Jeremiah 6:18 kjv
Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.
Jeremiah 6:18 nkjv
Therefore hear, you nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them.
Jeremiah 6:18 niv
Therefore hear, you nations; you who are witnesses, observe what will happen to them.
Jeremiah 6:18 esv
Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
Jeremiah 6:18 nlt
"Therefore, listen to this, all you nations.
Take note of my people's situation.
Jeremiah 6 18 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah 6 | Thus says the LORD: "Stand by the ways and look, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'" | Directly echoes their stubborn rejection |
| Jeremiah 6 | "Therefore, O nations, come and hear, and know, O congregations, what is against them." | Invites witness to coming judgment |
| Jeremiah 6 | "Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their planning, because they have not listened to my words, nor to my law; they have rejected it." | Explicitly states the cause and nature of disaster |
| Isaiah 3 | For Jerusalem has fallen, and Judah is in disorder, because their tongues and their deeds are against the LORD, provoking the eyes of his glory. | Connects falling cities with opposing God's word |
| Hosea 5 | "The princes of Judah are like those who move the landmark; I will pour out my wrath on them like water." | Highlights the leadership's sin contributing to wrath |
| Ezekiel 22 | "The inhabitants of Jerusalem have both wronged the people and robbed them. They have oppressed the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. They have despised my holy things. They have profaned my Sabbaths." | Lists transgressions leading to judgment |
| Jeremiah 22 | For thus says the LORD concerning the house of the king of Judah: "You are but Gilead, the head of Lebanon; yet I will make you a wilderness, cities without inhabitants." | God's judgment on leadership leads to desolation |
| Deuteronomy 28 | "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They will come out by one way against you and flee by seven ways. The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you." (contrast with the curse) | Shows the consequence of obedience vs. disobedience |
| Jeremiah 5 | "Did you not know this? Indeed you did not. Thus says the LORD of hosts: ... now therefore, go, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am shaping disaster against you, and devising a plan against you. Turn back, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.'" | Parallel theme of God's devising disaster due to their ways |
| Jeremiah 13 | "But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, and overflow with tears, because the LORD's flock has been taken captive." | Expresses God's sorrow over coming judgment due to disobedience |
| Micah 3 | And I said, "Hear now, you heads of Jacob and princes of the house of Israel! Is it not yours to know justice? You who hate the good and love the evil, who flay them from their skin, and from their flesh their prey." | Condemns the leadership for injustice, a common theme leading to judgment |
| 2 Chronicles 36 | "The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers, rising up early and sending, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, till there was no remedy." | Describes the persistent rejection of God's messengers leading to irreversible wrath |
| Jeremiah 25 | "And when seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit upon the king of Babylon and upon that nation, says the LORD, their iniquity, and upon the land of the Chaldeans, and I will make it a perpetual desolation." | Foreshadows the judgment on Babylon itself, showing a pattern of divine retribution |
| Romans 11 | For if God did not spare the natural branches, but left them in, consider also that he did not spare the natural branches. | Points to Israel's pruning due to unbelief |
| Matthew 23 | "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!" | Jesus laments Jerusalem's rejection of prophets, echoing Jeremiah's theme |
| 1 Corinthians 10 | Now these things occurred as examples to us, that we might not crave evil even as they did. | Suggests that Israel's judgment serves as a warning to believers |
| Acts 7 | "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute, and they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the just one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become." | Stephen rebukes the Jewish leaders for persecuting prophets, the very reason for judgment in Jeremiah's time |
| Jeremiah 7 | But because of all these things, this is what the LORD says: ... Therefore, just as I punished Shiloh, so I will punish this house which is called by my name, in which you trust, and the place that I gave to you and to your fathers; I will even cast you out of my sight. | Connects judgment to specific place and history of disobedience |
| Leviticus 26 | "If you do not obey me and do not do all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you do not do them, but break my covenant, I also will do this to you: I will visit you with terror, with phthisis and with fever that consume the eyes and make the soul waste away. And you shall sow your seed in vain, and your enemies shall eat it." | Lists consequences of disobedience which include enemy oppression |
| Deuteronomy 4 | "But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul." | Offers hope for seeking God even after judgment |
Jeremiah 6 verses
Jeremiah 6 18 Meaning
This verse states that God will bring nations against Judah because they have not listened to His commands or prophecies, indicating a coming judgment through foreign invasion and conquest.
Jeremiah 6 18 Context
Jeremiah chapter 6 is part of a larger prophetic indictment against Judah and Jerusalem. The people have persistently ignored God's warnings and commandments, indulging in idolatry, injustice, and false security. Previous verses in this chapter speak of a spiritual watchfulness and the importance of clinging to the "old paths," representing faithfulness to God. However, the people have refused to listen. This verse directly follows their rejection, signifying the inevitable consequence: God will unleash judgment by bringing enemy nations against them. Historically, this would have referred to the imminent threat of the Babylonian Empire during Jeremiah's ministry.
Jeremiah 6 18 Word Analysis
- Lō hā'āzĕnû (לֹא הֶאֱזַנּוּ): "you have not listened." From the root 'āzan (אָזַן), meaning "to hearken" or "to give ear." It signifies a deliberate refusal to pay attention or heed divine instruction. This isn't mere absence of hearing, but active disregard.
- lĕmôqēš (לְמֹקֶשׁ): "to a snare" or "to a trap." It implies that God's word and guidance are designed for their benefit and protection, but by rejecting them, they are walking into a self-imposed trap.
- hōlĕḵâ (הוֹלְכָה): "walking" or "going." Indicates movement and direction. By not heeding God, they are metaphorically walking down a path of destruction.
- kāl nā qāl (כָּל נָקָל): "all the law/instruction," and "qāl" (קָל) literally "light" or "slight," implying they held God's Law in contempt, viewing it as insignificant. The combination signifies treating the entirety of God's commands with dismissive disregard.
- pî (פִּי): "my mouth" or "my speaking." Refers to God's direct pronouncements.
- nĕ’ĕzĕrû (נְאֶזְרוּ): "are girded" or "prepared for war." The nations are likened to a military force actively preparing to attack, a consequence of Judah's inaction.
Jeremiah 6 18 Bonus Section
The phrase "made light of" is significant. It suggests a spiritual pride and a devaluation of God's revealed will, akin to the folly of thinking one can mock divine authority without repercussion. This pattern of dismissing God's prophets and their message is a recurring theme throughout Israel's history, culminating in the ultimate rejection of the Messiah, which Jesus lamented. The concept of nations being "girded" or prepared for judgment highlights God's sovereignty, not only in initiating the judgment but also in utilizing earthly powers as instruments of His discipline. This illustrates God working through history to effect His purposes.
Jeremiah 6 18 Commentary
This verse is a stern declaration of divine justice. God's warnings, delivered through prophets like Jeremiah, were not idle threats. The people of Judah had been offered paths of righteousness, a way of peace, but their stubborn refusal to heed the Law and God’s spoken word meant they were destined for destruction. They treated God's commands as trivial ("made light of"). The consequence is vividly described: nations will be summoned, effectively girded for battle, to bring the disaster they invited by their disobedience. This verse underscores the principle that rejecting God's truth leads to unavoidable, catastrophic consequences.