Jeremiah 32:23
in Jeremiah 32They came in and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law. They failed to perform all that You commanded them to do, and so You have brought upon them all this disaster.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them.
KJV
And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:
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This verse in Jeremiah 32
Commentary
6 notes on this verse(Verse 23) And they entered and took possession of it, but they did not obey your voice and did not walk in your law. Everything that you commanded them to do, they did not do, and all these disasters happened to them. And they entered and possessed it. And immediately there was no middle ground between possession and disobedience. For abundance produces security, security produces negligence, negligence produces contempt. And they did not obey, he says, your voice, and they did not walk in your law.
This site's exposition
After I had given the deed
on Jeremiah 32:16-25
Jeremiah's prayer opens with creation, then moves through the exodus and Israel's disobedience. That history ends in the present siege, where “the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans.” Verse 25 sets the LORD's command, “Buy for yourself the field with silver,” beside that fact.
This site's exposition
They came in and possessed it
Jerome finds no pause between possessing the land and disobeying the law: abundance bred security, and security bred contempt. Matthew Henry reads the verse as Jeremiah's confession that the LORD was right to bring this disaster. The disaster answers the broken law.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And therefore he owns that God was righteous in causing all this evil to come upon them. The city is besieged, is attacked by the sword without, is weakened and wasted by the famine and pestilence within, so that it is ready to fall into the hands of the Chaldeans that fight against it (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And they came in and possessed it,....
We have a message which God thereupon entrusted him to deliver to the people. He must foretel the utter destruction of Judah and Jerusalem for their sins,
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֜אוּ | vaiyavou | and they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וַיִּֽרְשׁ֣וּ | vaiyirshu | and they took possession of | H3423 → | 231 times |
| אֹתָ֗הּ | ʾotah | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמְע֤וּ | shameu | they listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְקוֹלֶ֙ךָ֙ | vekolecha | to voice your | H6963 → | 506 times |
| וּבְתוֹרָתְךָ֣ | uvetorotekha | and in law your | H8451 → | 219 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָלָ֔כוּ | halakhu | they walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֵת֩ | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צִוִּ֧יתָה | tzivitah | you had commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| לָהֶ֛ם | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָשׂ֑וּ | ʾasu | they did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וַתַּקְרֵ֣א | vatakre' | and you have caused to happen to | H7122 → | 139 times |
| אֹתָ֔ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֵ֥ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָרָעָ֖ה | haraah | the calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
| הַזֹּֽאת׃ | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
וַיָּבֹ֜אוּand they came
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
וַיִּֽרְשׁ֣וּand they took possession of
vaiyirshuH3423 →231 times
אֹתָ֗הּ<obj.> it
ʾotahH853 →10935 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמְע֤וּthey listened
shameuH8085 →1159 times
בְקוֹלֶ֙ךָ֙to voice your
vekolechaH6963 →506 times
וּבְתוֹרָתְךָ֣and in law your
uvetorotekhaH8451 →219 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָלָ֔כוּthey walked
halakhuH1980 →1546 times
אֵת֩<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
צִוִּ֧יתָהyou had commanded
tzivitahH6680 →494 times
לָהֶ֛םto <the> them
lahem
לַעֲשׂ֖וֹתto do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
עָשׂ֑וּthey did
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
וַתַּקְרֵ֣אand you have caused to happen to
vatakre'H7122 →139 times
אֹתָ֔ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
אֵ֥ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָרָעָ֖הthe calamity
haraahH7451 →662 times
הַזֹּֽאת׃<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 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
Lamentations 1:18The LORD is righteous, for I have rebelled against His command. Listen, all you people; look upon my suffering. My young men and maidens have gone into captivity.
it leads to
- Psalms 119:75
I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
- 1 Samuel 12:14–15
If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and if you do not rebel against the command of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over…
- Zephaniah 3:5
The LORD within her is righteous; He does no wrong. He applies His justice morning by morning; He does not fail at dawn, yet the unjust know no shame.
- Lamentations 1:12
Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see! Is there any sorrow like mine, which was inflicted on me, which the LORD made me suffer on the day…
- Jeremiah 12:1
Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live…
- Psalms 119:75
Through
Ezra 9:7From the days of our fathers to this day, our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities, we and our kings and priests have been delivered into the hands of the kings of…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 29:6
For our fathers were unfaithful and did evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They abandoned Him, turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and turned their backs…
- Daniel 9:5–8
we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances.
- Deuteronomy 31:20–22
When I have brought them into the land that I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. Then they will turn to…
- 2 Chronicles 29:6
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.