Jeremiah 4 3

Jeremiah 4:3 kjv

For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

Jeremiah 4:3 nkjv

For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: "Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.

Jeremiah 4:3 niv

This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: "Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.

Jeremiah 4:3 esv

For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: "Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

Jeremiah 4:3 nlt

This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Plow up the hard ground of your hearts!
Do not waste your good seed among thorns.

Jeremiah 4 verses

Jeremiah 4 3 Meaning

Jeremiah 4:3 is a divine imperative from the Lord, calling the people of Judah and Jerusalem to a radical spiritual transformation. Using an agricultural metaphor, God commands them to diligently prepare their hearts for Him by removing the hardness and entanglement of sin, likened to "fallow ground" and "thorns." The verse warns against the futility of religious acts or seeking righteousness without first cultivating a genuinely repentant and responsive inner spirit, as efforts sown in an unprepared or compromised heart will ultimately yield no fruit. It is a call for genuine repentance, a deep internal cleansing, rather than superficial outward changes.

Jeremiah 4 3 Context

Jeremiah 4:3 is delivered during a period of grave spiritual declension in Judah, just before the Babylonian exile. The preceding chapters (especially chapters 2 and 3) condemn Judah's pervasive idolatry, spiritual harlotry, and unfaithfulness to God, despite God's repeated calls for them to return. Jeremiah chapter 3, in particular, juxtaposes Judah's greater wickedness with Israel's previous unfaithfulness. The Lord, through Jeremiah, issues an urgent call to national repentance, promising restoration if they turn back to Him (Jer 3:12-18). However, this repentance must be genuine and profound, not superficial or ceremonial. The call to "break up your fallow ground" immediately follows promises of returning and warnings of destruction, underscoring that a true return requires deep inner change. This verse establishes the fundamental spiritual prerequisite for avoiding the impending divine judgment and experiencing true renewal. It speaks to a society steeped in formal religious observance but lacking true devotion and moral integrity.

Jeremiah 4 3 Word analysis

• For thus says the LORD (כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה - koh amar Yahweh): This is a prophetic formula, emphasizing the direct, authoritative, and unchanging nature of the message. It signifies a divine declaration, not merely a human opinion. The message carries the full weight of God's counsel and command.
• to the men of Judah and Jerusalem (אִישׁ יְהוּדָה וִירוּשָׁלַיִם - ish Yehudah v'Yerushalayim): The specific target audience. "Men" (אִישׁ - ish) refers to the populace in general, highlighting that this is a call for all within the covenant community, both the political/religious center (Jerusalem) and the broader kingdom (Judah). It signifies collective responsibility for national sin.
• Break up (נִירוּ - niru): An imperative verb meaning "to plow," "to break ground," or "to cultivate." It denotes a vigorous, intentional, and often difficult action of turning over compacted soil. In this context, it is a spiritual command to actively and decisively remove the hardness and uncultivated nature of their hearts. It is not passive.
• your fallow ground (נִיר - nir): Literally, "unplowed ground," ground that has been left untilled, uncultivated. Such ground often becomes hard, compacted, and overgrown with weeds. Spiritually, it represents a heart that is unreceptive, hardened by sin, neglects God's word, and thus unable to bear righteous fruit. It holds potential but is currently barren. The call is to prepare this ground for productive planting.
• and sow not (וְאַל־תִּזְרְעוּ - ve'al tizre'u): A negative imperative command, "do not sow." It is a warning against misdirected effort and futility. It indicates that any attempt to "sow" (engage in righteous acts, seek spiritual growth) before the ground is prepared is a waste of time and effort.
• among thorns (אֶל־קוֹצִים - el kotzim): Thorns represent elements that choke out and hinder good growth. They symbolize the sins, idolatries, worldly attachments, and distractions that corrupt and suffocate genuine spiritual life and obedience. Sowing "among thorns" means trying to live righteously while still entangled in sinful practices, which will always result in unfruitfulness.

Words-group Analysis:

• "Break up your fallow ground": This phrase functions as a call for deep, internal, spiritual renewal. It's a command to abandon superficiality and ritualism and instead undertake the hard work of self-examination, repentance, and actively removing the spiritual barriers that prevent genuine communion with God and fruitful living. It suggests a transformation from a hardened, neglected state to one of receptiveness and fertility for God's word.
• "and sow not among thorns": This serves as a warning and a guiding principle. It cautions against attempts at external religious performance or partial obedience without a corresponding internal cleansing. It means not wasting spiritual effort by trying to cultivate good spiritual fruit (sowing) while allowing the "thorns" of sin, idolatry, and worldliness to persist. Any such effort would be futile, as the "thorns" would inevitably choke any good that tries to grow. It emphasizes that proper preparation is prerequisite to effective action.

Jeremiah 4 3 Bonus section

The agricultural metaphor used here would have been readily understood by the ancient Israelites, an agrarian society where the preparation of soil was a fundamental and laborious task. The concept of "fallow ground" implied potential productivity if properly worked, but current uselessness due to neglect. This directly addresses the paradox of a people under God's covenant who were nevertheless spiritually barren. The repeated theme of a hardened heart requiring divine intervention or human action to become receptive is a central motif in prophetic literature and is ultimately fulfilled in the New Covenant's promise of a "new heart" and "spirit" where God writes His law upon the heart. This verse serves as a crucial theological anchor, connecting the Old Testament call to inner cleansing with the New Testament emphasis on repentance and spiritual regeneration as prerequisites for genuine faith and fruitful living.

Jeremiah 4 3 Commentary

Jeremiah 4:3 cuts through the superficial religious practices of Judah to demand true heart-level repentance. God's message, conveyed with divine authority, likens their spiritual state to unplowed, neglected "fallow ground," hardened by long-standing sin and overgrown with the "thorns" of idolatry and worldliness. The imperative "Break up your fallow ground" calls for a radical and difficult internal cleansing – tearing up the old patterns, convictions, and practices that have made their hearts resistant to God's word. This is not about outward religious display but deep, inner transformation. The accompanying command "sow not among thorns" highlights the futility of any spiritual effort, prayers, or sacrifices that are attempted without this prior heart preparation. To sow among thorns is to waste one's energy, as the thriving weeds of unrepented sin and worldly entanglement will invariably choke out any seed of righteousness. Therefore, God demands a fundamental shift from spiritual hardness and contamination to a receptive and purified heart, capable of truly hearing and bearing fruit from His word. It underscores that God values a genuinely transformed heart more than external religious observance.