Bible Strands
Jeremiah 3:24
From our youth, that shameful god has consumed what our fathers have worked for—their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The people of Judah speak in the first person plural to confess their corporate rebellion, acknowledging their continuous disobedience from youth to the present. This confession follows a prophetic indictment that contrasts the deception of the hills with the Lord as the only source of salvation.
The words — The verse centers on בֹּשֶׁת (bo.shet), literally "shameful thing," and יְגִיעַ (ye.gi.a), meaning "toil" or inherited labor. These terms describe how idolatry has actively consumed the legacy, livestock, and descendants that previous generations built.
The thread — The motif of ancestral idolatry and resulting shame runs through Hosea 9:10, Jeremiah 11:13, and Ezekiel 16:61, where the nation's altars and inherited sin are repeatedly condemned. These passages collectively trace the pattern of generational rebellion and the necessity of confronting that shame.
Why it lands — The text states that false worship destroys inherited wealth and family lines, demanding that readers stop minimizing their spiritual debt. It requires a plain acknowledgment of personal and generational sin before any appeal for mercy.
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
For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
Cross-references
- Hosea 9:10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruits of the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to Shame; so they became as detestable as the thing they loved.
- Jeremiah 11:13 Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, O Judah; the altars of shame you have set up—the altars to burn incense to Baal—are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’
- Ezekiel 16:61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of My covenant with you.
- Ezekiel 16:63 so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD.”
- Hosea 2:8 For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.
- Hosea 10:6 Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.