Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
Parallel translations
- WEB Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may you also do good, who are accustomed to do evil.
- BSB Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Neither are you able to do good—you who are accustomed to doing evil.
- NKJV Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.
- NASB “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, Or the leopard his spots? Then you as well can do good Who are accustomed to doing evil.
- NLT Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Just as a leopard cannot change its spots, the people are so habituated to evil they cannot do good.
Overview
This proverb exposes the deep, ingrained nature of sin: habitual evildoers are powerless to reform themselves. It underscores the bondage of the will apart from divine grace. This human inability points to the gospel necessity of being born again and given a new heart by God (John 3:3; Ezekiel 36:26).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jer 2:22For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.
- Jer 9:5And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
- Matt 19:24–28And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
- Jer 17:9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
- Jer 5:3O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
- Jer 2:30In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
- Jer 6:29–30The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
- Isa 1:5Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
- Prov 27:22Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 13:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.