Jeremiah 32:23

Verse

They came in and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law. They failed to perform all that You commanded them to do, and so You have brought upon them all this disaster.

American Standard Version (1901)

and they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them.

Bible in Basic English

And they came in and took it for their heritage, but they did not give ear to your voice, and were not ruled by your law; they have done nothing of all you gave them orders to do: so you have made all this evil come on them:

Douay-Rheims 1899

And they came in, and possessed it: but they obeyed not thy voice, and they walked not in thy law: and they did not any of those things that thou didst command them to do, and all these evils are come upon them.

Free Bible Version

They came and took it over, but they didn't do what you said or follow your laws. They didn't do everything you ordered them to do, which is why you've brought all this disaster down on them.

Geneva Bible 1599

And they came in, and possessed it, but they obeyed not thy voyce, neither walked in thy Law: all that thou commaundedst them to doe, they haue not done: therefore thou hast caused this whole plague to come vpon them.

King James (Authorized) Version

And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:

Translation for Translators

Our ancestors came here and conquered this land and started to live in it, but they refused to obey you or to do what you commanded them to do. Because of that, you have caused us to experience all these disasters.

Unlocked Literal Bible

So they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or live in obedience to your law. They did nothing of what you had commanded them to do, so you brought all this disaster on them.

Noah Webster Bible

World English Bible

They came in and possessed it, but they didn’t obey your voice and didn’t walk in your law. They have done nothing of all that you commanded them to do. Therefore you have caused all this evil to come upon them.

Young's Literal Translation

And they come in, and possess it, and they have not hearkened to Thy voice, and in Thy law have not walked, all that which Thou didst lay a charge on them to do they have not done, and Thou dost proclaim [to] them all this evil.

Context

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

²²You gave them this land that You had sworn to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.²³They came in and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law. They failed to perform all that You commanded them to do, and so You have brought upon them all this disaster.²⁴See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see!

Summary

In this verse, Jeremiah acknowledges the greatness and power of God, recognizing His creation of the heavens and the earth. Despite God's mighty works and faithfulness, the people of Israel rebelled against Him and turned to idolatry. Jeremiah's prayer reflects a deep sense of awe and reverence for God's sovereignty, contrasting with the disobedience and unfaithfulness of the Israelites. This verse serves as a reminder of the consequences of forsaking God and the importance of remaining faithful to Him.

Commentary

Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

These wonders of grace which the Lord wrought for His people, Israel requited with base unthankfulness. When they had got into possession of the land, they did not listen to the voice of their God, and did the reverse of what He had commanded. (The Kethib בתרותך might be read as a plural. But since תּורה in the plural is always written elsewhere תּורת (cf. Gen 26:5; Exo 16:28; Exo 18:20; Lev 26:46, etc.), and the omission of the י in plural suffixes is unusual (cf. Jer 38:22), the word rather seems to have been incorrectly written for בּתורתך (cf. Jer 26:4; Jer 44:10, Jer 44:23), i.e., the w seems to have been misplaced. Therefore the Lord brought on them this great calamity, the Chaldean invasion (תּקרא for תּקרה); cf. Jer 13:22, Deu 31:29. With this thought, the prophet makes transition to the questions addressed to the Lord, into which the prayer glides. In Jer 32:24, the great calamity is more fully described. The ramparts of the besieging enemy have come to the city (בּוא with acc.), to take it, and the city is given (נתּנה, prophetic perfect) into the hands of the Chaldeans. "Because of the sword;" i.e., the sword, famine, and pestilence (cf. Jer 14:16; Jer 25:16, etc.) bring them into the power of the enemy. "What Thou spakest," i.e., didst threaten through the prophets, "is come to pass; and, behold, Thou seest it (viz., what has happened), and yet (ואתּה adversative) Thou sayest to me, 'Buy the field,' " etc. The last clause, 'והעיר נ, is a "circumstantial" one, and is not a part of God's address, but is added by Jeremiah in order to give greater prominence to the contrast between the actual state of matters and the divine command regarding the purchase. The prayer concludes with this, which is for men an inexplicable riddle, not (as Ngelsbach thinks) for the purpose of leaving to the reader the solution of the problem, after all aids have been offered him - for Jeremiah would not need to direct his question to God for that purpose - but in order to ask from God an explanation regarding the future. This explanation immediately follows in the word of the Lord, which, from Jer 32:26 onwards, is addressed to the prophet.