Jeremiah 16:12 kjv
And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:
Jeremiah 16:12 nkjv
And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.
Jeremiah 16:12 niv
But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors. See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts instead of obeying me.
Jeremiah 16:12 esv
and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me.
Jeremiah 16:12 nlt
And you are even worse than your ancestors! You stubbornly follow your own evil desires and refuse to listen to me.
Jeremiah 16 12 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jer 16:12 | and ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye are multiplied on every side as the stars of heaven, and, behold, ye have increased in wickedness. | Israel's intensified disobedience |
| Jer 7:26 | Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but hardened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. | Reinforces the theme of worse disobedience |
| Ezek 20:43 | And there you shall remember your ways and all your wicked deeds, with which you have defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have done. | Recollection of past evils, similar to prophetic lament |
| Deut 31:29 | For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will fall upon you, because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands." | Moses' prophecy of future corruption |
| Ps 81:12 | So I gave them up to their own hard hearts, to walk in their own counsels. | God giving people over to their desires |
| Rom 1:28 | And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind, to do what ought not to be done. | Apostasy and being given over to corrupt minds |
| Heb 3:12 | Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. | Warning against evil and unbelieving hearts |
| Jer 5:3 | O LORD, do not your eyes look on faithfulness? You strike them, but they feel no pain; you consume them, but they refuse to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to return. | Refusal to be corrected, hardened faces |
| Prov 1:24-25 | Because I called and you refused to listen, because I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention, because you disregarded all my counsel and would not accept my reproof, | Rejection of God's call and counsel |
| Jer 3:17 | and increased the guilt of treachery. | An increase in sinful acts |
| Jer 11:10 | They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant, which I made with their fathers. | Returning to the iniquities of forefathers |
| Jer 11:15 | What right have you in my house? You have done shocking things with many. Can consecrated flesh take away from you your wickedness, that you might rejoice? | Questioning actions even within religious practice |
| Jer 17:1 | "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved; it is Girded on the tablet of their hearts, and on the horns of their altars, | Sin engraved on the heart |
| Jer 17:9 | The heart is more deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick; who can understand it? | The corrupted nature of the human heart |
| Hos 4:17 | "Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone. | Spiritual adultery and entanglements |
| Hos 5:11 | Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, because he willingly went after the command of the tongue. | Willful pursuit of destruction |
| Amos 3:12 | Thus says the LORD: "As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the remnant of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and the leg of a bed." | Remnant rescued from judgment |
| Matt 15:18-19 | But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, covetousness, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. | The source of defilement from the heart |
| Acts 7:51 | "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. | Resisting the Holy Spirit and historical stubbornness |
| John 3:19 | And this is the judgment: that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their works were evil. | Preference for darkness over light due to evil deeds |
Jeremiah 16 verses
Jeremiah 16 12 Meaning
The verse states that Israel would act worse than their ancestors, following the stubbornness of their evil hearts. This signifies a severe departure from God's commands and a deeper entanglement in sin. It implies an active worsening of disobedience, moving beyond mere historical failings to a more profound corruption.
Jeremiah 16 12 Context
Jeremiah 16:10-13 addresses God's judgment upon Judah for their extreme spiritual adultery and disobedience. The preceding verses describe the prophet's astonishment and questioning of God's pronouncements of destruction, leading God to explain the reasons behind His wrath. Jeremiah 16:12 specifically highlights that the current generation's sin is not just repetition of their ancestors' failings but an exacerbation of them. This happens while the nation has grown significantly in number, indicating a widespread corruption. The historical context is Judah's final years before the Babylonian exile, a period marked by repeated apostasy, idolatry, and rejection of prophetic warnings despite numerous opportunities for repentance.
Jeremiah 16 12 Word analysis
- "and" (וְ - ve): A conjunctive particle indicating continuation or connection.
- "ye" (אַתֶּם - atem): Second person plural pronoun, referring to the people of Judah.
- "have done" (תַּעֲשׂוּ - ta'asu): Verb "to do" or "to make" in the Hiphil stem (causative), present tense, plural, second person. Signifies actively causing something to be done or committing an action.
