“And I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
Parallel translations
- WEB I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen!’
- KJV Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
- BSB I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.’ But they answered, ‘We will not listen!’
- NKJV Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
- NLT I posted watchmen over you who said, ‘Listen for the sound of the alarm.’ But you replied, ‘No! We won’t pay attention!’
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 set watchmen, the prophets, to sound the warning trumpet, but the people refused to listen. Rejecting God's appointed messengers is rejecting God Himself.
Overview
Watchmen on the walls warned of approaching danger; here they represent the prophets warning of judgment. The flat reply 'We will not listen' reveals deliberate rebellion. The pattern of sending warning before judgment displays God's mercy, and refusing it removes any excuse.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Jer 25:4Yahweh has sent to you all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them (but you have not listened, nor inclined your ear to hear)
- Isa 58:1“Cry aloud, don’t spare. Lift up your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their disobedience, and to the house of Jacob their sins.
- Isa 21:11The burden of Dumah. One calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?”
- Zech 7:11But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
- Isa 56:10His watchmen are blind. They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs. They can’t bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
- Hab 2:1I will stand at my watch, and set myself on the ramparts, and will look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
- Heb 13:17Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch on behalf of your souls, as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy, and not with groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you.
- Ezek 3:17–21“Son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore hear the word from my mouth, and warn them from me.
- Acts 20:27–31for I didn’t shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
- Amos 3:6–8Does the trumpet alarm sound in a city, without the people being afraid? Does evil happen to a city, and Yahweh hasn’t done it?
- Ezek 33:2–9Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and tell them, When I bring the sword on a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman;
- Hos 8:1“Put the trumpet to your lips! Something like an eagle is over Yahweh’s house, because they have broken my covenant, and rebelled against my law.
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 6:17 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.