Jeremiah 19:15 kjv
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.
Jeremiah 19:15 nkjv
"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.' "
Jeremiah 19:15 niv
"This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to my words.'?"
Jeremiah 19:15 esv
"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I am bringing upon this city and upon all its towns all the disaster that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their neck, refusing to hear my words."
Jeremiah 19:15 nlt
"This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'I will bring disaster upon this city and its surrounding towns as I promised, because you have stubbornly refused to listen to me.'"
Jeremiah 19 15 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Exod 32:9 | "I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people." | Israel's characteristic stubbornness. |
| Deut 9:6 | "Know therefore that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land... for you are a stubborn people." | Moses on Israel's long history of stubbornness. |
| Deut 28:15 | "But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God... then all these curses shall come upon you." | Covenant curses for disobedience. |
| 2 Kgs 17:14 | "But they would not listen, but stiffened their neck, like their fathers, who did not believe." | Northern kingdom's rejection leading to exile. |
| Neh 9:16-17 | "But they and our fathers acted proudly and stiffened their neck... they refused to obey." | Ancestors' repeated rebellion in wilderness. |
| Ps 95:8 | "Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness." | Warning against stubborn hearts and refusal. |
| Prov 1:24-28 | "Because I have called and you refused... I will mock when your dread comes." | Wisdom's judgment on those who reject her counsel. |
| Isa 1:9 | "Unless the LORD of hosts had left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom." | Shows LORD of hosts as controller of destiny. |
| Isa 30:9 | "For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD." | Isaiah on Judah's willful rejection. |
| Jer 6:19 | "Behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not listened..." | Similar declaration of bringing disaster. |
| Jer 7:26 | "Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck." | Direct parallel for the same offense. |
| Jer 13:14 | "And I will dash them one against another, parents and children alike... I will not have pity or spare or have compassion." | Irreparable and complete destruction. |
| Jer 18:7-10 | "If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom... it changes its mind... I will relent... but if it does evil... then I will punish it." | God's consistency in fulfilling declared judgment for obduracy. |
| Jer 21:10 | "For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the LORD; it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon." | God's determined judgment against Jerusalem. |
| Jer 25:8-11 | "Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send and take all the tribes of the north... and bring them against this land." | Reason for Babylonian exile. |
| Lam 2:17 | "The LORD has done what he purposed... he has brought to pass his word that he commanded long ago." | Fulfillment of previously pronounced judgment. |
| Zech 7:11-12 | "But they refused to pay attention... and stopped their ears that they might not hear... and stiffened their neck." | Similar charges of hardened hearts and ears. |
| Mal 4:1 | "For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble... says the LORD of hosts." | Future judgment by the LORD of hosts. |
| Acts 7:51 | "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit." | Stephen's charge echoing Old Testament language. |
| Rom 9:29 | "And as Isaiah prophesied, 'If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.'" | Quotes Isa 1:9, referencing the Lord of hosts' power to preserve or judge. |
| Heb 3:7-19 | Warning against hardening hearts as in the wilderness, leading to not entering His rest due to disobedience. | Echoes the danger of prolonged refusal to hear. |
| Matt 23:37-38 | "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... How often would I have gathered your children... but you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate." | Jesus' lament over Jerusalem's continued rejection. |
| Luke 19:43-44 | "For days will come upon you, when your enemies will build an embankment... and tear you down to the ground." | Jesus' prophecy of Jerusalem's future destruction. |
Jeremiah 19 verses
Jeremiah 19 15 Meaning
Jeremiah 19:15 declares God's firm and final judgment upon Jerusalem and all its surrounding towns. The Lord of hosts, in His divine authority, states His unwavering intent to bring forth the severe calamity that He has long announced. This impending and certain disaster is attributed directly to the people's deep-seated and persistent rebellion, characterized by their hardened refusal to submit to God's words and prophetic warnings.
Jeremiah 19 15 Context
Jeremiah chapter 19 serves as a dramatic, acted-out prophecy of ultimate judgment against Jerusalem. God commands Jeremiah to take an earthenware flask, bring some elders and priests to the Valley of Hinnom (Tophet), a place associated with the abhorrent practice of child sacrifice to pagan gods (Jer 19:4-5). There, Jeremiah is to publicly declare God's wrath, stating that Jerusalem would be so utterly shattered and defiled that it would become like Tophet itself – a place of slaughter and desolation due to their grievous sins of idolatry, bloodshed, and apostasy. The climax of this symbolic act occurs when Jeremiah shatters the jar before their eyes (Jer 19:10-11), signifying God's irreversible decision to "shatter this people and this city, as one shatters a potter’s vessel, so that it can never be mended again." Having delivered this potent message at the literal scene of their abominations, Jeremiah returns to the temple courtyard in the heart of Jerusalem to relay the same uncompromising message to the assembled populace. Verse 15 encapsulates this direct, public pronouncement, confirming with divine authority that the devastating calamity, clearly foretold and vividly symbolized, is indeed coming because of the people's stubborn and unrepentant rejection of God's every warning.
