Then you are to answer them: ‘It is because your fathers have forsaken Me, declares the LORD, and followed other gods, and served and worshiped them. They abandoned Me and did not keep My instruction.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then you shall tell them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken me,’ says Yahweh, ‘and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshiped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;
- KJV Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;
- NKJV then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the Lord; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law.
- NASB Then you are to say to them, ‘It is because your forefathers have abandoned Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and have followed other gods, and served and worshiped them; but they have abandoned Me and have not kept My Law.
- NLT “Then you will give them the Lord’s reply: ‘It is because your ancestors were unfaithful to me. They worshiped other gods and served them. They abandoned me and did not obey my word.
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
Jeremiah must answer that their fathers forsook the LORD, followed and served other gods, and abandoned His law. The judgment flows from generations of forsaking God for idols.
Overview
God traces the root of judgment to a long history of forsaking Him and worshiping false gods. The repeated charge of forsaking the LORD highlights the covenant unfaithfulness at the heart of their sin. It is a sober reminder that idolatry, ancient or modern, always means abandoning the true God, from whom alone comes the salvation now offered in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ps 106:35–41but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.
- Neh 9:26–29But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
- Jer 22:9Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”
- Ezek 11:21But as for those whose hearts pursue detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”
- 1 Kgs 9:9And others will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—because of this, the LORD has brought all this disaster upon them.’”
- Jer 8:2They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up or buried, but will become like dung lying on the ground.
- 1 Pet 4:3For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.
- Jer 5:7–9“Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery and assembled at the houses of prostitutes.
- Deut 29:25–26And the people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.
- Judg 2:12–13Thus they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed after various gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and provoked the LORD to anger,
- Jer 9:14Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts and gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.”
- Judg 10:13–14But you have forsaken Me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you.
- Dan 9:10–12and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God to walk in His laws, which He set before us through His servants the prophets.
- Jer 2:8The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the leaders rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.
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 16:11 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.