Jeremiah 50:20 meaning summary explained with word-by-word analysis enriched with context, commentary and Cross References from KJV, NIV, ESV and NLT.
Jeremiah 50:20 kjv
In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.
Jeremiah 50:20 nkjv
In those days and in that time," says the LORD, "The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; For I will pardon those whom I preserve.
Jeremiah 50:20 niv
In those days, at that time," declares the LORD, "search will be made for Israel's guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare.
Jeremiah 50:20 esv
In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.
Jeremiah 50:20 nlt
In those days," says the LORD,
"no sin will be found in Israel or in Judah,
for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.
Jeremiah 50 20 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference (Short Note) |
|---|---|---|
| Jer 31:34 | "No longer will they teach their neighbor... for they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest... For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." | New Covenant: complete forgiveness and forgetting of sins. |
| Heb 8:12 | "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." | New Covenant: divine amnesia regarding sin. |
| Heb 10:17 | "Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." | New Covenant: emphasis on complete non-remembrance. |
| Isa 43:25 | "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." | God's sovereign act of blotting out sin. |
| Psa 103:12 | "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." | Complete removal of sin from divine presence. |
| Mic 7:18-19 | "Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity... He will again have compassion... he will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." | God's unique and comprehensive pardon. |
| Eze 36:25-26 | "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities... I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you." | Spiritual cleansing and new heart as a result. |
| Zec 13:1 | "On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity." | Fountain for sin and impurity for Israel/Judah. |
| Col 1:13-14 | "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." | Redemption and forgiveness of sins through Christ. |
| Isa 1:9 | "Unless the LORD Almighty had left us with a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah." | Concept of a reserved remnant for preservation. |
| Isa 10:20-22 | "The remnant of Israel... will lean on the LORD... A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God. Though your people Israel be like the sand by the sea, only a remnant will return." | Affirmation of the remnant's return and salvation. |
| Rom 9:27 | "Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved." | Paul's theological application of the remnant. |
| Rom 11:5 | "So too at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace." | Remnant chosen by grace in present era. |
| Joel 2:32 | "And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls." | Deliverance for those who call on God and are reserved. |
| Jer 30:7-9 | "How awful that day will be!... yet he will be saved out of it... they will serve the LORD their God and David their king." | Future salvation and restored kingship. |
| Eze 37:21-23 | "I will take the Israelites out of the nations... bring them back... I will make them one nation... They will no longer defile themselves with their idols..." | Re-unification and purification of Israel. |
| Amos 9:11 | "In that day I will restore David’s fallen shelter—I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins—and will rebuild it as it used to be." | Restoration of Davidic dynasty/nation. |
| Isa 45:21 | "And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me." | God's exclusive ability to declare and save. |
| Zep 3:15 | "The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm." | Punishment removed, presence of God with the nation. |
| Act 26:18 | "...that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." | Forgiveness as part of the new covenant in Christ. |
| 1 John 1:9 | "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." | Condition and certainty of God's cleansing forgiveness. |
| Isa 60:21 | "Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor." | Righteous people, fulfilling divine purpose. |
Jeremiah 50 verses
Jeremiah 50 20 meaning
Jeremiah 50:20 presents a future declaration of profound divine forgiveness and restoration for the exiles of both Israel and Judah. In an era specifically appointed by the LORD, their accumulated guilt and transgressions will be diligently sought out by God, yet found to be completely absent and untraceable. This absolute removal of sin is solely attributed to God's merciful act of pardon extended to a chosen remnant He preserves from judgment.
Jeremiah 50 20 Context
Jeremiah 50:20 is situated within a longer prophetic oracle against Babylon (Jer 50-51), declaring its imminent downfall. Interspersed with these pronouncements of judgment on Babylon are promises of hope and restoration for Israel and Judah, who were suffering under Babylonian captivity due to their sins. This particular verse comes after a call for Israel and Judah to return to their God (Jer 50:4-5) and promises of protection against their oppressors. The historical context is the period of the Judean exile (late 7th-6th centuries BC), where the nation's guilt weighed heavily. Jeremiah here assures them of a future era not only of physical return but, more significantly, of spiritual cleansing and renewed covenant relationship. This prophecy implicitly counters the despair that their sins were insurmountable and polemically challenges any notion that their gods or human effort could effect such a comprehensive removal of sin.
Jeremiah 50 20 Word analysis
- "In those days, and in that time": (ba-yamim ha-hem u-va-
et ha-hi) – A typical prophetic marker signifying a definite, decisive future era, often with eschatological overtones, that transcends immediate historical events. It emphasizes a special season of divine intervention. This is God's appointed time for a pivotal work of grace, not just a random future moment. - "saith the LORD": (ne'um YHWH) – A strong prophetic declaration affirming the divine origin, authority, and absolute certainty of the message. YHWH, the covenant God of Israel, personally guarantees this outcome.
