But they did not listen or incline their ears; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods.
Parallel translations
- WEB But they didn’t listen and didn’t incline their ear. They didn’t turn from their wickedness, to stop burning incense to other gods.
- KJV But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods.
- NKJV But they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods.
- NASB But they did not listen or incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn sacrifices to other gods.
- NLT But my people would not listen or turn back from their wicked ways. They kept on burning incense to these gods.
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 would not listen or turn from their wickedness and idol worship. Their hardness left them without excuse.
Overview
Despite God's repeated warnings, the people refused to incline their ear or repent of burning incense to other gods. The verse emphasizes the willful nature of their rebellion. Such persistent refusal to heed God's call illustrates the depth of human sin and the need for the heart-transforming grace offered in Christ, who alone gives ears to hear and hearts to turn.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Jer 19:13The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”
- Jer 11:10They have returned to the sins of their forefathers who refused to obey My words. They have followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their fathers.
- Isa 48:18If only you had paid attention to My commandments, your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like waves of the sea.
- 2 Chr 36:16But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.
- Ps 81:11–13But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me.
- Rev 2:21–22Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling.
- Zech 7:11–12But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
- Jer 7:24Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
- Jer 44:17–21Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and good things, and we saw no disaster.
- Jer 11:8Yet they would not obey or incline their ears, but each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant I had commanded them to follow but they did not keep.”
- Isa 48:4For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze.
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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 44:5 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.