Jeremiah 19 15 Word analysis
- "Thus says": (כֹּה אָמַר - ko amar) – A formal prophetic phrase signifying an authoritative, direct pronouncement originating from God Himself. It denotes the message is a divine decree, not human conjecture.
- "the LORD of hosts": (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת - YHWH Tzeva'ot) – The divine name "LORD" (YHWH) references God's covenant relationship and faithfulness. "Of hosts" (Tzeva'ot) emphasizes His supreme sovereignty and dominion over all celestial and earthly powers, including the angelic armies, implying His unparalleled authority to execute judgment and fulfill His word. This title often appears in contexts of warfare and divine intervention.
- "Behold, I am bringing": (הִנְנִי מֵבִיא - hin’ni mevi) – "Behold" (hin’ni) acts as an attention-grabbing interjection, highlighting the certainty and immediacy of the following action. "I am bringing" is a Hebrew participle, conveying an action that is determined, already in motion, or so assured that it is spoken of as if presently happening. It signals an unyielding divine resolve.
- "upon this city": (עַל־הָעִיר הַזֹּאת - al-ha'ir ha'zot) – Explicitly designates Jerusalem as the primary object of the judgment. Having been a place of God's presence, it has become deeply corrupt, symbolizing the nation's spiritual failure.
- "and upon all its towns": (וְעַל־כָּל־עָרֶיהָ - v’al-kol-areha) – Broadens the scope of the calamity, indicating a comprehensive national judgment affecting not just the capital but every surrounding settlement. This signifies a pervasive spiritual rot leading to widespread devastation.
- "all the disaster": (אֶת־כָּל־הָרָעָה - et-kol-ha'ra'ah) – Emphasizes the totality and completeness of the impending suffering. Ra'ah (evil/disaster) here refers to retributive calamity, the destructive consequences inflicted by God as a just response to sin, distinct from moral evil.
- "that I have pronounced against it": (אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתִּי עָלֶיהָ - asher dibbarti aleha) – Highlights the just and non-arbitrary nature of God's judgment. It's the fulfillment of prior warnings and covenant curses, affirming divine consistency and the truthfulness of His declared word across generations.
- "because they have stiffened their neck": (עַל אֲשֶׁר הִקְשׁוּ אֶת־עָרְפָּם - al asher hikshu et-arpam) – A biblical idiom for deep, stubborn, unyielding defiance. Similar to an obstinate animal refusing to be yoked or led, the people persistently resisted God's commands and rejected His authority, demonstrating profound spiritual obduracy.
- "refusing to hear my words": (לְבִלְתִּי שְׁמוֹעַ אֶת־דְּבָרָי - le’vil'ti sh’moa et-d’varay) – Identifies the precise nature of their sin. This is not passive ignorance, but an active, willful, and persistent choice not to listen to, obey, or conform to God's revealed law, warnings, and prophetic messages. It signifies a rebellious turning away from divine truth.
Jeremiah 19 15 Bonus section
The profound symbolism of Jeremiah's prophetic act preceding this verse—breaking a potter's jar in Tophet (Valley of Hinnom)—lends a chilling layer to "all the disaster." Tophet, once a place of abhorrent child sacrifice (Jer 19:4-5), became synonymous with spiritual and physical ruin. Later, this valley would lend its name, Gehenna, to the concept of hell (Matt 5:22; Mark 9:43), linking Jeremiah's prophecy to ultimate, unquenchable judgment. This historical and theological resonance reinforces the utter devastation promised. Furthermore, the persistent theme of God's people stiffening their necks, present from the wilderness wanderings (Exod 32:9) to the days of Jeremiah and Stephen (Acts 7:51), highlights a consistent pattern of human resistance to divine authority and warning across biblical history. This makes Jeremiah's pronouncement not just a historical event, but a timeless lesson on the consequences of ignoring God's voice.
Jeremiah 19 15 Commentary
Jeremiah 19:15 functions as the emphatic summation of God’s verdict against Judah, delivered with an undeniable divine imperative. The invocation of "the LORD of hosts" underscores God's absolute sovereignty and power to enforce His judgments. The use of "Behold, I am bringing" denotes an action that is not only imminent but divinely determined and unavoidable. This verse unequivocally links the severe "disaster" not to random misfortune, but directly to the cumulative, covenantal consequences for a people who, despite repeated prophetic warnings, steadfastly refused to change course. Their "stiffened neck" reveals an entrenched spiritual stubbornness, an active choice of rebellion over submission, preventing them from "hearing" or obeying God's truth. This refusal was a deliberate act against His revealed "words," confirming their moral culpability. The judgment is therefore presented as both just and deserved, sealing the fate of Jerusalem and illustrating the profound consequences of unrepentant sin against a holy God.