Jeremiah 13 16

Jeremiah 13:16 kjv

Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.

Jeremiah 13:16 nkjv

Give glory to the LORD your God Before He causes darkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death And makes it dense darkness.

Jeremiah 13:16 niv

Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to utter darkness and change it to deep gloom.

Jeremiah 13:16 esv

Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the twilight mountains, and while you look for light he turns it into gloom and makes it deep darkness.

Jeremiah 13:16 nlt

Give glory to the LORD your God
before it is too late.
Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you,
causing you to stumble and fall on the darkening mountains.
For then, when you look for light,
you will find only terrible darkness and gloom.

Jeremiah 13 verses

Jeremiah 13 16 Meaning

Jeremiah 13:16 is an urgent prophetic warning to the people of Judah to repent and acknowledge God's rightful authority before inevitable judgment descends. It implores them to give honor and due recognition to the LORD their God, cautioning that if they fail, God himself will bring a period of profound darkness, despair, and confusion. Their expected hope for relief or "light" will instead be turned into escalating degrees of intense gloom, signifying both physical calamity and spiritual alienation.

Jeremiah 13 16 Context

Jeremiah 13 is a chapter steeped in powerful, symbolic acts and warnings illustrating Judah's impending judgment due to their pride, spiritual unfaithfulness, and idolatry. The chapter begins with the parable of the linen waistband (Jer 13:1-11), which Jeremiah is instructed to buy, wear, and then bury by the Euphrates. When he retrieves it, it is ruined, symbolizing how God intended to bind Judah intimately to Himself, but their unfaithfulness made them useless for His purpose, deserving of destruction. Following this, the chapter contains the metaphor of wineskins (Jer 13:12-14), signifying that Judah, along with their kings, priests, and prophets, would be filled with the "wine" of God's wrath, leading to mutual destruction without pity. Jeremiah 13:15, immediately preceding verse 16, explicitly calls for humility and attentive listening, as the LORD Himself has spoken. Thus, Jeremiah 13:16 serves as a climactic, urgent plea for repentance, juxtaposing the act of glorifying God with the severe, inevitable consequences of His judgment depicted as multiple layers of encroaching and intensifying darkness if they do not heed the warning. The historical backdrop is Judah during the reign of King Jehoiakim, a period marked by significant spiritual decay, alliance-seeking instead of trust in God, and the looming threat of the Babylonian Empire, which would ultimately lead to Jerusalem's destruction and exile.

Jeremiah 13 16 Word analysis

• Give (תְּנוּ - tĕnû): A direct imperative, "You all, give!" It's a command, not a suggestion, indicating the urgency and obligation upon the entire community. It implies yielding rightful honor and acknowledging ultimate authority.
• glory (כָּבוֹד - kāḇôḏ): This Hebrew term means "weight," "heaviness," "honor," "reputation," or "splendor." To give glory to God is to acknowledge His substantial, inherent worth, His sovereignty, and His magnificent power, expressing it through worship, obedience, and truthful testimony, rather than giving that honor to idols or self.
• to the LORD (לַֽיהוָה - la-Yahweh): Specifies the unique, covenant God of Israel. Not to any other deity or concept of power. Yahweh is the personal, revealed name of God, emphasizing His relationship with Israel.
• your God (אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם - ʾělōhêḵem): Reiteration of the covenant relationship. This God is theirs through His promises and their heritage, and therefore they have a specific responsibility to Him that others might not share.
• before (בְּטֶ֥רֶם - bəṭerem): A crucial temporal marker signifying a warning. There is a limited window of opportunity; this act of glorifying God must happen prior to a specific, imminent event. It underlines the urgency.
• He brings (יָבִ֑יא - yāḇîʾ): Emphasizes God's active agency. The impending disaster is not random but a direct, divinely orchestrated consequence of their actions, an act of His judgment.
• darkness (חֹ֔שֶׁךְ - ḥōšeḵ): The most common Hebrew word for physical darkness, often used metaphorically for calamity, distress, confusion, judgment, and the absence of God's favor or presence.
• and before (וּבְטֶ֖רֶם - ûḇəṭerem): Repetition of "before" reinforcing the urgent, time-sensitive nature of the warning, introducing a second, more detailed image of the impending doom.
• your feet (רַגְלֵיכֶ֖ם - ragləykem): Metaphorical for one's path, journey, or course of life and action. The physical feet symbolize their decisions and direction.
• stumble (נִגְּפ֣וּ - niǧǧəfû): To hit one's foot, trip, or fall. Here, it signifies losing direction, suffering defeat, being thrown into disarray, or encountering insurmountable obstacles. It's a failure of progress or movement.
• on the dark mountains (עַל־הָרֵ֖י נֶֽשֶׁף - ʿal-hā-rê nešeph): This phrase is evocative. Hārê means "mountains," symbolizing obstacles, places of idolatry, or natural geographic features of the land. Nešeph literally means "twilight" or "gloom," the time of evening when visibility fades. So "dark mountains" speaks to a treacherous path, difficult terrain, or hidden dangers emerging in dim light, where one is most prone to err and fall. It suggests an inescapable, foreboding environment where no clear path is visible.
• while you look (וְקִוִּיתֶם - wəqīwwît̲em): "You look for" or "you hope/wait for." This suggests a desperate longing or expectation for relief, understanding, or a turn for the better—a hope that will be frustrated.
• for light (לָאוֹר - lāʾôr): The natural opposite of darkness; symbolic of guidance, understanding, deliverance, hope, and God's favor.
• He turns it into (וַיִּשְׂמֶהָ / וְשָׂמָהּ - wayyīśméhā / wəśāmāh): Again, God's active, intentional intervention. The very thing they hoped for (light) will be transformed by His hand into something terrible.
• deep gloom (צַלְמָ֑וֶת - ṣalmāwəṯ): A very strong term, often translated "shadow of death" or "deep darkness." It denotes the profoundest, most terrifying darkness, signifying extreme peril, despair, and conditions akin to death itself.
• and makes it into (וְשָׁת - wəšāṯ): Continues the theme of God's intentional act of transformation.
• thick darkness (לְעַפְלֽוּל - ləʿaplūl): This rare Hebrew word implies impenetrable, oppressive darkness, like a dense fog or thick cloud that completely obscures vision and disorients. It's an even more intense level of darkness than choshek, suggesting complete hopelessness and inability to find direction or escape.

Words-group analysis:

• "Give glory to the LORD your God": This foundational call is a summary of the covenantal obligation. It's a summons to faithful worship, humble obedience, and true allegiance, contrasting with the idolatry and pride of Judah. It represents the only true way to avert the impending judgment.
• "before He brings darkness": Establishes a clear cause-and-effect. God's judgment, here symbolized by "darkness," is directly contingent upon their response to the call for glory. The "before" is a desperate window of opportunity.
• "your feet stumble on the dark mountains": Paints a vivid picture of confusion, lost direction, and severe hardship. The "dark mountains" are not merely physical obstacles but represent the perilous, chaotic conditions resulting from divine judgment, where all progress is hindered, and dangers lurk unseen.
• "while you look for light, He turns it into deep gloom and makes it into thick darkness": This phrase highlights the profound irony and despair of God's judgment. The very thing they yearn for – relief and understanding (light) – will be actively and increasingly transformed by God into greater, more terrifying degrees of darkness and despair. Their hope will become their undoing. This escalating sequence of darkness emphasizes the severity and inescapable nature of the judgment.

Jeremiah 13 16 Bonus section

The Hebrew utilizes a fascinating escalation of darkness words: choshek (general darkness), nesheph (twilight/gloom associated with the mountains), tzalmavet (shadow of death/deep gloom), and aplul (thick, impenetrable darkness). This progression isn't merely stylistic; it depicts an intensifying divine judgment, from a general sense of foreboding to absolute despair and loss of all direction, leaving no ambiguity about the severity of God's impending wrath. The phrase "dark mountains" (literally "mountains of twilight") could refer to the geographical locations where the people engaged in idolatry, making their places of sin the very locations of their judgment and confusion. Alternatively, it symbolizes the difficult and perilous path the nation would face under judgment, losing all clear guidance. The verse powerfully uses contrasts: "give glory" versus "stumble," "light" versus "darkness/deep gloom/thick darkness," emphasizing the binary choice and the stark consequences. This prophetic warning foreshadows not only the Babylonian exile but also points to the broader biblical principle that withholding glory from God leads to a descent into spiritual and experiential darkness (cf. Rom 1:21-22).

Jeremiah 13 16 Commentary

Jeremiah 13:16 is a poignant appeal for urgent repentance, framed by a terrifying imagery of escalating divine judgment. It emphasizes that giving "glory to the LORD your God" is not an optional act of devotion but a non-negotiable requirement for avoiding cataclysmic consequences. "Glory" encapsulates the totality of recognizing God's sovereignty, worshiping Him alone, and obeying His commands, a standard from which Judah had severely fallen. The vivid succession of "darkness," "stumbling on the dark mountains," "deep gloom," and "thick darkness" paints a progressive picture of increasing chaos, confusion, despair, and an utter absence of divine guidance or hope. It warns that their expected light of deliverance will be purposefully transformed into a terrifying, disorienting night. This passage serves as a stark reminder of God's active role in both preserving and judging nations, linking the spiritual condition of His people directly to their temporal experience. It’s a call to proactive repentance and honor before God's inevitable hand of judgment renders all hope for light utterly vain.