shame on those who serve it. Albert Barnes points to Manasseh, who set up Baal worship as the public religion of Judah.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

That shameful thing - Baal, called a shameful thing, because it was what they had reason to be ashamed of, and what would certainly bring them to shame and confusion. Baal - Signifies Lord, and was a common name given to more idols than one; the Phoenicians used the name Baal, the Chaldeans, Bell.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

But now in their distress their many gods, and many altars, should stand them in stead. Note, Those that will not be ashamed of their commission of sin as a wicked thing will be ashamed of their expectations from sin as a fruitless thing. Jeremiah's prayers shall not help them,
For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

shameful thing--Hebrew, "shame," namely, the idol, not merely shameful, but the essence of all that is shameful (Jer 3:24; Ho 9:10), which will bring shame and confusion on yourselves [CALVIN].

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

That shameful thing - i. e., Baal; public establishment of idolatry, such as actually took place in the reign of Manasseh (2Ch 33:3. Contrast 2Ki 18:4).

The words behind it

15 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • כִּ֚יfor

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • מִסְפַּ֣ר[the] number of

    misparH4557 →134 times

  • עָרֶ֔יךָcities your

    ʾareikhaH5892 →1090 times

  • הָי֥וּthey are

    hayuH1961 →3559 times

  • אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָgods your

    ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times

  • יְהוּדָ֑הO Judah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • וּמִסְפַּ֞רand [the] number of

    umisparH4557 →134 times

  • חֻצ֣וֹת[the] streets of

    chutzotH2351 →164 times

  • יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗םJerusalem

    yerushalimH3389 →643 times

  • שַׂמְתֶּ֤םyou have made

    samtemH7760 →584 times

  • מִזְבְּחוֹת֙altars

    mizbechotH4196 →401 times

  • לַבֹּ֔שֶׁתto the shameful thing

    laboshetH1322 →30 times

  • מִזְבְּח֖וֹתaltars

    mizbechotH4196 →401 times

  • לְקַטֵּ֥רto make smoke

    lekaterH6999 →116 times

  • לַבָּֽעַל׃ סto <the> Baal

    labaalH1168 →82 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Jeremiah 2:28But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O Judah.6 worksHosea 9:10I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruits of the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to Shame; so they became as detestable as the thing they loved.5 works1 Corinthians 8:5For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords),4 worksJeremiah 44:21“As for the incense you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem—you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did the LORD not remember and bring this to mind?4 worksJeremiah 7:9Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,4 works2 Kings 23:13The king also desecrated the high places east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.3 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Jeremiah 19:4because they have abandoned Me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in this place to other gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have ever known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.3 worksIsaiah 2:8Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.2 works2 Kings 21:4–5Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.”2 worksJeremiah 3:1–2“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers—and you would return to Me?” declares the LORD.2 worksJeremiah 32:35They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor had it ever entered My mind, that they should commit such an abomination and cause Judah to sin.2 worksDeuteronomy 32:16–17They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.2 worksJeremiah 3:24From our youth, that shameful god has consumed what our fathers have worked for—their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.2 worksHosea 12:11Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.2 worksJeremiah 19:5They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I never commanded or mentioned, nor did it even enter My mind.2 works2 Kings 23:4–5Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests second in rank, and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven. And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.2 worksHosea 2:13I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she burned incense to them, when she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers. But Me she forgot,” declares the LORD.2 worksJeremiah 30:15Why do you cry out over your wound? Your pain has no cure! Because of your great iniquity and your numerous sins I have done these things to you.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Isaiah 2:8

    Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 115:4–8

      Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.

    • Revelation 9:20

      Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze,…

  • Through

    Jeremiah 2:28

    But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 32:37

      He will say: “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,

    • Judges 10:14

      Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.”

    • Isaiah 45:20

      Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.

  • Through

    2 Kings 23:13

    The king also desecrated the high places east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh…

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 11:5

      Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

    • 1 Kings 11:7

      At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.

    • Numbers 21:29

      Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.

Where this verse is studied

About Jeremiah

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah: the study guide →Read Jeremiah 11 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Jeremiah 11 →