Limitless Word
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.
Jeremiah 6:10 · King James Version
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.
  • BSB 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.
  • 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 7:51Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
  • Jer 7:26Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
  • Heb 11:7By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
  • John 7:7The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
  • Exod 6:12And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?
  • Isa 53:1Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
  • 2 Tim 4:3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
  • Amos 7:10Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.
  • Ps 119:16I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
  • Jer 20:8–9For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.
  • Acts 7:60And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
  • Luke 11:45Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.
  • Ps 119:77Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.
  • Rom 7:22For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
  • Ezek 33:9Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
  • Ps 119:24Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.
  • Ezek 33:3If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
  • Isa 42:23–25Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?
  • Luke 20:19And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.
  • Col 1:28Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
  • Jer 5:4–5Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.
  • Ps 40:8I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
  • Deut 29:4Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
  • Isa 28:9–13Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
  • Ps 119:70Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law.
  • Ezek 3:18–21When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
  • Ps 119:174I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight.
  • John 9:40And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
  • Jer 4:4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
  • Matt 3:7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
  • Ps 1:2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
  • 2 Chr 36:15–16And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
  • Isa 6:9–10And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
  • Ps 119:35Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 6:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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.