Jeremiah 13:10

These evil people, who refuse to listen to My words, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts, and who go after other gods to serve and worship them, they will be like this loincloth—of no use at all.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Yahweh addresses the people of Judah and Jerusalem immediately after instructing Jeremiah to bury and retrieve a ruined linen loincloth. He pronounces judgment on those who have rejected His command.

The words — The Hebrew הַֽמְאֲנִים (ha-me'anim) literally means "those who are refusing," paired with לִשְׁמֹעַ (lishmoa), "to hear," describing the people's active rejection of divine instruction.

The thread — This pattern of rejecting divine speech recurs in Jeremiah 9:14 and Jeremiah 16:12, where Israel follows the stubbornness of their own hearts, while Numbers 14:11 parallels the same refusal to believe and contempt.

Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that persistent rebellion reduces a community to functional uselessness, mirroring the discarded loincloth. It calls for immediate repentance before the stated ruin takes effect.

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

הָעָם֩ha./'Amthe/ people הַזֶּ֨הha./Zeh<the>/ this הָרָ֜עha./Ra'<the>/ wicked הַֽמֵּאֲנִ֣ים׀ha./me.'a.Nimwho/ are refusing לִשְׁמ֣וֹעַli/sh.Mo.a'to/ hear אֶת־'et-<obj.>דְּבָרַ֗יde.va.Ra/iwords/ my הַהֹֽלְכִים֙ha./ho.le.Khimwho/ walk בִּשְׁרִר֣וּתbi/sh.ri.Rutin/ [the] stubbornness of לִבָּ֔םli.Ba/mown heart/ their וַיֵּלְכ֗וּva/i.ye.le.Khuand/ they have walked אַֽחֲרֵי֙'a.cha.Reiafter אֱלֹהִ֣ים'E.lo.Himgods אֲחֵרִ֔ים'a.che.Rimother לְעָבְדָ֖םle./'a.ve.Da/mto/ serve/ them וּלְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֣תu./le./hish.ta.cha.Votand/ to/ bow downלָהֶ֑םla./Hemto <the>/ themוִיהִי֙vi./Hiand/ let it be כָּאֵז֣וֹרka./'e.Zorlike the/ loincloth הַזֶּ֔הha./Zeh<the>/ this אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich לֹא־lo'-not יִצְלַ֖חyitz.Lachit is profitable לַכֹּֽל׃la./Kolfor <the>/ anything

King James Version

This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 9:14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts and gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.”
Jeremiah 16:12 And you have done more evil than your fathers. See how each of you follows the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying Me.
Numbers 14:11 And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people treat Me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in Me, despite all the signs I have performed among them?
2 Chronicles 36:15 Again and again the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to His people through His messengers because He had compassion on them and on His dwelling place.
Jeremiah 3:17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations will be gathered in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. They will no longer follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
Jeremiah 11:7 For from the time I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt until today, I strongly warned them again and again, saying, ‘Obey My voice.’
Jeremiah 13:7 So I went to Perath and dug up the loincloth, and I took it from the place where I had hidden it. But now it was ruined—of no use at all.
Acts 7:51 You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
Ephesians 4:17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
Psalms 78:8 Then they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose heart was not loyal, whose spirit was not faithful to God.