Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Go, and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive instruction to listen to my words?” says Yahweh.
- BSB “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem: ‘Will you not accept discipline and obey My words?’ declares the LORD.
- NKJV “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive instruction to obey My words?” says the Lord.
- NASB “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not accept instruction by listening to My words?” declares the Lord.
- NLT “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Go and say to the people in Judah and Jerusalem, ‘Come and learn a lesson about how to obey 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 asks Judah why they will not receive instruction and obey His words. The question exposes their stubbornness.
Overview
The LORD confronts the men of Judah and Jerusalem with their refusal to accept correction. Unlike the Rechabites who heeded a human command, Judah ignores the very word of God. The rhetorical question presses home their inexcusable disobedience to their Maker and Redeemer.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 32:33And 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.
- Jer 5:3O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
- Isa 28:9–12Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
- Jer 6:8–10Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.
- Jer 9:12Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?
- Prov 8:10Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
- Prov 19:20Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
- Ps 32:8–9I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
- Heb 12:25See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
- Isa 42:23Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?
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 35:13 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.