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I will bring an everlasting reproach on you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’”
Jeremiah 23:40 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
  • BSB And I will bring upon you everlasting shame and perpetual humiliation that will never be forgotten.”
  • NKJV And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’ ”
  • NASB I will put an everlasting disgrace on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten.”
  • NLT And I will make you an object of ridicule, and your name will be infamous throughout the ages.’”

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 will bring an everlasting reproach and perpetual shame upon them that will never be forgotten. Lasting disgrace is the fitting end of their contempt for His word.

Overview

The oracle against the false prophets and the mockers closes with a sentence of enduring shame. Their dishonoring of God's word results in dishonor that history will not erase. Yet within Jeremiah's larger message, even such reproach is not God's final word for His people, for He promises ultimate restoration through the coming Branch (23:5-6).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Jer 20:11But Yahweh is with me as an awesome mighty one. Therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail. They shall be utterly disappointed, because they have not dealt wisely, even with an everlasting dishonor which shall never be forgotten.
  • Ezek 5:14–15“‘Moreover I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are around you, in the sight of all that pass by.
  • Jer 42:18For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and my wrath has been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath be poured out on you, when you shall enter into Egypt; and you shall be an object of horror, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.’
  • Dan 12:2Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
  • Jer 24:9I will even give them up to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil; to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them.
  • Dan 9:16Lord, according to all your righteousness, let your anger and please let your wrath be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a reproach to all who are around us.
  • Deut 28:37You will become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where Yahweh will lead you away.
  • Hos 4:7As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me. I will change their glory into shame.
  • Jer 44:8–12in that you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to live; that you may be cut off, and that you may be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

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 23:40YouTube · 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 23:40 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.