And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.
Parallel translations
- WEB They have turned to me the back, and not the face: and though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.
- BSB They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.
- NKJV And they have turned to Me the back, and not the face; though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.
- NASB They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen to accept discipline.
- NLT My people have turned their backs on me and have refused to return. Even though I diligently taught them, they would not receive instruction or obey.
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
The people turned their backs on God and refused His persistent teaching. Their hardened refusal to listen brought judgment.
Overview
Despite God's tireless instruction, depicted as 'rising up early and teaching,' the people would not receive correction. Their turning the back rather than the face pictures deliberate rejection of relationship with God. Such stubbornness highlights the need for the inward renewal of the new covenant, in which God writes His law on the heart so His people will hear and obey (Jer. 31:33).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Jer 7:13And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;
- Ezek 8:16And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
- Jer 2:27Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
- Jer 35:15I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.
- Jer 26:5To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;
- John 8:2And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
- 2 Chr 36:15–16And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
- Jer 7:24But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.
- Jer 44:4Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.
- Zech 7:11But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
- Jer 18:17I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
- Hos 11:2As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
- Jer 25:3–4From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.
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 32:33 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.