Jeremiah 12:16

Translations

Modern

And if they will diligently learn the ways of My people and swear by My name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives’—just as they once taught My people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among My people.

Traditional

And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people.

Literal

And it will come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘YHWH lives,’ as—they taught My people to swear by Baal—that they will learn they will be built in the midst of My people.

Latin

Et erit: si eruditi didicerint vias populi mei, ut jurent in nomine meo: Vivit Dominus! sicut docuerunt populum meum jurare in Baal, ædificabuntur in medio populi mei.

Original

Hebrew

English

And if they will diligently learn the ways of My people and swear by My name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives’—just as they once taught My people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among My people.

Notes

Jeremiah 12:16

To experience God's compassion (Jeremiah 12:15), people from other nations needed to stop worshiping idols and learn God's ways. This change required publicly accepting the Sinai covenant, which included saying, as surely as the Lord lives. They also needed to reject any promises made in Baal's name, which had led Israelites to worship foreign idols.

Jeremiah 12:14–17

The Lord explained an important part of Jeremiah's mission (see Jeremiah 1:10).

Theme notes and profiles

Social Chaos in Judges The Collapse of Culture

Events

Prophecies of Jeremiahc. 628 BC

Related verses

Jeremiah 4:2
…and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.”
Zephaniah 1:5
…those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,
Joshua 23:7
So you are not to associate with these nations that remain among you. You must not call on the names of their gods or swear by them, and you must not serve them or bow down to them.
Jeremiah 3:17
At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations will be gathered in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. They will no longer follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
Deuteronomy 10:20–21
You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
Zechariah 2:11
“On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you.
Isaiah 65:16
Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth, and whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles will be forgotten and hidden from My sight.
Ephesians 2:19–22
Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,
Psalm 106:35–36
…but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.
Isaiah 49:6
He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
Jeremiah 5:2
Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ they are swearing falsely.”
Isaiah 56:5–6
I will give them, in My house and within My walls, a memorial and a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

Parallels

Amos 1:1–15

People

Baal: Canaanite god, "Lord/God of the Covenant"

Glossary

Bible, Manuscripts and Text of the (Old Testament) Book of Jeremiah Jeremiah (Person) Lamentations, Book of Oath

Topics

Blessing: Contingent Upon Obedience Oath: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To Prophecies Concerning Israel: Prophecies Concerning of Blessing and Restoration

Jeremiah 12:16

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