Jeremiah 13 27

Jeremiah 13:27 kjv

I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?

Jeremiah 13:27 nkjv

I have seen your adulteries And your lustful neighings, The lewdness of your harlotry, Your abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! Will you still not be made clean?"

Jeremiah 13:27 niv

your adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution! I have seen your detestable acts on the hills and in the fields. Woe to you, Jerusalem! How long will you be unclean?"

Jeremiah 13:27 esv

I have seen your abominations, your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings, on the hills in the field. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will it be before you are made clean?"

Jeremiah 13:27 nlt

I have seen your adultery and lust,
and your disgusting idol worship out in the fields and on the hills.
What sorrow awaits you, Jerusalem!
How long before you are pure?"

Jeremiah 13 verses

Jeremiah 13 27 Meaning

This verse conveys God's profound condemnation and deep sorrow over Judah's relentless spiritual infidelity, explicitly detailing their widespread and fervent engagement in idolatry. Using vivid imagery of adultery and prostitution, God reveals His comprehensive awareness of their rebellious acts and passionately laments their unfaithfulness to the covenant. It culminates in a heartfelt, rhetorical question expressing divine exasperation and a persistent desire for their repentance and cleansing, even as the shadow of impending judgment draws closer.

Jeremiah 13 27 Context

Jeremiah 13:27 stands as a poignant culmination within a chapter focused on Judah's impending doom due to their pride and deep-seated unfaithfulness. The preceding passages illustrate Judah's spiritual corruption through two powerful parables: the spoiled linen waistband (Jer 13:1-11), which signifies how Judah's close relationship with God had become defiled and worthless due to their pride and disobedience, leading to inevitable separation; and the wine jars (Jer 13:12-14), prophesying that all inhabitants, from king to commoner, would be filled with the "wine" of God's wrath, shattering them against one another in an inescapable judgment. Jeremiah 13:15-17 then directly pleads for humility and repentance before an overwhelming darkness engulfs them. It's within this dire warning and plea for return that verse 27 provides God's explicit indictment, demonstrating why such judgment is deserved and how deeply God has observed their apostasy.

In the broader context of the Book of Jeremiah, this verse reinforces the recurring theme of Israel's spiritual harlotry. Jeremiah, known as the "weeping prophet," continually calls Judah to repentance as they drift closer to the Babylonian exile. The nation, particularly Jerusalem, despite moments of revival like Josiah's reforms, had continually fallen back into idolatry, breaking their covenant with Yahweh. This betrayal is often portrayed by God as a faithful husband wronged by an unfaithful wife.

Historically and culturally, the imagery used directly addressed the pervasive idolatry of the time. Judah had adopted Canaanite practices, including the worship of Baal and Asherah, which frequently involved ritual prostitution and fertility cults conducted on "high places" (hills) and in open "fields." These acts were not merely symbolic but often involved explicit sexual rituals meant to appease fertility gods, thereby blurring the lines between physical and spiritual unfaithfulness. The people's "neighing" refers to the unbridled, animalistic passion with which they pursued these false gods, demonstrating an utter disregard for their covenant vows and a shameful embrace of pagan debauchery.

Jeremiah 13 27 Word analysis

• "I have seen" (רָאִיתִי, ra'iti) - Emphasizes divine omniscience and direct, comprehensive observation. God is not ignorant; He possesses clear, undeniable evidence of their actions. It signifies not merely noticing, but perceiving with profound understanding and intentionality to respond.
• "your adulteries" (נִאֻפַיִךְ, ni'ufayik) - Derived from the root נָאַף (na'af), meaning to commit adultery. Primarily refers to spiritual adultery, portraying Judah's breach of covenant with Yahweh by worshiping other gods as an act of intimate betrayal, akin to a spouse's unfaithfulness. It speaks to a willful act of disloyalty within a deeply personal relationship.
• "and your lustful neighings" (וּמִצְהֲלוֹתַיִךְ, u-mits'halotayik) - From the root צָהַל (tsahal), meaning to neigh or exult. This powerful and raw imagery compares Judah's eager pursuit of idolatry to a stallion's lustful neigh, denoting unbridled, animalistic passion and uncontrolled desire. It conveys a public, brazen, and sensual craving for spiritual illicit relationships, depicting their idolatry as crude and unrestrained.
• "your shameless prostitution" (זְנוּתֵךְ, z’nutēkh) - From the root זָנָה (zanah), meaning to prostitute or commit harlotry. Like adultery, this signifies spiritual harlotry – selling oneself to false gods for perceived gain or pleasure. "Shameless" emphasizes the blatant and open nature of their apostasy, lacking any sense of guilt or secrecy. It implies public debasement and a wholesale abandonment of their divine husband.
• "on the hills" (עַל־הַגְּבָעוֹת, ʿal ha-gevāʿōt) - Literally "upon the hills." A direct reference to the "high places" (בָּמוֹת, bamot), elevated sites where Canaanite fertility cults and idolatrous worship were commonly practiced. These locations were specifically forbidden by Yahweh, as they symbolized defilement and rebellion against His exclusive worship.
• "and in the fields" (בַּשָּׂדֶה, ba-sadeh) - Literally "in the field." Complementary to "hills," encompassing all open and public spaces. This emphasizes the pervasive and ubiquitous nature of their idolatry, indicating it was not confined to specific cultic sites but had spread throughout the land and permeated all aspects of their society.
• "Woe to you, Jerusalem!" (אוֹי לָךְ יְרוּשָׁלַםִ, ʾōy lākh yerūshālayim!) - An exclamation of profound lament, sorrow, and a formal prophetic declaration of impending judgment. It functions as a mournful cry signaling certain doom and severe consequences for their unrepentant actions, reflecting both divine pain and righteous wrath.
• "How long will it be" (עַד־מָתַי, ʿad-mātay) - A rhetorical question expressing God's long-suffering patience and profound sorrow over their continued rebellion, but also a rising impatience with their persistent refusal to change. It implies that God's patience is nearing its end and a decisive moment of reckoning is imminent.
• "before you are pure?" (לֹא תִּטְהֲרִי, lō' tit'harī?) - Literally "will you not purify yourself?" It's a deeply earnest yearning for repentance, cleansing, and restoration of covenant faithfulness. Despite the severity of the indictment, God expresses a persistent desire for their return to a state of spiritual cleanliness and moral uprightness.

