Jeremiah 18:15 kjv
Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;
Jeremiah 18:15 nkjv
"Because My people have forgotten Me, They have burned incense to worthless idols. And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways, From the ancient paths, To walk in pathways and not on a highway,
Jeremiah 18:15 niv
Yet my people have forgotten me; they burn incense to worthless idols, which made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient paths. They made them walk in byways, on roads not built up.
Jeremiah 18:15 esv
But my people have forgotten me; they make offerings to false gods; they made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient roads, and to walk into side roads, not the highway,
Jeremiah 18:15 nlt
But my people are not so reliable, for they have deserted me;
they burn incense to worthless idols.
They have stumbled off the ancient highways
and walk in muddy paths.
Jeremiah 18 15 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah 18:15 | "But my people have forgotten me; they make offerings to worthless idols." | Forgotten God's covenant |
| Hosea 13:6 | "When they had fed, they became full; they were filled, and their hearts were lifted up; therefore they forgot me." | God's provision leading to forgetfulness |
| Psalms 106:21 | "They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt," | Israelites forgetting God's mighty acts |
| Isaiah 51:13 | "And you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth," | Forgetting the Creator |
| Deuteronomy 32:18 | "You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you; you forgot the God who gave you birth." | Neglecting the divine foundation |
| Jeremiah 2:32 | "Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her array? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number." | God's people forgetting Him |
| Jeremiah 3:21 | "A voice is heard on the bare heights, weeping and pleading of the children of Israel, because they have acted crookedly against the LORD their God." | Israel's crookedness and grief |
| Jeremiah 5:6 | "Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them; a leopard will watch over their cities, and every one who goes out will be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, and their apostasies are great." | Consequences of apostasy |
| Jeremiah 8:5 | "Why then has this people turned away in continual rebellion? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return." | Continual rebellion |
| Jeremiah 8:12 | "Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be cast down, says the LORD." | Shamefulness of sin |
| Jeremiah 18:16 | "They have made their land a horror, a perpetual hissing; all who pass by it are horrified and shake their heads." | Land as a horror |
| Jeremiah 18:17 | "Like the east wind I will scatter them before the enemy; I will show them my back and not my face in the day of their calamity." | God turning His face away |
| Psalms 1:6 | "For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." | Knowing the way of the righteous |
| Proverbs 11:5 | "The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked fall by his own wickedness." | Righteousness guides the way |
| Proverbs 4:18 | "But the path of the righteous is like the dawn, which is brighter and brighter until full daylight." | Path of the righteous growing brighter |
| Matthew 5:14 | "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." | Disciples as light of the world |
| John 8:12 | "Then Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”" | Jesus as the light of the world |
| Romans 11:22 | "See then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off." | Kindness and severity of God |
| Galatians 5:4 | "You are severed from Christ, you who seek to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." | Falling from grace |
| 1 Corinthians 10:12 | "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." | Taking heed lest one falls |
Jeremiah 18 verses
Jeremiah 18 15 Meaning
This verse describes the consistent faithfulness and spiritual uprightness of a people, contrasted with the inconsistency and apostasy of others. It highlights that even in times of turning away from God, the righteous path remains illuminated, demonstrating God's unchanging nature and the enduring consequence of righteousness.
Jeremiah 18 15 Context
Jeremiah 18 is part of God's prophetic message to the nation of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah. This chapter includes the well-known potter and clay imagery, illustrating God's sovereign right to shape nations according to His will. Immediately preceding this verse, God speaks of His intention to bring disaster upon Judah due to their sins (Jeremiah 18:11-12). The prophet points out the specific sins: their profound idolatry and turning to false gods, turning their backs rather than their faces toward God. This verse specifically addresses the spiritual decline of God's people, who had become forgetful of Him, their Creator and covenant Partner, and instead offered sacrifices to useless deities. This is set against a backdrop of general apostasy within the nation, contributing to the impending judgment. The contrast with the righteous path is an implied call to remembrance and faithfulness, even as the nation collectively strayed.
