Jeremiah 7 20

Jeremiah 7:20 kjv

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

Jeremiah 7:20 nkjv

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place?on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will burn and not be quenched."

Jeremiah 7:20 niv

"?'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place?on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land?and it will burn and not be quenched.

Jeremiah 7:20 esv

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched."

Jeremiah 7:20 nlt

So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "I will pour out my terrible fury on this place. Its people, animals, trees, and crops will be consumed by the unquenchable fire of my anger."

Jeremiah 7 verses

Jeremiah 7 20 Meaning

The Lord's anger burns fiercely, consuming the people as judgment for their actions. Their devotion in the Temple is hollow and without genuine repentance. God's intended response to their sin is not merely fiery destruction but a profound turning of His face away from them, signifying His withdrawal of favor and protection.

Jeremiah 7 20 Context

This verse is part of Jeremiah's broader prophecy delivered at the entrance of the Temple. The people of Judah were falsely relying on the Temple as a guarantee of God's protection, despite their widespread idolatry, injustice, and corruption. Jeremiah is commanded to stand and preach this message, directly challenging their superficial religiosity. The immediate context highlights their perceived security versus God's impending judgment. The historical setting is likely the period before the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, when Judah’s spiritual state was in severe decline.

Jeremiah 7 20 Word Analysis

• וְהִנֵּה (vehinnah): "and behold," – A common introductory particle emphasizing what is about to be said, drawing attention to the severity of God's declaration.
• חֲרוֹן (charon): "anger," "fury," – Rooted in a sense of burning, intense displeasure. God's emotional response to sin, not arbitrary, but righteous indignation.
• אַפִּ֞י (appi): "my anger" (plural of 'aph') – 'Appayim' (nostrils) is also related to anger, often associated with a snorting, forceful expression of wrath. Here, it intensifies the degree of God's fury.
• וְחֵמָתִ֞י (vehēmatî): "and my wrath" – Synonymous with anger, but often implying a hotter, more potent, and potentially consuming form of God's displeasure. It underscores the devastating nature of the impending judgment.
• שְׁפוּכָה (shfukhah): "poured out" – Evokes the image of a liquid being emptied from a container, signifying an overflowing and complete unleashing of God's anger.
• עַל־הַמָּק֧וֹם (al-hammaqōm): "upon this place" – Refers specifically to the Temple, but by extension, Jerusalem and the land of Judah, emphasizing the judgment falling on a specific, consecrated yet corrupted location.
• וְעַל־הָאָדָ֛ם (ve'al-ha'ādhām): "and upon the man," – Not just the individual, but humankind, specifically the people of Judah, as inhabitants of this place.
• וְעַל־בְּהֵמ֖וֹת (ve'al-bəhēmōth): "and upon the beasts," – The judgment extends to the animal life within the land, indicating the totality of the devastation that would ensue.
• וְעַל־עֲצֵ֥י (ve'al-'atsēy): "and upon the trees" – Extending the judgment to plant life, showing that even nature will suffer from God's wrath against human sin.
• הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה (hassāhēdhē): "of the field," – Specifies the agricultural and natural elements, highlighting the land's barrenness following God's judgment.
• וְעַל־פְּרִ֣י (ve'al-pərî): "and upon the fruit" – The produce of the land, signifying economic and sustenance-related ruin.
• הָאֲדָמָ֑ה (hā'ădhāmāh): "of the ground." – Reinforces the totality of the destruction upon the very earth of their inheritance.
• וּבִעֲרָה (uv'erah): "and it shall burn," – A strong verb indicating consumption by fire, suggesting a consuming and destructive judgment.
• וְלֹ֖א (vēlō'): "and none" – Absolute negation.
• תִכְבֶּֽה (tikhbeh): "shall quench it." – Impossible to extinguish. The divine wrath is presented as an unquenchable fire, emphasizing its inescapable and unstoppable nature.

Words Group Analysis:

• "my anger and my wrath shall be poured out" (חֲרוֹן אַפִּ֞י וְחֵמָתִ֞י שְׁפוּכָה - charon appi vehēmatî shfukhah): This strong pairing of "anger" and "wrath" with the imagery of being "poured out" emphasizes the absolute and complete outpouring of God's displeasure upon the covenant-breaking people and their land.
• "upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground" (עַל־הַמָּק֧וֹם וְעַל־הָאָדָ֛ם וְעַל־בְּהֵמ֖וֹת וְעַל־עֲצֵ֥י הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה וְעַל־פְּרִ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֑ה - al-hammaqōm ve'al-ha'ādhām ve'al-bəhēmōth ve'al-'atsēy hassāhēdhē ve'al-pərî hā'ădhāmāh): This extensive list signifies the totality of the destruction. God’s judgment encompasses not just the people, but their entire environment – human life, animal life, plant life, and the very sustenance derived from the land, indicating comprehensive devastation.
• "it shall burn, and none shall quench it" (וּבִעֲרָה וְלֹ֖א תִכְבֶּֽה - uv'erah vēlō' tikhbeh): This concluding phrase underscores the irremediable and unstoppable nature of God's fiery judgment. Once unleashed, it cannot be contained or extinguished by any human effort or intervention.

Jeremiah 7 20 Bonus Section

This verse highlights the concept of God’s active involvement in history and His just retribution for sin. The imagery of fire, often associated with God's presence and purification (e.g., the burning bush, Sinai, the Holy Spirit as fire), here represents destructive judgment. It also underscores the interconnectedness of sin and its impact, demonstrating that moral corruption in humanity affects the entire created order that God has entrusted to them. The refusal to "quench" the fire emphasizes the sovereignty of God in His judgments; His wrath cannot be appeased by anything less than the complete execution of His judicial will, unless met with genuine repentance and obedience which was absent here. The failure to heed this warning is precisely what led to the Babylonian exile, a period where the land lay desolate and God’s presence seemed withdrawn.

Jeremiah 7 20 Commentary

Jeremiah 7:20 is a potent declaration of divine judgment against Judah's apostasy. Despite the people's outward devotion in the Temple, their hearts were far from God, filled with idolatry and injustice. God's "anger" and "wrath" are not expressions of petty emotion, but the righteous response to covenantal betrayal and moral corruption. The "pouring out" signifies a complete and overwhelming visitation of judgment. The comprehensive scope of the judgment, affecting "man, and beast, and trees, and fruit," illustrates that the consequence of sin permeates all of creation in the sphere of human dominion. The inability to "quench" the fire speaks to the inevitability and finality of this divinely appointed judgment. It's a severe warning against placing false hope in ritual or location, instead of true repentance and obedience. This serves as a prelude to the physical destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians.