Bible Strands
Jeremiah 11:12
Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to which they have been burning incense, but these gods certainly will not save them in their time of disaster.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks through Jeremiah to the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem as covenant judgment approaches. The message confronts the people immediately before their impending disaster.
The words — The text highlights זָֽעֲקוּ (za.'a.Ku), meaning "they will cry out," and אֱלֹהִים ('E.lo.Him), translated "gods." These terms anchor the verse's declaration of desperate appeal to powerless idols.
The thread — This motif of futile cries to false gods recurs in Deuteronomy 32:37, Jeremiah 2:28, and Judges 10:14. Each passage records the same pattern of idolaters seeking rescue from deities that cannot answer.
Why it lands — The verse demands readers acknowledge that reliance on created substitutes for divine protection yields no rescue. It requires a direct assessment of spiritual allegiance against the reality of judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 32:37 He will say: “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,
- Jeremiah 2:28 But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O Judah.
- Judges 10:14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.”
- 2 Chronicles 28:22 In the time of his distress, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD.
- Isaiah 45:20 Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
- Jeremiah 44:17 Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and good things, and we saw no disaster.