Jeremiah 5:14 kjv
Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
Jeremiah 5:14 nkjv
Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts: "Because you speak this word, Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them.
Jeremiah 5:14 niv
Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty says: "Because the people have spoken these words, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes.
Jeremiah 5:14 esv
Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts: "Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.
Jeremiah 5:14 nlt
Therefore, this is what the LORD God of Heaven's Armies says: "Because the people are talking like this,
my messages will flame out of your mouth
and burn the people like kindling wood.
Jeremiah 5 14 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah 5:14 | "Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, 'Because you have spoken this word, behold, I will make my words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.'" | |
| Isaiah 11:4 | "...he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked." | Christ's spoken word as judgment |
| Hebrews 4:12 | "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of both soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." | The power and efficacy of God's word |
| Jeremiah 23:29 | "'Is not my word like fire,' declares the Lord, 'and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?'" | Direct parallel of the metaphor |
| Revelation 1:16 | "In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full force." | Christ's word as a weapon |
| John 12:48 | "the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day." | Christ's word as judge |
| Jeremiah 1:12 | "Then the Lord said to me, 'You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.'" | God's certainty in fulfilling His word |
| 2 Thessalonians 2:8 | "and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the radiance of his coming." | Christ's word in defeating evil |
| Psalm 119:105 | "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." | Contrast: the positive aspect of God's word |
| Isaiah 55:11 | "so shall my word that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I intend, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." | The effective power of God's word |
| Jeremiah 5:13 | "The prophets spoke falsely, and the priests ruled at their own will; and my people loved to have it so. But what will you do when the end of the matter comes?" | Context for God's response |
| Hosea 4:6 | "my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" | The consequence of ignoring God's word |
| Malachi 4:1-2 | "For behold, the day is coming, burned like an oven, when the proud and all who do wickedly will become stubble. The day is coming, they will burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch." | God's word as consuming fire |
| Jeremiah 4:3 | "For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, 'Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.'" | Call to repentance before judgment |
| Psalm 2:9 | "You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." | God's destructive power |
| Romans 2:5 | "But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed." | Consequences of rejecting God's word |
| Deuteronomy 32:22 | "For a fire is kindled in my anger, and it burns down to the depths of Sheol." | God's wrath manifested as fire |
| Ephesians 6:17 | "and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." | The word of God as spiritual weapon |
| Zechariah 7:11-14 | Describes how people ignored God's word and the resulting judgment. | Historical example of disobedience and consequence |
| Proverbs 18:21 | "Death and life are in the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." | The power of words, both for good and ill |
Jeremiah 5 verses
Jeremiah 5 14 Meaning
This verse declares that the Word of God will act as a powerful and destructive force against His disobedient people. It will be a source of judgment, like fire and a hammer, to break them and consume them due to their unfaithfulness and sin.
Jeremiah 5 14 Context
Jeremiah 5:1-13 describes the utter corruption and injustice prevalent in Jerusalem and Judah. Despite the city's potential for righteousness, the people, including the prophets and priests, have turned away from God and embraced lies and wickedness. They are blind to their impending doom and complacent in their sin. This verse (5:14) is God's direct response to this pervasive disobedience, illustrating how His spoken word, previously a source of truth and life, will now become an instrument of devastating judgment against them. The prophets had spoken lies, and now God will ensure His true words, delivered through Jeremiah, will consume them like fire, treating them as mere wood.
Jeremiah 5 14 Word analysis
"Therefore" ( וּלְכֵן - u'ləḵen ): This word signifies a direct consequence or logical progression from the preceding statements about the people's actions and God's observation. It connects the sin with the judgment.
"thus" ( כֹּה - kōh ): Indicates a declaration or proclamation from God, specifying the manner of His action.
"says" ( אָמַר - ʼāmar ): The common verb for speaking or declaring, establishing the source of the following statement.
"the Lord" ( יְהוָה - YHWH ): The personal covenant name of God, emphasizing His relational nature and authority as the speaker.
"the God of hosts" ( אֱלֹהֵי הַצְּבָאוֹת - ʼĕlōhê haṣṣəḇāʼōṯ ): This title emphasizes God's omnipotence and His command over heavenly armies. It signifies His power to execute judgment.