- "worse" (רַע - ra): Adjective meaning evil, bad, wicked, harmful. Here it is used comparatively.
- "than" (מִן - min): Preposition meaning "from," "than," indicating comparison.
- "your" (אָבוֹת - avot): Plural possessive pronoun, "your."
- "fathers" (אָב - av): Noun meaning "father." Here in the plural, referring to ancestors.
- "; for," (כִּי - ki): Conjunction meaning "for," "because," introducing a reason or explanation.
- "behold," (הִנֵּה - hinneh): Interjection expressing emphasis or calling attention.
- "ye" (אַתֶּם - atem): Second person plural pronoun.
- "are multiplied" (פָּרֹ֤וּ - parū): Verb "to bear fruit," "to be fruitful," "to multiply," in the Niphal stem (passive or reflexive), perfect tense, plural, third person. Indicates an increase in number.
- "on every side" (צֶדֶה - tzedah): From צַד (tsad), meaning "side," "direction." Together, it means on all sides, everywhere.
- "as" (כְּ - k'mo): Preposition meaning "as," "like," "according to."
- "the stars" (כֹּוכְבֵי - kokhvei): Plural construct form of כּוֹכָב (kokhav), meaning "star."
- "of heaven" (הַשָּׁמַיִם - ha-shamayim): "the heavens," "the sky."
- "and," (וְ - ve): Conjunctive particle.
- "behold," (הִנֵּה - hinneh): Interjection.
- "ye" (אַתֶּם - atem): Second person plural pronoun.
- "have increased" (סַפְתֶּם - safetem): Verb "to add," "to increase," in the Hiphil stem (causative), perfect tense, plural, second person. Indicates becoming more or adding to something.
- "in wickedness" (בְּרָעָה - b'ra'ah): Noun meaning "evil," "wickedness," "trouble." It refers to their sinful state and actions.
- "have done worse than your fathers": This phrase highlights a comparative worsening. It's not just repeating the sins of previous generations, but exceeding them in quantity and severity. This emphasizes a descent into deeper corruption.
- "ye are multiplied on every side as the stars of heaven": The increase in population is contrasted with their moral decay. Instead of being fruitful in righteousness as promised (Genesis 22:17), they have multiplied in sin. This abundance of people mirrors the overwhelming presence of sin, making the nation a greater object of judgment.
- "and ye have increased in wickedness": This directly states the accumulation and growth of their sin. It implies a progressive slide into deeper depravity, where each generation outdoes the last in its ungodliness.
- "stubbornness of their evil hearts": This phrase, implied by the context of turning away and not listening (Jeremiah 16:11-12 in some traditions links to this idea of following the bent of their own hearts), describes the internal disposition that drives their external actions. The heart, described elsewhere as deceitful and sick (Jeremiah 17:9), leads them further astray.
Jeremiah 16 12 Bonus section
The image of being multiplied "as the stars of heaven" initially speaks of divine blessing and potential for blessing nations (Genesis 22:17). However, here, Jeremiah subverts this promise, using it to underscore the immense scale of Judah's collective sin. Their abundance has become an abundance of iniquity, a vastness of wickedness that implicates the entire nation in judgment. This highlights a crucial theological point: temporal blessings or national growth are not indicators of divine favor if they are accompanied by persistent rebellion and unfaithfulness. The greater the nation's populace, the greater the extent of sin to be reckoned with.
Jeremiah 16 12 Commentary
This verse serves as a strong condemnation of Judah, revealing that their current generation has surpassed their forefathers in wickedness. Despite being blessed with growth and prosperity, evidenced by their multitude like the stars, their spiritual condition has drastically deteriorated. The comparison to their ancestors underscores a progressive, deepening sinfulness, indicating a willful embrace of evil that transcends mere repetition of past transgressions. This severe departure from God's ways prompts His severe judgment, leading to exile and desolation, as their increased numbers and intensified sin make their collective iniquity overwhelming and deserving of thorough purging. The prophecy illustrates that outward growth without inward faithfulness leads to greater judgment.