Bible Strands
Jeremiah 44:20
Then Jeremiah said to all the people, both men and women, who were answering him,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah addresses the men and women of Judah who are actively answering him with defenses of their idolatry. This confrontation occurs immediately after the women claim their husbands knew about and participated in their worship of the Queen of Heaven.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיֹּאמֶר (va.yo.mer) literally means "and he said," marking the prophet’s formal shift to direct address. The phrase כָּל־הָעָם (kol-ha-'am) translates to "all the people," emphasizing that his warning extends to the entire community rather than a single faction.
The thread — The pattern of a prophet addressing a mixed group of men and women in corporate judgment appears in the immediate context of Jeremiah 44:19 and 44:21, where accountability for incense and drink offerings spans the whole population. This structural echo reinforces the biblical theme that communal sin requires a unified prophetic response.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader acknowledge that spiritual rebellion is a collective enterprise, not an isolated personal choice. It asks the reader to stop treating divine warning as a private matter and instead face the full scope of accountability presented in the prophetic address.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,