Words-group analysis

• "your adulteries and your lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution": This intense triple indictment escalates the description of Judah's unfaithfulness. It moves from illicit union (adultery) to raw, animalistic craving (neighing), culminating in open, debased disloyalty (shameless prostitution). The sequence reveals a deep-seated, passionate, and increasingly brazen rebellion against God, where spiritual affection has been shamefully redirected.
• "on the hills and in the fields": This geographical pairing underlines the total saturation of the land and society with idolatry. It suggests that Judah's apostasy was not limited to secret gatherings but was openly celebrated and woven into the very fabric of their public life, from sacred high places to common farmlands, leaving no corner of their existence untouched by sin.
• "Woe to you, Jerusalem! How long will it be before you are pure?": This phrase marks a poignant shift from direct accusation to a lament combined with an impassioned plea. The "Woe" solemnizes the imminent judgment, but the subsequent rhetorical question expresses God's heartbroken yearning for repentance. It beautifully intertwines divine justice with persistent divine love, emphasizing that even at the brink of destruction, God still longs for His people to choose purification and return to Him.

Jeremiah 13 27 Bonus section

• The term "lustful neighings" (mits'halotayik) has connections to other prophetic passages where strong, often animalistic, imagery is used to describe human passion and sin (e.g., Jer 5:8, Hos 13:7-8). This hyper-sensual description of Judah's pursuit of idolatry intensifies the gravity of their spiritual defilement, equating their sacred relationship with God to uncontrolled, base desires.
• The Hebrew construct of "How long will it be before you are pure?" (ʿad-mātay lō' tit'harī?) carries a nuance of despair or lamenting exasperation, rather than a mere query. It's a sorrowful cry from God, reflecting His profound grief that despite all His efforts, His people continuously refuse the path of purity and choose persistent rebellion. It speaks to the infinite patience of God encountering finite human stubbornness.
• The concept of "purity" (taharah) in the Old Testament, especially in a covenantal context, extends beyond mere physical cleanliness to ritual and moral holiness. Here, God's longing for Judah to be "pure" means for them to renounce idolatry, repent of their covenant breach, and return to an exclusive, wholehearted worship of Him, thus restoring their right standing and intimate relationship.
• Jeremiah's consistent use of the "unfaithful wife" metaphor throughout his prophecy (e.g., chapters 2 and 3) deepens the personal and emotional impact of this verse. God is not merely an offended king, but a grieved husband, profoundly wounded by the deliberate infidelity of His beloved bride, Israel, whom He had faithfully nourished and protected.

Jeremiah 13 27 Commentary

Jeremiah 13:27 provides a harrowing insight into the heart of God as He confronts Judah's entrenched idolatry. The graphic language — "adulteries," "lustful neighings," and "shameless prostitution" — is deliberately visceral, reflecting the abhorrent nature of their spiritual unfaithfulness. This isn't just metaphor; it speaks to the debased practices of the pagan fertility cults they embraced, which often involved explicit sexuality, making their apostasy a complete physical and spiritual betrayal of their divine covenant. God's declaration, "I have seen," asserts His omnipresent awareness, dismantling any illusion of hidden sin and confirming that their rebellion is fully known and meticulously observed.

The setting of their idolatry "on the hills and in the fields" underscores its ubiquity and public nature. It was not a private deviation but a societal norm, flaunted openly, symbolizing their blatant disregard for the divine law to worship God alone. The climactic "Woe to you, Jerusalem!" serves as a dire prophetic lament and an explicit declaration of impending judgment, foretelling a profound national sorrow that awaits. Yet, interwoven with this pronouncement of doom is a heart-wrenching, rhetorical question: "How long will it be before you are pure?" This is God's profound yearning, revealing that even in His righteous anger, there remains an echo of longsuffering patience and an earnest desire for His people's repentance, cleansing, and restoration. The verse thus embodies both God's righteous wrath against sin and His enduring love that pleads for reconciliation before the ultimate devastation. This passage challenges believers today to examine their own devotion, ensuring that no worldly pursuits or affections rival the purity of their commitment to God, and to respond promptly to His calls for spiritual cleansing.