Jeremiah 16:10

When you tell these people all these things, they will ask you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jeremiah is commanded to deliver God's warning of impending disaster to the people of Judah. The text states they will respond by asking why the LORD has brought such catastrophe and what specific iniquity or sin caused it.

The words — תַגִּיד (ta.Gid) translates literally as "you will tell," and כָּל־הַדְּבָרִים (kol-ha-devarim) means "all the words." These terms establish that the full prophetic message will be spoken before the people's questioning begins.

The thread — The same pattern of demanding a cause for divine punishment appears in Jeremiah 5:19, Deuteronomy 29:24, and 1 Kings 9:8. Each passage records a community asking why the LORD has executed judgment against them or their land.

Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to identify the precise covenant violations that trigger judgment rather than accepting disaster as unexplained. It forces a direct confrontation between the stated cause of punishment and the people's own recorded sins.

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

וְהָיָ֗הve./ha.Yahand/ it will be כִּ֤יkithat תַגִּיד֙ta.Gidyou will tell לָעָ֣םla./'Amto the/ people הַזֶּ֔הha./Zeh<the>/ this אֵ֥ת'et<obj.>כָּל־kol-all הַדְּבָרִ֖יםha./de.va.Rimthe/ words הָאֵ֑לֶּהha./'E.leh<the>/ these וְאָמְר֣וּve./'a.me.Ruand/ they will say אֵלֶ֗יךָ'e.Lei./khato/ you עַל־'al-concerning מֶה֩mehwhat?דִבֶּ֨רdi.Berhas he spoken יְהוָ֤הYah.wehYahweh עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙'a.Lei./nuon/ us אֵ֣ת'et<obj.>כָּל־kol-all הָרָעָ֤הha./ra.'Ahthe/ calamity הַגְּדוֹלָה֙ha./ge.do.Lah<the>/ great הַזֹּ֔אתha./Zot<the>/ this וּמֶ֤הu./Mehand/ what?עֲוֹנֵ֙נוּ֙'a.vo.Ne./nu[is] iniquity/ our וּמֶ֣הu./Mehand/ what?חַטָּאתֵ֔נוּcha.ta.Te./nu[is] sin/ our אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich חָטָ֖אנוּcha.Ta.nuwe have sinned לַֽיהוָ֥הla./Yah.wehto/ Yahweh אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃'e.lo.Hei./nuGod/ our

King James Version

And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?

Cross-references

Jeremiah 5:19 And when the people ask, ‘For what offense has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ You are to tell them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve foreigners in a land that is not your own.’”
Deuteronomy 29:24 So all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’
1 Kings 9:8 And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’
Jeremiah 13:22 And if you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?” It is because of the magnitude of your iniquity that your skirts have been stripped off and your body has been exposed.
Jeremiah 2:35 you say, ‘I am innocent. Surely His anger will turn from me.’ Behold, I will judge you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
Jeremiah 22:8 And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
Hosea 12:8 And Ephraim boasts: “How rich I have become! I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful.”