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For my eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from my face, neither is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.
Jeremiah 16:17 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
  • BSB For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their guilt is not concealed from My eyes.
  • NKJV For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes.
  • NASB For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their wrongdoing concealed from My eyes.
  • NLT I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me.

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's eyes are on all their ways; nothing they do and no iniquity is hidden from His sight. He sees and will judge every sin, however concealed.

Overview

This declaration of God's complete knowledge undergirds the justice of His judgment; nothing escapes His all-seeing eyes. The truth that sin cannot be hidden from God confronts every false hope of secret wrongdoing. It calls sinners to honest confession rather than concealment, and points to the mercy of the gospel, where forgiven sin is covered by the blood of Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 14

  • Prov 15:3Yahweh’s eyes are everywhere, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
  • Jer 23:24Can anyone hide himself in secret places so that I can’t see him?” says Yahweh. “Don’t I fill heaven and earth?” says Yahweh.
  • Prov 5:21For the ways of man are before Yahweh’s eyes. He examines all his paths.
  • Ps 90:8You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
  • Job 34:21–22“For his eyes are on the ways of a man. He sees all his goings.
  • Heb 4:13There is no creature that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
  • Jer 32:19great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:
  • 2 Chr 16:9For Yahweh’s eyes run back and forth throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. You have done foolishly in this; for from now on you will have wars.”
  • 1 Cor 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
  • Ps 139:3You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
  • Ezek 9:9Then he said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perversion; for they say, ‘Yahweh has forsaken the land, and Yahweh doesn’t see.’
  • Isa 29:15Woe to those who deeply hide their counsel from Yahweh, and whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us?” and “Who knows us?”
  • Luke 12:1–2Meanwhile, when a multitude of many thousands had gathered together, so much so that they trampled on each other, he began to tell his disciples first of all, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
  • Ezek 8:12Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his rooms of imagery? For they say, ‘Yahweh doesn’t see us. Yahweh has forsaken the land.’”

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 16:17YouTube · 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 16:17 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.