- "the iniquity of Israel": (`avon Yisrael) – Refers to Israel's deep-seated moral crookedness, inherent guilt, and pervasive bent toward sin, which goes beyond individual acts to national character. "Israel" here likely represents the combined nation, implying comprehensive restoration for all God's people.
- "shall be sought for": (yiqqa`ash) – A passive verbal form implying an intense, diligent, even exhaustive search. This suggests that no stone will be left unturned in God's examination of their past, highlighting the thoroughness of the anticipated cleansing.
- "and there shall be none": (ve`en) – A stark negation. The outcome of the exhaustive search is an absolute absence; no trace, no residue of iniquity will be found.
- "and the sins of Judah": (u-haá¹á¹a'ot Yehudah) – The plural of haá¹á¹a'ah, referring to specific transgressions, concrete acts of rebellion, and missing the mark of God's standard. Paired with "iniquity," this ensures comprehensive coverage of all aspects of sin, from internal corruption to outward deeds, for the southern kingdom.
- "and they shall not be found": (velo
timməṣanah) – Parallel to "and there shall be none," reinforcing the absolute disappearance and untraceability of their specific sins. The negative participle "not" followed by a passive verb emphasizes a definitive, permanent removal from God's sight and reckoning. - "for I will pardon them": (ki` eslah la-hem) – 'Ki' indicates the reason for the non-finding of sin. Salah is a specific theological term for God's unique and sovereign act of forgiveness, meaning "to send away" or "to cover," which nullifies the guilt and debt of sin. This is a divine prerogative, not something humans can achieve.
- "whom I reserve": (
asherashir) – From the root sha'ar, meaning "to remain, to be left over, to spare, to preserve." This highlights the doctrine of the remnant. The forgiveness is not universal, but applied to those whom God, by His sovereign grace, has preserved through judgment. It speaks to God's selective mercy and purpose.
Words-group by words-group analysis
- "In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD": This establishes the entire declaration as a divine, sovereign promise related to a significant future period. It's God's determined timing, not an arbitrary event.
- "the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found": This masterful parallelism employs emphatic negation to underscore the completeness of God's forgiveness. It addresses both internal sin (iniquity) and external sin (sins) for both kingdoms, symbolizing a total cleansing of the reunited people of God. The exhaustive search yielding no results demonstrates a radical, complete removal of all past offenses.
- "for I will pardon them whom I reserve": This phrase clarifies the basis and scope of this extraordinary forgiveness. It is entirely dependent on God's initiative ("I will pardon") and specifically directed towards a chosen segment of the nation ("them whom I reserve"), underscoring God's grace and elective purpose.
Jeremiah 50 20 Bonus section
- The "searching and finding none" imagery implies God's full remembrance of previous transgressions, but His deliberate act of wiping them clean from the divine record and consciousness. It highlights that the justice of God is not bypassed, but satisfied through His work of pardon, making the sins non-existent from a judicial perspective.
- This verse represents a peak in the prophecies concerning God's mercy to His exiled people, elevating the promise from mere physical restoration to an ultimate spiritual re-creation. It assures that the deepest barrier between God and His people—their sin—will be entirely removed.
- The language echoes covenant promises and their ultimate fulfillment, where the curse of sin (Gen 3:17, Deu 28:15) is fully overcome by divine grace, opening the way for an unparalleled new relationship with God, characterized by complete reconciliation and righteousness.
Jeremiah 50 20 Commentary
Jeremiah 50:20 provides an astonishing vista of God's future grace, moving beyond the physical return from Babylonian exile to an ultimate spiritual restoration. It asserts that in a divinely appointed era, God will undertake an exhaustive "search" for the extensive national sins of both Israel and Judah. Yet, remarkably, this search will yield no trace of their former iniquity or transgressions. This isn't mere overlooking, but a comprehensive, decisive, and irreversible act of divine cleansing, rendering their guilt nonexistent in His sight. The bedrock of this miraculous removal of sin is God's sovereign act of pardon (salah), which is exclusively His prerogative. This pardon is extended to "those whom I reserve," indicating a chosen remnant preserved by divine grace. Ultimately, this prophecy finds its deepest fulfillment in the atoning work of Jesus Christ, where, under the terms of the New Covenant, the sins of God's people are truly remembered no more. It offers a powerful message of hope that divine judgment, even for grave offenses, does not preclude God's capacity for complete and unconditional forgiveness for His chosen ones.