Jeremiah 17:13 kjv
O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.
Jeremiah 17:13 nkjv
O LORD, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed. "Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the LORD, The fountain of living waters."
Jeremiah 17:13 niv
LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water.
Jeremiah 17:13 esv
O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water.
Jeremiah 17:13 nlt
O LORD, the hope of Israel,
all who turn away from you will be disgraced.
They will be buried in the dust of the earth,
for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of living water.
Jeremiah 17 13 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jer 2:13 | "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters..." | Israel's primary sin: forsaking God, source of life. |
| Ps 36:9 | "For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light." | God is the source of all life. |
| Jn 4:10-14 | "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him..." | Jesus offers living water that quenches spiritual thirst. |
| Rev 21:6 | "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment." | God provides eternal living water to the righteous. |
| Ps 73:27 | "For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you." | Those who forsake God will perish. |
| Ps 1:3 | "He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season..." | Blessing of trusting in the Lord, drawing from His life-source. |
| Jn 7:37-38 | "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" | Jesus offers spiritual water resulting in inward abundance. |
| Isa 44:22 | "I have blotted out your transgressions like a thick cloud, and your sins like a mist..." | God's power to erase sin, a contrast to names written in earth. |
| Exo 32:32-33 | "...blot me out of your book that you have written. But the Lord said to Moses, 'Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.'" | Divine 'book of life' where names are written or blotted out. |
| Dan 12:1 | "...everyone whose name shall be found written in the book." | Names recorded in God's book for eternal life. |
| Phil 4:3 | "...whose names are in the book of life." | Paul refers to fellow workers with names in the Book of Life. |
| Ps 40:4 | "Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud..." | Trust in the Lord brings blessing, contrasted with turning away. |
| Hos 14:9 | "Who is wise enough to understand these things, discerning enough to know them? For the ways of the Lord are right..." | Wisdom to stay faithful, consequences for turning away. |
| Jer 17:5 | "Thus says the Lord: 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man...'" | Juxtaposes reliance on human systems with reliance on God. |
| Jer 3:25 | "...for we have sinned against the Lord our God...and have not obeyed his voice." | Acknowledgment of forsaking God, leads to shame. |
| Ps 6:10 | "All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly confounded; they shall turn back and be suddenly put to shame." | Shame is a consequence for God's enemies. |
| Job 27:8 | "For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life?" | The hopelessness of those who forsake God. |
| Prov 11:7 | "When a wicked man dies, his hope will perish; and the expectation of the unrighteous will come to nothing." | The transient nature of the unrighteous' hope. |
| Rom 5:5 | "And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit..." | True hope in God never leads to shame. |
| Isa 49:23 | "...and you shall know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame." | Those who wait (hope) in God will not be shamed. |
| 2 Tim 2:19 | "...The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity." | God's knowledge of His true followers versus those who forsake Him. |
| Jer 29:11 | "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." | God is the source of a secure future and true hope. |
Jeremiah 17 verses
Jeremiah 17 13 Meaning
Jeremiah 17:13 is a powerful declaration of God's unique status as the true hope of Israel and a warning against forsaking Him. It states that all who abandon the Lord will ultimately face public shame and will have their names written "in the earth," signifying a fleeting existence, being forgotten, or marked for earthly destruction, in contrast to names written in the Book of Life. The reason for this consequence is explicitly stated: they have abandoned the Lord, who is the inexhaustible "fountain of living waters," the ultimate source of life, blessing, and sustenance.
Jeremiah 17 13 Context
Jeremiah chapter 17 is a stark examination of Judah's deep-seated sin of idolatry and their persistent failure to trust in the Lord. It begins by likening Judah's sin to being "engraved with an iron pen and with a diamond point" on their hearts and altars, highlighting its permanence and pervasive nature (17:1-2). The prophet then presents a critical contrast: the cursed man who trusts in mortal man (17:5-6) versus the blessed man who trusts in the Lord, compared to a flourishing tree (17:7-8). This specific verse (17:13) immediately follows a lament in which Jeremiah pleads with God for healing and deliverance (17:12). It serves as a profound theological assertion, grounding the previously described curse and blessing in the character of God Himself. Historically, this period saw Judah oscillating between reliance on Egypt and Assyria for security, rather than God, alongside rampant syncretism and idol worship, providing the cultural backdrop for Jeremiah's condemnation of forsaking the "fountain of living waters" for broken cisterns (as seen in Jer 2:13).
Jeremiah 17 13 Word analysis
- O Lord: An invocation to Yahweh (יְהוָה, Yĕhowah), the personal, covenant God of Israel. This addresses God directly, underscoring the intimate yet authoritative relationship.
