Jeremiah 42:21 kjv
And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you.
Jeremiah 42:21 nkjv
And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, or anything which He has sent you by me.
Jeremiah 42:21 niv
I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the LORD your God in all he sent me to tell you.
Jeremiah 42:21 esv
And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God in anything that he sent me to tell you.
Jeremiah 42:21 nlt
And today I have told you exactly what he said, but you will not obey the LORD your God any better now than you have in the past.
Jeremiah 42 21 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah 42:6 | "whatever the LORD your God says to us, we will obey." | Irony in their declaration |
| Ezekiel 20:25 | "Moreover, I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live;" | Echoes God's judgment |
| Isaiah 30:1-3 | Rebuke of Judah for relying on Egypt | Warning against Egyptian alliance |
| Jeremiah 7:10 | "have you come to my house, which is called by my name, and become a den of robbers?" | Israel's habitual disobedience |
| Jeremiah 13:10 | "This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the stubbornness of their heart..." | Nature of their sin |
| Leviticus 18:30 | "Thus you shall keep My ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were done before you..." | Condition for blessing |
| Romans 1:28 | "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting," | Consequences of rejection |
| 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 | "...and with all deceivable unrighteousness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." | Divine judgment and deception |
| Deuteronomy 28:45 | "Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not serve the LORD your God with gladness and good-heartedness..." | Consequence of disobedience |
| Hosea 4:6 | "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." | Result of spiritual ignorance |
| Jeremiah 44:17 | "But we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouth, to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her, just as we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem." | Their persistent idolatry |
| Psalm 95:10 | "For forty years I was grieved with that generation and said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.'" | Israel's stubbornness |
| Isaiah 6:9-10 | "And He said, 'Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep hearing, but do not understand; Keep seeing, but do not perceive.’ ‘Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, and return and be healed.’" | Isaiah's prophetic commission |
| Jeremiah 5:23-24 | "But these people have a rebellious and stubborn heart; They have revolted and gone away. They do not say in their heart, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God,’ Who gives rain, both early and latter, In the season of the harvest." | The cause of their downfall |
| Amos 5:4 | "For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: 'Seek Me and live.'" | The call to true seeking |
| Jeremiah 44:28 | "Yet a small number who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs.'" | God's word would be proven |
| Luke 6:46 | "But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?" | The hypocrisy of mere profession |
| Acts 1:16 | "...Men and brethren, this Scripture must need be fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spoke before concerning Judas..." | Fulfillment of Scripture |
| Romans 2:5-6 | "But inasmuch as your heart is hard and impenitent, you are treasuring up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each according to his works’:" | Accountability for actions |
| John 3:19-20 | "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." | Choice of darkness over light |
| Ephesians 4:18 | "having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;" | Consequences of hardened hearts |
Jeremiah 42 verses
Jeremiah 42 21 Meaning
The Lord revealed a decision of deep sorrow and judgment regarding the remnants of Judah who, despite God's previous warnings and judgment through Nebuchadnezzar, sought His will in Egypt. This verse states that the Lord gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live, implying a pronouncement of separation and consequence for their disobedience and persistent rebellion.
Jeremiah 42 21 Context
Jeremiah chapter 42 records a critical moment where the remaining leaders and people of Judah, after the fall of Jerusalem, press the prophet Jeremiah for guidance on whether to stay in the land or go to Egypt. They feigned willingness to obey whatever the Lord said. God, through Jeremiah, instructed them not to go to Egypt but to remain in Judah, promising restoration. However, when Jeremiah revealed God's message, they accused him of lying and disregarded the divine counsel, insisting on their plan to migrate to Egypt. This verse occurs after their resolute decision to go to Egypt, implying God's response to their persistent disobedience and rejection of His word. It sets the stage for the subsequent judgment they would face in Egypt.
Jeremiah 42 21 Word Analysis
- And the LORD: Refers to YHWH, the covenant name of God.
- gave: The Hebrew word is "nathan" (נָתַן), meaning to give, put, set, deliver, allot. Here it signifies God's active dispensing of laws.
- them: Refers to the disobedient remnant of Judah who fled to Egypt.
- statutes: The Hebrew word is "chuqqowth" (חֻקּוֹת), plural of "chuq" (חֹק), meaning statutes, ordinances, prescriptions, laws, boundaries.
- that were not good: Implies statutes that were not beneficial, or would lead to destruction, not prosperity. This contrasts with God's true statutes designed for life.
- and ordinances: The Hebrew word is "misphatim" (מִשְׁפָּטִים), plural of "mishpat" (מִשְׁפָּט), meaning judgments, legal decisions, justice, customs.
- by which they could not live: Signifies ordinances that offered no true life or sustenance, leading to spiritual and physical death or ruin. This implies a separation from divine life-giving power.
Words-group analysis
- statutes that were not good, and ordinances by which they could not live: This phrase encapsulates God's judgment. It’s not that God literally gave wicked laws, but rather He, in His sovereign decree, allowed them to be subject to divine pronouncements that would result in their ruin because they chose to reject His life-giving commands and followed their own rebellious path, even to Egypt. It parallels the concept in Ezekiel 20:25 and Romans 1:28.
Jeremiah 42 21 Bonus Section
This verse speaks to a critical theological concept: God's sovereign permissive will in response to human sin. While God's character is inherently good and His commandments lead to life, He can, in judgment, allow people to walk in paths that are detrimental, effectively giving them over to the natural consequences of their choices. This is not God authoring evil, but rather judicially allowing the "statutes" of sin and disobedience to have their full, destructive effect. The echoes of this judgment are seen in Elijah’s mockery of the prophets of Baal, demonstrating that the false gods offered nothing beneficial, only leading to ruin (1 Kings 18). The chosen people, by seeking life apart from God’s appointed place and command, chose ordinances that led away from life itself.
Jeremiah 42 21 Commentary
This verse signifies God's response to persistent rebellion. After demanding divine guidance, the people of Judah rejected it, clinging to their own plans. God, in His sovereignty, "gave" them laws that were ultimately destructive, not because these laws were inherently evil, but because they represented the consequence of their estrangement from God's will. Their rejection of God’s statutes led to ordinances that sealed their demise. Their choice led them down a path that offered no true life, highlighting that obedience to God’s word is the path to genuine life, while defiance leads to ruin. They sought refuge in Egypt, but God's word proved that their reliance on a foreign power and their continued idolatry would only bring further judgment.