Jeremiah 6:20 kjv
To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.
Jeremiah 6:20 nkjv
For what purpose to Me Comes frankincense from Sheba, And sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me."
Jeremiah 6:20 niv
What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me."
Jeremiah 6:20 esv
What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
Jeremiah 6:20 nlt
There's no use offering me sweet frankincense from Sheba.
Keep your fragrant calamus imported from distant lands!
I will not accept your burnt offerings.
Your sacrifices have no pleasing aroma for me."
Jeremiah 6 20 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah 6:20 | "But ye are not able to profit yourselves thereof" | Jeremiah 12:2 (idolatry) |
| Isaiah 1:11-15 | "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?" | Isaiah 66:3 (hollow worship) |
| Amos 5:21-23 | "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell your solemn assemblies." | Amos 4:4-5 (ritualism) |
| Psalm 50:13 | "Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?" | Psalm 51:16-17 (true worship) |
| Matthew 23:23 | "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" | Matthew 9:13 (mercy desire) |
| Mark 7:6 | "He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites..." | Mark 12:33 (love God) |
| John 4:23-24 | "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth..." | 1 Samuel 15:22 (obedience) |
| Hebrews 10:4 | "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." | Acts 10:34-35 (impartial God) |
| James 2:14-17 | "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works?" | James 1:22 (doers of the word) |
| Psalm 40:6 | "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened..." | Micah 6:6-8 (justice, mercy) |
| Isaiah 58:6 | "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness..." | Isaiah 29:13 (lips and heart) |
| Hosea 6:6 | "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." | Hosea 10:2 (divided heart) |
| Matthew 6:16 | "Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance..." | 1 Corinthians 10:31 (all for God) |
| 1 Samuel 16:7 | "For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." | Proverbs 21:27 (unjust gains) |
| Jeremiah 7:21-23 | "Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh." | Jeremiah 7:23 (obedience key) |
| Deuteronomy 6:5 | "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." | Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (love God) |
| Romans 12:1 | "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God..." | Ephesians 5:1 (imitators of God) |
| Hebrews 13:15 | "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." | 1 Peter 2:5 (spiritual sacrifices) |
| Malachi 1:11 | "For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles..." | Malachi 3:3 (purified offerings) |
| John 14:6 | "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life..." | Hebrews 11:6 (faith pleases God) |
Jeremiah 6 verses
Jeremiah 6 20 Meaning
This verse is a lament and condemnation of Judah's hypocritical worship. God rejects their offerings because their hearts are far from Him, indicating their religious practices are a mere facade, not genuine devotion.
Jeremiah 6 20 Context
Jeremiah chapter 6 depicts a grim prophecy concerning the impending destruction of Jerusalem and Judah due to their persistent idolatry and rebellion against God. The prophet Jeremiah is tasked with delivering God's judgment. This specific verse (6:20) is part of a broader message of divine rejection of the people's religious rituals. The inhabitants of Judah believed their sacrifices and observance of religious festivals would protect them from the prophesied Babylonian invasion. However, God declares through Jeremiah that these offerings are unacceptable because the nation's heart is far from Him. This spiritual disconnect invalidates their outward piety.
Jeremiah 6 20 Word Analysis
For: This is a preposition introducing the reason for God's rejection of their offerings. It links the following statement to a previous unspoken reason, likely the sinfulness of the people.
Burnt offering: The Hebrew word is "ʿōlah" (עֹלָה), meaning "that which goes up." It was a primary sacrificial offering entirely consumed by fire on the altar, symbolizing total consecration to God.
Mine: A possessive pronoun indicating ownership. God refers to "my offerings" or "my sacrifices," asserting His ownership of their worship practices.
pleasant: The Hebrew word is "rāṣôn" (רָצוֹן), meaning "acceptance," "pleasure," or "good will." God finds no pleasure or acceptance in their burnt offerings.
Neither: A negative conjunction, reinforcing the absence of pleasure. It connects to the implied negative statement about the sacrifices.
will I: Indicates a future action, or rather, the absence of a future acceptance.
accept: The Hebrew verb is "ṯərāṣ" (תרצה), meaning "to be pleased with," "to accept," or "to favor." God will not be pleased with or favor their sacrifices.
Your: A possessive pronoun referring to the people of Judah.
solemn assembly: The Hebrew term is "miqrā qōdeš" (מקרא קדש), literally "holy convocation" or "sacred assembly." This refers to religious festivals or convocations.
I hate: The Hebrew verb "śānaʾtî" (שָׂנַאְתִּי) signifies strong aversion and detestation. God detests their gatherings.
also: A conjunction introducing an additional negative statement, highlighting the totality of God's rejection.
even: Emphasizes the totality, extending the rejection to all their religious activities.
your: Possessive pronoun, again referring to Judah.
Sabbath days: The Hebrew word is "šabbĕtōt" (שבתות), plural of "šāḇūṯ" (שבת), meaning "Sabbath." While the Sabbath was a divine institution, its observance here is marred by hypocrisy.
your: Possessive pronoun.
appointed feasts: The Hebrew term is "moʿēd" (מוֹעֵד), meaning "appointed time" or "festival." This encompasses all their prescribed feasts.
I cannot away with: This is a somewhat archaic English phrasing from the KJV. It conveys intense dislike and inability to bear something. The Hebrew conveys utter abhorrence. The literal sense is closer to "I cannot bear them."
Jeremiah 6 20 Bonus Section
The verse emphasizes God's sovereign right to determine the conditions of acceptable worship. It rejects the notion that mere participation in religious ceremonies guarantees divine favor. The Hebrew idiom "I cannot away with" conveys a profound depth of divine abhorrence for insincere worship. This principle resonates throughout scripture, highlighting the importance of obedience proceeding from a loving and repentant heart. It teaches that religious activities, if disconnected from the pursuit of righteousness and the love of God, become an offense rather than a pleasing aroma. The chosen feasts and sabbaths were meant to be expressions of devotion, but when the people's hearts remained distant, these sacred times became occasions of rebellion.
Jeremiah 6 20 Commentary
Jeremiah 6:20 underscores a fundamental principle of biblical worship: outward religious activity is worthless without inward sincerity. God, the ultimate discerner of hearts, looks beyond the rituals to the true disposition of the worshipper. Judah's extensive sacrifices and observance of festivals were an elaborate charade, masking a corrupt heart filled with idolatry, injustice, and defiance. The abundance of offerings, far from appeasing God, actually aggravated His displeasure because they were offered with impure motives. This verse serves as a potent reminder that religious acts divorced from a genuine love for God and a transformed life are unacceptable. True worship is a holistic expression of devotion involving the entire being – heart, soul, and mind. God's prophetic message here anticipates Jesus' own teachings about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who meticulously observed religious forms while neglecting the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. The ultimate fulfillment is found in Christ, who offers Himself as the perfect, acceptable sacrifice, enabling believers to worship God in spirit and in truth.