Bible Strands
Jeremiah 44:16
“As for the word you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you!
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — A large assembly of Jewish exiles in Egypt and Pathros directly refuses Jeremiah’s prophetic message in Jeremiah 44:16. This refusal occurs before the group details their reasons for continuing idolatry in the subsequent verses.
The words — The verb דִּבַּ֥רְתָּ (di.Bar.ta) literally means "you have spoken," highlighting the prophetic declaration that is being rejected. The phrase אֵינֶ֥/נּוּ שֹׁמְעִ֖ים ('ei.Ne./nu sho.me.'Im) translates literally as "not we [are] about to listen," marking a definitive refusal to comply.
The thread — This stance mirrors the outright rejection of divine authority found in Job 21:14 and Exodus 5:2, where individuals and rulers declare they will not obey God’s voice. It also aligns with the New Testament warning in Luke 19:27 regarding those who refuse to submit to Christ’s rule.
Why it lands — The text documents a conscious choice to prioritize human vows over prophetic correction. It asks the reader to identify where they similarly place their own declared preferences above divine instruction.
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
As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee.
Cross-references
- Luke 19:27 And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”
- Job 21:14 Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.
- Exodus 5:2 But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
- Job 15:25 For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,
- Psalms 2:3 “Let us break Their chains and cast away Their cords.”
- Psalms 73:8 They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.
- Isaiah 3:9 The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves.
- Jeremiah 8:6 I have listened and heard; they do not speak what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, asking, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone has pursued his own course like a horse charging into battle.
- Jeremiah 8:12 Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse, says the LORD.
- Jeremiah 11:8 Yet they would not obey or incline their ears, but each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant I had commanded them to follow but they did not keep.”