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Then 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.
Jeremiah 15:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then Yahweh said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind would not be toward this people. Cast them out of my sight, and let them go out!
  • KJV Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.
  • NKJV Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth.
  • NASB Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people. Send them away from My presence and have them go!
  • NLT Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I wouldn’t help them. Away with them! Get them out of my sight!

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 declares that even if Moses and Samuel, the greatest intercessors, stood before Him, He would not relent toward this people but would cast them out. Their persistent sin has made judgment certain despite even the strongest prayers.

Overview

Moses and Samuel were renowned for turning away God's wrath through intercession (Exodus 32:11-14; 1 Samuel 7:9), yet here God says even they could not avert the coming judgment. This stresses how deeply Judah's rebellion has hardened the situation. It magnifies the unique and sufficient intercession of Christ, the one mediator whose prayers always avail for those who come to God through Him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 22

  • Ezek 14:14then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.
  • Ezek 14:20–21then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. Their righteousness could deliver only themselves.
  • Jer 14:11Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.
  • 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.
  • Ps 106:23So He said He would destroy them—had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach to divert His wrath from destroying them.
  • Jer 7:15–16And I will cast you out of My presence, just as I have cast out all your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.
  • Exod 32:11–14But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God, saying, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?
  • Ps 99:6Moses and Aaron were among His priests; Samuel was among those who called on His name. They called to the LORD and He answered.
  • 1 Sam 12:23As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you. And I will continue to teach you the good and right way.
  • 2 Kgs 17:20So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until He had banished them from His presence.
  • Jer 52:3For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.
  • 1 Sam 7:9Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on behalf of Israel, and the LORD answered him.
  • Jer 23:39therefore I will surely forget you and will cast you out of My presence, both you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers.
  • Jer 15:19Therefore this is what the LORD says: “If you return, I will restore you; you will stand in My presence. And if you speak words that are noble instead of worthless, you will be My spokesman. It is they who must turn to you, but you must not turn to them.
  • Num 14:13–20But Moses said to the LORD, “The Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought this people from among them.
  • Jer 18:20Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.
  • Prov 14:35A king delights in a wise servant, but his anger falls on the shameful.
  • Heb 9:24For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.
  • Zech 3:3Now Joshua was dressed in filthy garments as he stood before the angel.
  • Judg 5:9My heart is with the princes of Israel, with the volunteers among the people. Bless the LORD!
  • Jer 35:19this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to stand before Me.’”
  • Gen 19:27Early the next morning, Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 15:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 15:1 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.