Jeremiah 25:6

Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jeremiah relays God’s warning to Judah and Jerusalem following a prophetic call to abandon evil ways and remain in the land. The moment occurs between an invitation to repentance and a declaration of inevitable judgment for continued disobedience.

The words — תֵּלְכ֗וּ (te.le.Khu) means “you walk,” combined with אַֽחֲרֵי֙ ('a.cha.Rei) “after” to form the literal phrase “you walk after” other gods. לְ/עָבְדָ֖/ם (le./'a.ve.Da/m) translates literally as “to serve them,” specifying the active devotion the warning forbids.

The thread — The command to stop walking after other gods appears in Deuteronomy 6:14 and Deuteronomy 8:19, where it is tied to idolatrous worship and divine testimony. The warning against provoking God through the works of human hands parallels the judgment recorded in 1 Kings 14:22.

Why it lands — The text demands immediate abandonment of idolatrous service to avoid divine harm. It requires the reader to accept that persistent provocation through human-made works triggers irreversible 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

וְאַל־ve./'al-and/ may not תֵּלְכ֗וּte.le.Khuyou walk 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>/ themוְלֹֽא־ve./lo'-and/ not תַכְעִ֤יסוּtakh.'I.suyou must provoke to anger אוֹתִי֙'o.T/i<obj.>/ me בְּמַעֲשֵׂ֣הbe./ma.'a.Sehby/ [the] work of יְדֵיכֶ֔םye.dei./Khemhands/ your וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not אָרַ֖ע'a.Ra'I will do harmלָכֶֽם׃la./Khemto <the>/ you

King James Version

And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 8:19 If you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods to worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish.
Deuteronomy 6:14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you.
1 Kings 14:22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by the sins they committed they provoked Him to jealous anger more than all their fathers had done.
2 Kings 17:35 For the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites and commanded them, “Do not worship other gods or bow down to them; do not serve them or sacrifice to them.
Jeremiah 7:6 if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm,
Jeremiah 35:15 Again and again I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: ‘Turn now, each of you, from your wicked ways, and correct your actions. Do not go after other gods to serve them. Live in the land that I have given to you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me.
Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
Exodus 20:23 You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.
Deuteronomy 13:2 and if the sign or wonder he has spoken to you comes about, but he says, “Let us follow other gods (which you have not known) and let us worship them,”
Deuteronomy 28:14 Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from any of the words I command you today, and do not go after other gods to serve them.