Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Your way and your doings have brought these things to you. This is your wickedness; for it is bitter, for it reaches to your heart.”
- BSB “Your ways and deeds have brought this upon you. This is your punishment; how bitter it is, because it pierces to the heart!”
- NKJV “Yourways and your doings Have procured these things for you. This is your wickedness, Because it is bitter, Because it reaches to your heart.”
- NASB “Your ways and your deeds Have brought these things upon you. This is your evil. How bitter! How it has touched your heart!”
- NLT “Your own actions have brought this upon you. This punishment is bitter, piercing you to the heart!”
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 tells Judah that her own ways and deeds have brought this bitter judgment upon her. It matters because it places responsibility squarely on the people's sin.
Overview
The Lord declares that the disaster is the fruit of Judah's own wickedness, bitter and piercing to the heart. Sin carries built-in consequences that reach the very core of life. This sober principle that we reap what we sow drives sinners to seek the grace that breaks the chain of guilt (Galatians 6:7-8; Proverbs 5:22).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 2:19Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
- Ps 107:17Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
- Prov 1:31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
- Jer 2:17Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
- Isa 50:1Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
- Jer 6:19Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.
- Prov 5:22His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
- Job 20:5–16That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
- Jer 26:19Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.
- Jer 5:19And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
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 4:18 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.