"Because" ( עַל־כִּי - ʻal-ḵî ): Introduces the reason or cause for God's pronouncement, directly linking the people's speech to the coming judgment.
"you have spoken" ( דִּבַּרְתֶּם - dibbartem ): Refers to the spoken words of the people, specifically their false prophecies and acceptance of lies as mentioned earlier in the chapter.
"this word" ( הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה - haddāḇār haz-zeh ): Points back to the deceptive pronouncements the people have heard and embraced, especially those coming from the false prophets.
"behold" ( הִנֵּה - hinnêh ): A particle used to draw attention and emphasize the certainty and immediacy of what is about to be declared.
"I will make" ( אֶתֵּן־נָא־בְפִיכֶם - ʼēṯēnnāʼ-nā-ḇəp̄îḵem ): The Hebrew can be rendered "I will put into your mouth," or more idiomatically, "I will make my words... in your mouth." The core idea is God imparting His judgment-laden words.
"my words" ( דְּבָרַי - dǝḇāray ): God's true pronouncements, which in this context will be judgments.
"in your mouth" ( בְּפִיכֶם - bəp̄îḵem ): This phrase can be interpreted in a couple of ways: it might refer to the prophetic office (God putting words into the mouth of Jeremiah to speak), or more directly in this context, God's word becoming the destructive agent against the people's mouths and their sinful words. Given the following imagery, the latter is more prominent.
"fire" ( אֵשׁ - ʼēš ): Symbolizes divine judgment, wrath, purification, and destruction. It’s a consuming force.
"and this people" ( וְאֶת־הָעָם־הַזֶּה - wəʼeṯ-hāʻām-haz-zeh ): Directly identifies the recipients of God's judgment, contrasting with the effectiveness of His word.
"wood" ( עֵץ - ʻêṣ ): Represents something that is combustible, easily consumed by fire. The people are likened to fuel for God's wrath.
"and it shall devour them" ( וַאֲכָלָתָם — wəʼăḵəlāṯām ): The "it" refers to God's word (the fire). This verb implies complete consumption and destruction, highlighting the totality of the judgment.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "Because you have spoken this word...": This is a direct indictment. The people have embraced and spoken lies. Now, God's word, spoken through Jeremiah, will be the agent to "devour" them. The parallel with Jeremiah 23:29 ("Is not my word like fire...") reinforces that God’s word itself, when rejected or sinned against, becomes judgment.
- "...I will make my words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.": This is a powerful metaphor. God's word becomes the fuel for judgment directed at the people, whom He designates as 'wood'. It means their rejection of His truth and their embrace of falsehoods will render them susceptible to His fiery wrath. It’s not just that the word is like fire; God intends for His spoken word to be the instrument of their consumption, implying a direct consequence of their continued sin.
Jeremiah 5 14 Bonus section
This verse powerfully illustrates the principle of divine retribution when God's word is rejected. It foreshadows the Babylonian exile as the ultimate execution of this judgment. The imagery of fire and wood is consistent throughout Scripture, symbolizing both judgment and purification. God’s word, which had sought to nurture and refine them, will instead utterly consume them because of their hardening. This emphasizes that the message of God is not neutral; it acts powerfully according to the disposition of the hearer. This declaration is not a wish, but a promise by God, who declared in Jeremiah 1:12, "I am watching over my word to perform it."
Jeremiah 5 14 Commentary
Jeremiah 5:14 delivers a stark pronouncement of judgment from God to the disobedient people of Judah. Because they have clung to lies and false prophecies, God declares that His own word, now spoken through Jeremiah, will become a consuming fire against them. They, who have refused to be shaped by His truth, will be rendered like dry wood, utterly consumed by the divine fire of judgment. This signifies that the word of God, while life-giving to the faithful, is also a powerful force of destruction against those who reject it and persist in sin. It underscores the absolute efficacy of God’s word to accomplish its purpose, whether that is salvation or condemnation. The pronouncement reflects God's righteous response to persistent rebellion.