Jeremiah 11:3
in Jeremiah 11You must tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and say thou unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man that heareth not the words of this covenant,
KJV
And say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
⋯
This verse in Jeremiah 11
Commentary
6 notes on this verse"Hear," then, "the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed is the man who will not hear the words of the covenant which I commanded your fathers." Who most of all hears "the words of the covenant which God commanded the fathers"? Is it those who believe in Him, or those who are shown not even to believe Moses by the very fact that they have not believed in the Lord?
This site's exposition
the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD
on Jeremiah 11:1-5
The chapter opens as a covenant lawsuit, “Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant”, addressed to Judah and Jerusalem. Jeremiah closes the unit with “Amen, LORD”, assenting to the curse and blessing he must preach against his own people.
This site's exposition
Cursed is the man who does not obey
Adam Clarke reads the line as the sum of what was read: the man who disobeys is cursed, and the man who obeys is blessed. Matthew Henry adds that the curse fell on a single man, and much more on a whole nation in revolt.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), that they might, if possible, be awakened by the terrors of the Lord: Cursed be the man, though it were but a single person, that obeys not the words of this covenant, much more when it is the body of the nation that rebels. There are curses of the covenant as well as blessings: and Moses set before them not only life and good, but death and evil ( Deut. xxx.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And say thou unto them,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Cursed be the man that obeyeth not - After the reading, the prophet appears to sum up the things contained in what was read to them; as if he had said, “Ye hear what the Lord saith unto you: remember, the sum of it is this: The man is cursed who obeyeth not; and he is blessed who obeys. From these declarations God will not depart.”
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֥ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֣י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אָר֣וּר | ʾarur | [is] cursed | H779 → | 63 times |
| הָאִ֔ישׁ | haish | the person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֙ | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִשְׁמַ֔ע | yishma' | he will hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דִּבְרֵ֖י | divrei | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַבְּרִ֥ית | haberit | the covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| הַזֹּֽאת׃ | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֔םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַ֥רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אָר֣וּר[is] cursed
ʾarurH779 →63 times
הָאִ֔ישׁthe person
haishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁר֙who
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִשְׁמַ֔עhe will hear
yishma'H8085 →1159 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דִּבְרֵ֖י[the] words of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
הַבְּרִ֥יתthe covenant
haberitH1285 →284 times
הַזֹּֽאת׃<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 27:26‘Cursed is he who does not put the words of this law into practice.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
it leads to
- Galatians 3:10
All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
- Deuteronomy 28:15–68
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:
- Romans 10:5
For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.”
- Psalms 119:21
You rebuke the arrogant— the cursed who stray from Your commandments.
- Ezekiel 18:24
But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of…
- Galatians 3:10
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 9.