Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.
Parallel translations
- WEB Why then have the people of Jerusalem fallen back by a perpetual backsliding? They cling to deceit, they refuse to return.
- KJV Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
- NKJV Why has this people slidden back, Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, They refuse to return.
- NASB “Why has this people, Jerusalem, Turned away in continual apostasy? They hold on to deceit, They refuse to return.
- NLT Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back? They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around.
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
Jerusalem persists in 'perpetual backsliding,' clinging to deceit and refusing to repent. It shows how hardened and habitual their sin had become.
Overview
Yahweh marvels that the people slide ever backward and will not turn around. Their grip on 'deceit'—false worship and self-deception—keeps them from returning. The language of refusing to return underscores that their plight is moral, not merely circumstantial, and points forward to the need for God Himself to give a new heart, a promise fulfilled in the new covenant.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Jer 9:6You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD.
- Zech 7:11But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
- Jer 5:3O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.
- Hos 11:7My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call to the Most High, He will by no means exalt them.
- John 5:40yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.
- Heb 12:25See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns us from heaven?
- 2 Th 2:9–12The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
- Jer 5:27Like cages full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become powerful and rich.
- Isa 44:20He feeds on ashes. His deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
- Isa 30:10They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.
- Rev 2:25Nevertheless, hold fast to what you have until I come.
- 1 Th 5:21but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.
- Hos 4:16For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now shepherd them like lambs in an open meadow?
- Isa 1:20But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
- Prov 4:13Hold on to instruction; do not let go. Guard it, for it is your life.
- Jer 3:11–14And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than unfaithful Judah.
- Jer 2:32Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.
- Jer 7:24–26Yet 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.
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 8:5 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.