Jeremiah 6:10
in Jeremiah 6To whom can I give this warning? Who will listen to me? Look, their ears are closed, so they cannot hear. See, the word of the LORD has become offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of Jehovah is become unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
KJV
To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
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This verse in Jeremiah 6
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 10.) To whom shall I speak, and whom shall I answer, that he may hear? Behold, their (or your) ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hear. They cannot hear because they have refused to circumcise their ears; yet the impossibility that comes from contempt and unbelief is not without punishment. Therefore, if anyone does not receive the words of God, neither does he have the understanding of His commandments, he has uncircumcised ears. It should also be noted that circumcision is called by three names in the Scriptures: in the foreskin, in the heart, and in the ears.
This site's exposition
Glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as a vine
on Jeremiah 6:9-11
The gleaning figure pictures the invasion as a second and more thorough harvest, a hand passed “once more like a grape gatherer over the branches”. His confession, “I am full of the LORD’s wrath; I am tired of holding it back”, shows the message costing the messenger first.
This site's exposition
their ears are closed
The Hebrew calls the ears uncircumcised, and Jerome notes that Scripture speaks of circumcision in three places: the foreskin, the heart and the ears. The word of the LORD has become an offense to them. Matthew Henry reads the prophet as finding no one willing even to listen.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The prophet Jeremiah also blamed the Jewish multitudes with their rulers because of their excessive arrogance, saying, "To whom shall I speak and testify, and he will hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hear. Behold, the Word of the Lord has become to them a derision. They will not hear it." And in another place he spoke of Jerusalem: "We healed Babel, and she was not healed. Let us leave her and depart every one to his land, because her judgment has reached to the heavens."
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
I cannot find out any that will so much as give me a patient hearing. I may give warning long enough, but these is nobody that will take warning. I cannot speak that they may hear, cannot speak to any purpose, or with any hope of success; for their ear is uncircumcised, it is carnal and fleshly, indisposed to receive the voice of God, so that they cannot hearken.
7 As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds. 8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited. Judgment threatened against Judah and Jerusalem.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v6-8
To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear?....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The word of the Lord is unto them a reproach - It is an object of derision; they despise it.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Give warning - Rather testify. Reproach - They make the Word of God the object of their ridicule.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Therefore, I am full of the fury of the Lord My heart is full of the prophecy of the coming of the fury of the Lord upon them.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִ֨י | mi | whom? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| אֲדַבְּרָ֤ה | ʾadaberah | will I speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| וְאָעִ֙ידָה֙ | veaidah | and will I warn? | H5749 → | 44 times |
| וְיִשְׁמָ֔עוּ | veyishmau | and they may listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| הִנֵּה֙ | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| עֲרֵלָ֣ה | ʾarelah | [is] uncircumcised | H6189 → | 35 times |
| אָזְנָ֔ם | ʾazenam | ear their | H241 → | 187 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יוּכְל֖וּ | yukhelu | they are able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לְהַקְשִׁ֑יב | lehakshiv | to pay attention | H7181 → | 46 times |
| הִנֵּ֣ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| דְבַר־ | devar- | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הָיָ֥ה | hayah | it has become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָהֶ֛ם | lahem | for <the> them | ||
| לְחֶרְפָּ֖ה | lecherpah | <into> a reproach | H2781 → | 73 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַחְפְּצוּ־ | yachpetzu- | they delight | H2654 → | 74 times |
| בֽוֹ׃ | vo | in <the> it |
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מִ֨יwhom?
miH4310 →423 times
אֲדַבְּרָ֤הwill I speak
ʾadaberahH1696 →1141 times
וְאָעִ֙ידָה֙and will I warn?
veaidahH5749 →44 times
וְיִשְׁמָ֔עוּand they may listen
veyishmauH8085 →1159 times
הִנֵּה֙there!
hinehH2009 →843 times
עֲרֵלָ֣ה[is] uncircumcised
ʾarelahH6189 →35 times
אָזְנָ֔םear their
ʾazenamH241 →187 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יוּכְל֖וּthey are able
yukheluH3201 →194 times
לְהַקְשִׁ֑יבto pay attention
lehakshivH7181 →46 times
הִנֵּ֣הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
דְבַר־[the] word of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הָיָ֥הit has become
hayahH1961 →3559 times
לָהֶ֛םfor <the> them
lahem
לְחֶרְפָּ֖ה<into> a reproach
lecherpahH2781 →73 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יַחְפְּצוּ־they delight
yachpetzu-H2654 →74 times
בֽוֹ׃in <the> it
vo
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
Isaiah 53:1Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
it leads to
- John 12:38
This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
- Romans 10:16–17
But not all of them welcomed the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”
- 1 Corinthians 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
- John 1:12
But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—
- Matthew 16:17
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.
- John 12:38
Through
Acts 7:51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:16
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.
- Deuteronomy 10:16
Through
John 7:7The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
it leads to
- John 15:18–19
If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.
- John 15:18–19
Through
Hebrews 11:7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes…
it leads to
- Genesis 6:13
Then God said to Noah, “The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.
- Genesis 6:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 134; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.