Jeremiah 9:13

And the LORD answered, “It is because they have forsaken My law, which I set before them; they have not walked in it or obeyed My voice.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Yahweh speaks in direct response to Jeremiah’s question about why the land lies destroyed and scorched. The divine address identifies the collective nation as the subject of the judgment.

The words — עָזְבָ/ם ('a.ze.Va/m) means "they have forsaken," and תּוֹרָתִ֔/י (to.ra.T/i) means "My law." These lexical anchors establish the abandonment of divine instruction as the explicit cause of the stated devastation.

The thread — The motif of forsaking God’s statutes recurs in 2 Chronicles 7:19, Jeremiah 22:9, and Ezra 9:10. Each citation pairs the rejection of commanded law with tangible communal or national consequences.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge that walking in or obeying the law set before them is a factual condition, not a suggestion. It demands a clear assessment of whether one is following the voice of God or the stubbornness of one’s own heart.

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

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרva/i.Yo.merand/ he said יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahweh עַל־'al-because עָזְבָם֙'a.ze.Va/mhave forsaken/ they אֶת־'et-<obj.>תּ֣וֹרָתִ֔יto.ra.T/ilaw/ my אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich נָתַ֖תִּיna.Ta.tiI set לִפְנֵיהֶ֑םli/f.nei./Hem<to>/ before/ them וְלֹא־ve./lo'-and/ not שָׁמְע֥וּsha.me.'Uthey have listened בְקוֹלִ֖יve./ko.L/ito/ voice/ my וְלֹא־ve./lo'-and/ not הָ֥לְכוּHal.khuthey have walkedבָֽהּ׃Va/hin <the>/ it

King James Version

And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;

Cross-references

2 Chronicles 7:19 But if you turn away and forsake the statutes and commandments I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods,
Jeremiah 22:9 Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”
Ezra 9:10 And now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commandments
Deuteronomy 31:16 And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them.
Psalms 89:30 If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments,
Psalms 119:53 Rage has taken hold of me because of the wicked who reject Your law.
Proverbs 28:4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.
Zephaniah 3:1 Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled!