Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said to me, “Don’t pray for this people for their good.
- KJV Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
- NKJV Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good.
- NASB So the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for a good outcome on behalf of this people.
- NLT Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for these people anymore.
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
God tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people's welfare, signaling that judgment is now fixed. It marks a sobering point where intercession will not avert the coming discipline.
Overview
This command, repeated elsewhere in Jeremiah (7:16; 11:14), reveals that the nation's persistent rebellion has reached a point where God has determined to judge. It does not deny the general power of prayer but shows that God's patience has a limit when sin is unrepented. It magnifies the mercy of the gospel, where Christ intercedes effectively for all who turn to Him (Hebrews 7:25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Jer 7:16As for you, do not pray for these people, do not offer a plea or petition on their behalf, and do not beg Me, for I will not listen to you.
- Jer 11:14As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me in their time of disaster.
- Exod 32:32–34Yet now, if You would only forgive their sin.... But if not, please blot me out of the book that You have written.”
- Jer 15:1Then the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Send them from My presence, and let them go.
- Exod 32:10Now leave Me alone, so that My anger may burn against them and consume them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
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 14:11 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.