- the hope of Israel: Hebrew מִקְוֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל (miqveh Yiśrā’ēl). Miqveh carries a dual meaning of 'hope' or 'expectation', and 'a collection of waters' (as in Gen 1:10 where it refers to the gathering of the waters into "seas"). This double meaning is profoundly significant here, linking God as Israel's only legitimate expectation and source of trust directly to His identity as the 'fountain of living waters.' Israel's hope should not be in human efforts or idols.
- all who forsake you: Hebrew עֹזְבֶיךָ כָל־ (‘ozĕveḵā kāl). ‘azav (forsake, abandon, leave) denotes a deliberate act of turning away from a relationship or duty. It's a rupture of the covenant bond, emphasizing active rejection, not passive ignorance.
- shall be put to shame: Hebrew יֵבֹשׁוּ (yēvōshū). From bosh, meaning 'to be ashamed,' 'confused,' 'disappointed.' This shame is public humiliation and frustration, resulting from their misplaced trust being exposed as futile. Their expectation will not be realized, bringing disgrace.
- those who turn away from you: Hebrew וְסוּרַי (vəsuray). From sur, meaning 'to turn aside,' 'depart,' 'draw back.' It is a synonym or parallel to "forsake," emphasizing a reorientation away from God's path, an act of apostasy.
- shall be written in the earth: Hebrew יִכָּתְבוּ בָּאָרֶץ (yikkātəvu bā’āretz). This is a pivotal phrase. Names written in the dust/earth imply transience, erasure, forgottenness, or being marked for destruction/cursing, a stark contrast to names written in a "book of life" (Exo 32:32, Ps 69:28, Dan 12:1, Rev 3:5). In ancient Near Eastern culture, writing a name in sand or dust symbolized its impermanence and impending oblivion. This suggests their legacy and future are non-existent, rooted only in the temporary realm.
- because they have forsaken the Lord: A reiteration and explicit statement of the reason for their impending judgment. This is not arbitrary punishment but a direct consequence of their specific transgression.
- the fountain of living waters: Hebrew מְקוֹר מַיִם חַיִּים (məqōr mayim ḥayyīm). Māyīm ḥayyīm means 'living waters,' referring to flowing, fresh, spring water, not stagnant water from cisterns. It symbolizes life, vitality, refreshment, and divine blessing. God is the sole, inexhaustible source of all true life, spiritual and physical, in contrast to any created source.
Words-group analysis
- O Lord, the hope of Israel: This collective title elevates God as the ultimate, reliable expectation for His covenant people. It is a polemic against reliance on idols or human power, which offered false hopes.
- all who forsake you shall be put to shame: This highlights a universal spiritual law. Abandoning the true source of hope inevitably leads to public disappointment and disgrace, as their chosen alternatives prove to be empty.
- those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth: The consequence of turning away is not just individual suffering but an annihilation of memory and legacy. Their existence becomes as transient and forgettable as words traced in dirt.
- because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters: This concluding phrase binds the judgment directly to the unique identity of God. He is the ultimate, exclusive provider of life. To forsake Him is to forsake life itself, a folly described elsewhere as hewing out broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jer 2:13). This theological anchor underscores the severity of their sin and the justness of their consequence.
Jeremiah 17 13 Bonus section
The concept of names "written in the earth" can also be interpreted as a public pronouncement of judgment or condemnation. In some ancient legal contexts, to write someone's name on the ground or on a potsherd could signify a curse or an accusation intended to bring them to justice or disrepute. This further reinforces the idea of public humiliation and negative spiritual fate. Furthermore, the deliberate parallel between "hope" (miqveh) and "fountain" (məqōr), and their shared semantic connection to water sources, subtly yet powerfully intertwines Israel's spiritual hope with God's physical and spiritual life-giving provision. It's a linguistic and theological nuance that emphasizes the folly of seeking hope or sustenance anywhere other than God, the true Spring. The use of "living waters" specifically refers to spring water – naturally flowing and fresh – contrasting it with cistern water (collected, often stagnant, and dependent on rain). This imagery critiques reliance on self-made or human systems that are inherently finite and breakable, rather than on the divinely supplied, continuous, and pure source.
Jeremiah 17 13 Commentary
Jeremiah 17:13 stands as a solemn affirmation of God's unchanging nature and the spiritual consequences of apostasy. The Lord, Israel's true and only hope, is portrayed as the self-sufficient, life-giving "fountain of living waters." This imagery speaks to His absolute reliability and inexhaustible provision for those who trust Him. Conversely, the verse issues a severe warning: those who deliberately turn away from Him, abandoning this divine source, are destined for profound shame and spiritual oblivion. Their names "written in the earth" symbolize a loss of legacy and ultimate forgetfulness, contrasting sharply with the permanence associated with being remembered by God. The core message is clear: the only path to true life, security, and honor lies in faithful adherence to the Lord; all other paths lead to emptiness, disgrace, and eventual obscurity.