Jeremiah 14:20
in Jeremiah 14We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD, the guilt of our fathers; indeed, we have sinned against You.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
We acknowledge, O Jehovah, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against thee.
KJV
We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
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This verse in Jeremiah 14
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 20.) We have known, Lord, our impieties and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against you. And He says, both we and our fathers have neglected the precepts of God with the same folly, and the measure of our ancestors has been fulfilled; so that whatever was lacking to them, may be fulfilled by our accumulation. Therefore, concerning Judah, it is said: Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
This site's exposition
Have You rejected Judah completely
on Jeremiah 14:19-22
The people’s second confession is fuller than the first, “We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD”, and it appeals to the covenant itself. Verse 22 sets aside every rival power, asking whether “the worthless idols of the nations” can bring rain. The oracle leaves the plea standing.
This site's exposition
We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD
They confess their sin and the guilt of their fathers. Jerome reads it as one folly shared by fathers and sons, the measure of the fathers filled up in their children. Adam Clarke has the prophet confessing alone for the people, and Gill hears the few faithful praying with him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
He is saying, We and our ancestors have also neglected the precepts of God by the same insanity. The measure of our ancestors, therefore, is filled up in us, in such a way that whatever was coming due to them would be added to our measure. This is why it was said, concerning Judah: "May the Lord remember his fathers and may the sin of his mother not be forgotten! May they always be opposed to the Lord, and may their memory be eradicated from the earth!"
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
): " We acknowledge our wickedness, the abounding wickedness of our land and the iniquity of our fathers, which we have imitated, and therefore justly smart for. We know, we acknowledge, that we have sinned against thee, and therefore thou art just in all that is brought upon us; but, because we confess our sins, we hope to find thee faithful and just in forgiving our sins." 3.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. 6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass. 7 O L ORD , though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v5-7
Thus - Here begins the answer to the prophet's complaint and prayer in the nine first verses. The substance is, that for their manifold sins, he was resolved to punish them. They loved - They have been fond of their idols, and they have persisted in those sinful courses, notwithstanding all counsels.
We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers,.... This is said by the prophet, in the name of the few faithful that were among this people, who were sensible of their own sins, the sins of their ancestors, and which they ingenuously confess; their fathers had sinned, and they had imitated them, and continued in the same, and therefore might justly expect the displeasure of the Lord, and his controversy with them: for we have sinned against thee; Jer 14:7.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness - This the prophet did in behalf of the people; but, alas! they did not join him.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יָדַ֧עְנוּ | yada'nu | we know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| רִשְׁעֵ֖נוּ | rishenu | wickedness our | H7562 → | |
| עֲוֹ֣ן | ʾavon | [the] iniquity of | H5771 → | 233 times |
| אֲבוֹתֵ֑ינוּ | ʾavoteinu | ancestors our | H1 → | 1212 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חָטָ֖אנוּ | chatanu | we have sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
| לָֽךְ׃ | lakh | to <the> you |
יָדַ֧עְנוּwe know
yada'nuH3045 →945 times
יְהוָ֛הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
רִשְׁעֵ֖נוּwickedness our
rishenuH7562 →
עֲוֹ֣ן[the] iniquity of
ʾavonH5771 →233 times
אֲבוֹתֵ֑ינוּancestors our
ʾavoteinuH1 →1212 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
חָטָ֖אנוּwe have sinned
chatanuH2398 →238 times
לָֽךְ׃to <the> you
lakh
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
Psalms 32:5Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- 2 Samuel 12:13
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.
- Psalms 51:3–5
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
- Psalms 38:18
Yes, I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
- Isaiah 65:24
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
- Proverbs 28:13
Through
Jeremiah 3:25Let us lie down in our shame; let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our fathers; from our youth even to this day we have…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 22:21
I warned you when you were secure. You said, ‘I will not listen.’ This has been your way from youth, that you have not obeyed My voice.
- Jeremiah 22:21
Through
Jeremiah 3:13Only acknowledge your guilt, that you have rebelled against the LORD your God. You have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every green tree and have not obeyed My voice,’” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 3:6
Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to…
- Deuteronomy 30:1–3
“When all these things come upon you—the blessings and curses I have set before you—and you call them to mind in all the nations to which the LORD your God has banished you,
- Jeremiah 3:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; Jerome, SIX BOOKS ON JEREMIAH 3:39.1; 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.