Bible Strands
Jeremiah 36:24
Yet in hearing all these words, the king and his servants did not become frightened or tear their garments.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports that King Jehoiakim and his court officials listened to the read scroll of Jeremiah’s prophecies. This moment occurs immediately after Jehoiakim begins cutting and burning the scroll in a firepot.
The words — The Hebrew phrase פָחֲדוּ וְלֹא קָרְעוּ (pachaḏû wə-lōʾ qāraʿû) literally means "they were not afraid and did not tear." It records the king’s officials refusing the customary physical responses to divine warning.
The thread — This hardened response contrasts with the fearful reaction of Jeremiah’s scribe and officials in Jeremiah 36:16 and the penitent tearing of garments by King Ahab in 1 Kings 21:27. The biblical pattern consistently links garment-tearing with fear and repentance before God’s word.
Why it lands — The verse establishes that exposure to scripture does not guarantee a repentant heart. It requires the reader to confront whether their own hearing of divine warning produces humility or defiant indifference.
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
Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 36:16 When they had heard all these words, they turned to one another in fear and said to Baruch, “Surely we must report all these words to the king.”
- Psalms 36:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes.
- 1 Kings 21:27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly.
- 2 Kings 19:1 On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.
- Psalms 64:5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say.
- Isaiah 36:22 Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they relayed to him the words of the Rabshakeh.
- Jonah 3:6 When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
- Genesis 37:29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes,
- 2 Kings 22:11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes
- 2 Chronicles 34:19 When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes