Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act upon every word that the LORD your God sends you to tell us.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then they said to Jeremiah, “May Yahweh be a true and faithful witness among us, if we don’t do according to all the word with which Yahweh your God shall send you to us.
- KJV Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.
- NKJV So they said to Jeremiah, “Let the Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not do according to everything which the Lord your God sends us by you.
- NASB Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole message with which the Lord your God will send you to us.
- NLT Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord your God be a faithful witness against us if we refuse to obey whatever he tells us to do!
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 solemnly vow that they will obey whatever the LORD commands. They call God as witness to their promise.
Overview
Invoking Yahweh as 'a true and faithful witness,' the remnant binds itself by oath to do all that God says through Jeremiah. The vow is emphatic and sincere-sounding, raising the stakes of their coming response. By calling God to witness, they make their later disobedience all the more grievous, for they break a sacred promise.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Gen 31:50If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”
- Judg 11:10And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.”
- Mal 2:14Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
- Mal 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Mic 1:2Hear, O peoples, all of you; listen, O earth, and everyone in it! May the Lord GOD bear witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.
- Rev 3:14To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation.
- Rev 1:5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
- 1 Sam 12:5Samuel said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is a witness,” they replied.
- Deut 5:27–29Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then you can tell us everything the LORD our God tells you; we will listen and obey.”
- Exod 20:7You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- 1 Sam 20:42And Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘May the LORD be a witness between you and me, and between your descendants and mine forever.’” Then David got up and departed, and Jonathan went back into the city.
- Jer 5:2Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ they are swearing falsely.”
- Exod 20:19“Speak to us yourself and we will listen,” they said to Moses. “But do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”
- Rom 1:9God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
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 42:5 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.