To whom can I give this warning? Who will listen to me? Look, their ears are closed, so they cannot hear. See, the word of the LORD has become offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.
Parallel translations
- WEB To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they can’t listen. Behold, Yahweh’s word has become a reproach to them. They have no delight in it.
- KJV To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
- NKJV To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, And they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.
- NASB To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed And they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the Lord has become for them a rebuke; They take no delight in it.
- NLT To whom can I give warning? Who will listen when I speak? Their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. They scorn the word of the Lord. They don’t want to listen at all.
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
Jeremiah laments that no one will listen because their ears are 'uncircumcised' and God's word has become offensive to them. The deepest barrier to repentance is a heart that despises God's truth.
Overview
'Uncircumcised ear' means a heart closed and unconsecrated, unable to receive God's word with delight. The people treat divine revelation as a reproach rather than a gift. This spiritual deafness shows why the New Covenant promise of a transformed heart, fulfilled in Christ and the Spirit, is so necessary.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 34
- Acts 7:51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
- Jer 7:26Yet they would not listen to Me or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and did more evil than their fathers.
- Heb 11:7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
- John 7:7The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
- Exod 6:12But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech?”
- Isa 53:1Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
- 2 Tim 4:3For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.
- Amos 7:10Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words,
- Ps 119:16I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.
- Jer 20:8–9For whenever I speak, I cry out; I proclaim violence and destruction. For the word of the LORD has become to me a reproach and derision all day long.
- Acts 7:60Falling on his knees, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
- Luke 11:45One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.”
- Ps 119:77May Your compassion come to me, that I may live, for Your law is my delight.
- Rom 7:22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law.
- Ezek 33:9But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
- Ps 119:24Your testimonies are indeed my delight; they are my counselors.
- Ezek 33:3and he sees the sword coming against that land and blows the ram’s horn to warn the people.
- Isa 42:23–25Who among you will pay attention to this? Who will listen and obey hereafter?
- Luke 20:19When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people.
- Col 1:28We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
- Jer 5:4–5Then I said, “They are only the poor; they have played the fool, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.
- Ps 40:8I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”
- Deut 29:4Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.
- Isa 28:9–13Whom is He trying to teach? To whom is He explaining His message? To infants just weaned from milk? To babies removed from the breast?
- Ps 119:70Their hearts are hard and callous, but I delight in Your law.
- Ezek 3:18–21If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood.
- Ps 119:174I long for Your salvation, O LORD, and Your law is my delight.
- John 9:40Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?”
- Jer 4:4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it, because of your evil deeds.”
- Matt 3:7But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
- Ps 1:2But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.
- 2 Chr 36:15–16Again and again the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to His people through His messengers because He had compassion on them and on His dwelling place.
- Isa 6:9–10And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
- Ps 119:35Direct me in the path of Your commandments, for there I find delight.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 6:10 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.