Jeremiah 18 15 Word Analysis
"But" (וְ־ – veh): Conjunction, often translated as "and," but here functioning adversatively, introducing a contrast to the faithfulness implied by the preceding divine warning or statement about a potential alternative path.
"my people" (עַמִּי – 'ammi): Possessive form of "people." Refers to Israel, God's chosen covenant people, highlighting the broken relationship and disappointment from God's perspective.
"have forgotten" (שָׁכְחוּ – shakhkhu): Perfect tense verb from שָׁכַח (shakhach), meaning to forget, neglect, disregard. It implies a deliberate and sustained turning away from remembering and honoring God.
"me" (אֹתִי – 'othi): Direct object pronoun for the first person singular, referring to Yahweh, the LORD.
"they" (הֵמָּה – hemmah): Plural pronoun for "they."
"make" (יַצְלִיכוּ – yaṣlīkhu): Although literally means "they cause to succeed" or "they prosper," in this context, it carries a sense of diligently or routinely performing an action. The Hebrew word often relates to success or progress. Here, it describes their persistent actions in their idolatry. Some scholars interpret it as "they are fervent" or "they are zealous."
"offerings" (מִנְחָה – minhah): Gift, offering, tribute. Often refers to cereal or grain offerings, but can encompass other types of gifts presented to a deity.
"to" (אֶל־ – 'el): Preposition indicating direction toward.
"worthless" (לְבֹל – le-vo): This Hebrew word (often found in later forms or transliterated as 'bol' or similar) is challenging in this specific verse. Traditional translations often render it as "emptiness" or "vanity," or sometimes a more direct derogatory term for idols as "nothings." Some scholarly interpretations suggest a corruption or a less common word. A more robust understanding is often derived from related concepts like "lie" (sheker) or "nothingness," emphasizing the futility and non-divine nature of these idols. It denotes that which is false or illusory.
"idols" (אֵלִים – 'elilim): From אֱלִיל (‘elil), meaning vain, worthless, idols, false gods. These are deities that are fundamentally empty and unable to act or save.
Words-group analysis: The phrase "make offerings to worthless idols" (יַצְלִיכוּ מִנְחָה אֶל־אֵלִים בֹּל) encapsulates the core apostasy. It's not just forgetting God, but actively engaging in the worship of false gods. The word "yaṣlīkhu" here describes their zealous commitment to this wrong path, which ironically is "prosperity" in a perverted sense, leading only to ruin.
Jeremiah 18 15 Bonus Section
The concept of forgetting God and turning to idols is a recurring theme throughout the Old Testament. It reflects the persistent human tendency towards apostasy and seeking satisfaction in things that cannot truly deliver. This verse is foundational to understanding the cyclical narrative of Israel's history—periods of faithfulness followed by cycles of unfaithfulness, rebellion, and subsequent divine discipline. The "worthless idols" represent any object or pursuit that displaces God in a person's life, whether it be material possessions, power, or even human ideologies. The verse implicitly points to the unique relationship God has with His people, a relationship characterized by His steadfastness and their often-fickle devotion. The "day of their calamity" mentioned later in the chapter, foreshadows the judgment that inevitably follows such pervasive unfaithfulness.
Jeremiah 18 15 Commentary
This verse is a stark indictment of Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness. It highlights a grievous sin: the people, whom God claims as His own, have turned their hearts and loyalties away from Him. The "forgetting" of God is not mere ignorance, but a deliberate abandonment of their covenant relationship and His provision. Their act of offering sacrifices to "worthless idols" underscores the emptiness of their chosen path and the ultimate futility of their worship. This contrast emphasizes the profound sadness and disappointment God experiences when His people stray. The verse serves as a reminder that true devotion is active remembrance and allegiance, not just passive acknowledgement, and that all other forms of worship apart from the true God are ultimately void and deceptive.