Jeremiah 50:20

In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, a search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for Judah’s sins, but they will not be found; for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The LORD speaks through Jeremiah to announce a future moment of judgment and restoration following the fall of Babylon. The declaration addresses the exiled remnant of Israel and Judah as God prepares to vindicate them after their national collapse.

The words — The text highlights יְבֻקַּ֞שׁ (ye.vu.Kash), meaning "it will be sought," paired with the declaration that Israel’s guilt and Judah’s sins will yield no results. This verb underscores a definitive divine search that concludes with total clearance.

The thread — The theme of erased guilt and preserved remnant echoes Micah 7:19’s casting of sins into the depths and Jeremiah 31:34’s promise of remembered-no-more transgressions. Isaiah 1:9 also reinforces the motif of God sparing a faithful remnant rather than wiping out the nation entirely.

Why it lands — The verse demands acknowledgment that divine forgiveness is an active, completed work rather than a human achievement. It requires the reader to trust that God’s preservation of a remnant rests solely on His decisive pardon.

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

In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.

Cross-references

Micah 7:19 He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.
Jeremiah 31:34 No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
Isaiah 1:9 Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.
Isaiah 43:25 I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
Psalms 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Romans 8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
Hebrews 10:17 Then He adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
Isaiah 44:22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
Numbers 23:21 He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of the King is among them.
Romans 11:26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob.