Jeremiah 11 8

Jeremiah 11:8 kjv

Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do: but they did them not.

Jeremiah 11:8 nkjv

Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but which they have not done.' "

Jeremiah 11:8 niv

But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.'?"

Jeremiah 11:8 esv

Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not."

Jeremiah 11:8 nlt

but your ancestors did not listen or even pay attention. Instead, they stubbornly followed their own evil desires. And because they refused to obey, I brought upon them all the curses described in this covenant.'"

Jeremiah 11 verses

Jeremiah 11 8 Meaning

Jeremiah 11:8 reveals God's lament and just response to Judah's persistent disobedience. Despite God's clear instructions through His covenant, the people defiantly refused to listen or comply, instead choosing to follow their own corrupt and stubborn inclinations. Consequently, God executed the predefined curses and consequences embedded within that very covenant, which they had repeatedly violated. This verse underscores divine justice in the face of human rebellion and the severe ramifications of covenant unfaithfulness.

Jeremiah 11 8 Context

Jeremiah 11 begins with God instructing Jeremiah to proclaim the words of a covenant to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, explicitly recalling the covenant made with their ancestors upon their exodus from Egypt (vv. 2-5). This is a strong allusion to the Deuteronomic covenant, which promised blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. God recounts how He faithfully provided for them, yet their forefathers never truly listened or obeyed, persistently engaging in idol worship and evil. Jeremiah 11:8 directly continues this lament, focusing on the people's continued pattern of stubborn resistance, culminating in God's judgment by bringing upon them the very curses ("words of this covenant") they invoked by their disobedience. This chapter is part of Jeremiah's broader message delivered during a period of spiritual decline in Judah, shortly after King Josiah's reforms, where a superficial return to God masked deep-seated idolatry and social injustice, ultimately leading to the Babylonian exile.

Jeremiah 11 8 Word analysis

• Yet: (וְלֹא ve·lo) Connects to the preceding verses, signaling a persistent failure despite God's previous warnings and covenant establishing. It implies an ongoing, unchanging state of rebellion.
• they obeyed not: (וְלֹא־שָׁמְעוּ ve·lo-sham'u) The Hebrew verb שָׁמַע (shama') means "to hear," but in a covenantal context, it also carries the sense of "to obey" or "to heed." Their "not hearing" directly means "not obeying." This highlights their active rejection of God's authority and instructions.
• nor inclined their ear: (וְלֹא הִטּוּ אָזְנָם ve·lo hīṭṭū oz'nām) A poetic parallelism strengthening the idea of disobedience. "To incline the ear" (הִטָּה אֹזֶן hittah ozen) means to listen attentively, to pay careful heed. Their refusal was not accidental, but a deliberate act of aversion to God's message.
• but walked: (כִּי־הָלְכוּ ki-hal'khu) The verb הָלַךְ (halakh) implies a pattern of life, a way of living. It indicates that their disobedience was not an isolated incident but a consistent lifestyle choice.
• every one: (אִישׁ בִּשְׁרִרוּת ish bish'rirut) Emphasizes the widespread and pervasive nature of the rebellion across the entire population, highlighting a collective moral decay.
• in the stubbornness: (בִּשְׁרִרוּת bish'rirut) The noun שְׁרִרוּת (sherirut) denotes a hard, obstinate, and unyielding will. It speaks of a perverse firmness or persistence in evil, an inability or refusal to turn from their chosen path, irrespective of divine instruction or warning.
• of his evil heart: (לִבּוֹ הָרָע libbō hara') The "heart" (לֵב lev) in Hebrew thought is the seat of intellect, will, emotion, and conscience. An "evil heart" is one that is morally corrupt, depraved, and bent towards sin, the ultimate source of their stubbornness and disobedience.
• therefore: (וָאָבִא va'ābi) Signals a direct causal relationship. God's action is a righteous consequence, not an arbitrary punishment, in response to their persistent sin.
• I brought upon them: (עֲלֵיהֶם aleyhem) God is the active agent of judgment. This clarifies that the unfolding calamities were not random misfortunes but divine orchestration in accordance with His revealed word.
• all the words of this covenant: (כָּל־דִּבְרֵי הַבְּרִית kol-divrey habb'rit) Refers specifically to the punitive clauses and curses of the Mosaic (Deuteronomic) covenant (e.g., Deut 28). It emphasizes that God is upholding His part of the covenant, even its warnings, to ensure justice for their persistent violation.
• which I commanded them to do, but they did not: This phrase concisely restates the broken agreement. God gave clear commands (covenant stipulations), but they failed to perform them.

Jeremiah 11 8 Bonus section

The historical and prophetic context of Jeremiah often emphasizes God's long-suffering and patience before judgment. Verse 8, however, marks a point of culmination where divine warnings have been thoroughly rejected over generations, leading to the inevitable bringing "upon them all the words of this covenant." This serves as a testament to God's integrity—He means what He says, and His warnings are not empty threats. The concept of the "evil heart" being the root of all disobedience is a foundational truth repeated throughout Scripture, setting the stage for the later promise of a "new heart" and a "new covenant" (Jer 31:31-34; Ezek 36:26-27), without which true obedience remains unattainable due to human sinfulness. The verse illustrates a theological principle: human autonomy, when chosen against divine will, leads directly to self-inflicted judgment, though executed by God in His justice.

Jeremiah 11 8 Commentary

Jeremiah 11:8 profoundly reveals God's divine justice and the dire consequences of willful disobedience to His revealed word. It underscores that God does not arbitrarily punish but rather executes the just terms of the covenant He Himself established. The people's actions were not merely negligent but stemmed from deep-seated "stubbornness of his evil heart"—a consistent, active refusal to genuinely listen and obey, which is a recurrent theme in the prophetic books concerning Israel. This willful rejection of God's call to obedience made the implementation of the covenant curses unavoidable. The "words of this covenant" encompass the entire legal and moral framework given at Sinai and later reiterated, highlighting the unbreakable link between ethical conduct, divine blessing, and divine judgment. The verse thus serves as a stark reminder of accountability, where God is faithful to His word in both blessing and curse, and points to the radical nature of humanity's sin that requires a transformative change of heart beyond mere external compliance.