Jeremiah 14:11
The LORD said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people.
English Standard Version (ESV)
All verses
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
Jeremiah 14:11
The LORD said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
God's command to Jeremiah here isn't a blanket prohibition on prayer for the nation, but a specific directive to stop interceding for their temporal prosperity. It reveals that sometimes, to truly seek God's justice and allow for eventual restoration, one must refrain from pleading for the continuation of a present, doomed state. This shows the delicate balance between compassion and acknowledging the consequences of persistent sin.
Jeremiah has been passionately interceding for Judah, lamenting their drought and spiritual barrenness. In response, God delivers a stark command: Jeremiah is forbidden to pray for the people's welfare. This prohibition is not about stifling genuine intercession but signifies that their hardened hearts and persistent sin have sealed a decreed judgment, making pleas for temporal relief futile.
Imagine God telling you, one of His most devoted servants, to stop praying for a group of people. How could that ever be?
This verse marks a deeply somber moment in Jeremiah's ministry. For the third time (Jeremiah 7:16, 11:14), God instructs him not to pray for the 'welfare' or 'good' of His people. This wasn't a casual dismissal; it was a divine declaration about the severity of their sin and the immutability of a judgment that had been set in motion.
The Unchangeable Decree
God's command to Jeremiah wasn't about stifling prayer itself, but about praying for things that were no longer possible. Their exile and the severe punishments they faced were a settled decree. It was like asking a doctor to pray for a patient's recovery after they've already passed away. The prayers for temporal deliverance would be in vain because the foundational decree of punishment for their collective rebellion was fixed.
Not All Prayer Is Forbidden
It's crucial to understand that this prohibition wasn't absolute. Jeremiah could still pray for the people's repentance, for their spiritual good, and for the salvation of the faithful remnant among them. The focus was on averting the specific, decreed temporal punishments that were now inevitable.
What do fasting, sacrifices, and prayers mean to God when the heart behind them is fake?
The verses that follow Jeremiah 14:11 (specifically v. 12) reveal why intercession for their 'good' was forbidden – their worship was hollow.
The Performance of Piety
God laments that even when the people engaged in religious acts like fasting and offering sacrifices, He would not hear or accept them. This wasn't because these acts were inherently wrong, but because they were performed with hypocritical hearts. They were going through the motions of devotion, perhaps even with outward fervor, but their inner disposition was far from God. They were seeking to appease God with rituals without genuine repentance or a sincere turning to Him.
Understand the original words
YHWH · Hebrew Noun
The personal, covenantal name of God in the Old Testament, revealing Him as the self-existent, faithful, and redeeming God of Israel.
palal · Hebrew Verb
In a biblical context, prayer is the act of communicating with God, involving petition, intercession, confession, and adoration, often reflecting a heart aligned with God's will.
shalom · Hebrew Noun
In this context, it refers to peace, completeness, health, safety, and general well-being, often used in relation to the state of God's people.
This command to Jeremiah came at the absolute end of Judah's hope, after repeated warnings and partial exiles, when the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple was imminent or had just occurred. It underscores that even prophetic intercession has limits when God's judgment is final due to persistent, unrepentant sin.
c. 627-586 BC
Jeremiah's Ministry Amidst Crisis
Jeremiah prophesied during a tumultuous period in Judah, warning of impending Babylonian invasion and exile due to the people's persistent sin.
605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar conquers Judah, initiating a series of deportations of its people and treasures to Babylon, including members of the royal family and skilled workers.
c. 600-590 BC
Prophetic Warnings of Doom
Jeremiah issues strong warnings and pleas for repentance, often met with resistance and persecution, as Judah's political and spiritual decline continues.
597 BC
Second Babylonian Deportation
Another major deportation occurs after a rebellion, including King Jehoiachin and many more of Judah's elite, further weakening the kingdom.
This passage shows God directly telling Moses not to intercede for Israel after they made the golden calf, highlighting a pattern where God sometimes restricts even earnest prayer when judgment is due.
Jeremiah 7:16This earlier command to Jeremiah reveals a recurring theme of God forbidding intercession for this particular people, underscoring the severity of their ongoing rebellion.
Jeremiah 11:14Here God again tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people, reinforcing the seriousness of their covenant-breaking and God's predetermined judgment.
Ezekiel 14:14This verse speaks of divine judgment where even righteous individuals like Noah, Daniel, and Job could only save themselves, not the unrighteous, paralleling Jeremiah's situation where intercession is ultimately ineffectual against hardened sin.
Romans 8:26While this verse speaks of the Spirit interceding for us when we don't know how to pray, it contrasts with Jeremiah's command; it shows God's desire for *us* to pray and His provision for that, whereas Jeremiah's prohibition signifies a point of no return for the people.
clarkeJeremiah 14:11: "Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good."
Pray not for this people - They are ripe for destruction, intercede not for them. O, how dreadful is the state of that people in reference to whom the Lord says to his ministers, Pray not for them; or, what amounts nearly to a prohibition, withholds from his ministers the spirit of prayer and intercession in behalf of the people!
calvinJeremiah 14:11-12: "Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good."
When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
Quum jejunaverint, ego non exaudiam ad clamorem eorum, et quum obtulerint sacrificium et oblationem, ego non habebo gratum (idem est verbum, in illis non placebit mihi, non placabor, non ero propitius;…
God's command to Jeremiah here isn't a blanket prohibition on prayer for the nation, but a specific directive to stop interceding for their temporal prosperity. It reveals that sometimes, to truly seek God's justice and allow for eventual restoration, one must refrain from pleading for the continuation of a present, doomed state. This shows the delicate balance between compassion and acknowledging the consequences of persistent sin.
Jeremiah has been passionately interceding for Judah, lamenting their drought and spiritual barrenness. In response, God delivers a stark command: Jeremiah is forbidden to pray for the people's welfare. This prohibition is not about stifling genuine intercession but signifies that their hardened hearts and persistent sin have sealed a decreed judgment, making pleas for temporal relief futile.
Jeremiah has been passionately interceding for Judah, lamenting their drought and spiritual barrenness. In response, God delivers a stark command: Jeremiah is forbidden to pray for the people's welfare. This prohibition is not about stifling genuine intercession but signifies that their hardened hearts and persistent sin have sealed a decreed judgment, making pleas for temporal relief futile.
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Ask a follow-up
Ask Sola things like:
Live chat about Jeremiah 14:11 is available in the Sola app.
God Sees the Heart
Calvin rightly points out that God 'regards the heart, and sincerity alone pleases Him.' The outward show of fasting and sacrifice meant nothing without the accompanying integrity of the heart. Their sin wasn't just in their actions, but in their deep-seated corruption that prevented true worship. God looks beyond the performance to the reality of our inner lives.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Third Deportation
The Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and its Temple, exiling the remaining significant population and effectively ending the Davidic monarchy in Judah.
c. 586-580 BC— this verse
Jeremiah Forbidden to Pray
Amidst the devastation and final destruction of Jerusalem, God explicitly forbids Jeremiah from praying for the people's well-being, signifying the finality of judgment.
"The LORD said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people." — God's command to Jeremiah here isn't a blanket prohibition on prayer for the nation, but a specific directive to stop interceding for their temporal prosperity. It reveals that sometimes, to truly se…