Jeremiah 16:12
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This verse highlights that the people's sin wasn't just following their fathers' missteps, but actively pursuing their own evil desires, making them even worse. The original language points to this "evil heart" as a stubborn will, a deliberate refusal to listen, rather than simply ignorance. This wasn't just a mistake; it was a conscious, stubborn rebellion against God's voice.
and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jeremiah has been instructed by God to declare impending judgment, and the people are about to ask why such disaster is coming upon them. In response, God explains that their sin is worse than that of their ancestors, who followed idols and ignored His law. This generation is even more stubborn, walking according to their own wicked desires and refusing to listen to God at all.
Jeremiah confronts his people with a harsh reality: they aren't just repeating the sins of the past, they're making them worse. What does it mean to 'do worse' than previous generations?
The prophet declares that the current generation has surpassed their ancestors in wickedness. This isn't just about committing the same sins, but doing so with a deeper rebellion. While their fathers may have strayed, this generation walks 'every one after the stubborn, evil will.' It highlights a collective refusal to listen to God's warnings, a persistent hardening of hearts that intensifies their offense against God. Their sin is not just in action, but in the unyielding disposition of their hearts.
The verse points to a specific inner disposition driving the people's actions. What is this 'stubborn, evil will' that defines their rebellion?
The phrase 'stubborn, evil will' points to a deep-seated perversity in the human heart. It’s not simply a lack of knowledge, but a willful and entrenched resistance to God’s voice. The original language and commentaries often translate this as 'stubbornness' or 'perversity.' This inner resolve to reject God's guidance leads to a deliberate act of not listening. It’s a heart that is closed off, determined to follow its own desires rather than God’s commands, making them deaf to His Word and His prophets.
Understand the original words
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sherirut · Hebrew Noun
An attitude or action of moral defiance and rebellion against God’s revealed will. It signifies a heart that is fixed in its own ways, closed to divine correction or instruction.
Jeremiah's prophecy in this verse speaks to a generation that, despite witnessing the decline and exile of their ancestors and experiencing a brief revival under Josiah, doubled down on their sin. They actively chose stubborn disobedience over God's law, even after seeing the devastating consequences faced by previous generations.
Late 8th Century BC
Assyrian Captivity of Northern Tribes
The Northern Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) was largely deported by the Assyrian Empire, a devastating event that scattered its people and weakened the worship of Yahweh.
622 BC
Josiah's Reforms
King Josiah of Judah discovered a scroll of the Law and initiated a sweeping religious reform, purging idolatry and centralizing worship in Jerusalem. This brought a temporary period of spiritual renewal.
c. 609 BC
Death of Josiah
Josiah was killed in battle against the Egyptians. His death marked a turning point, and the reforms he instituted began to crumble under his successors.
605 BC— this verse
First Deportation to Babylon
Under King Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged Jerusalem and took a first group of exiles, including members of the royal family and skilled individuals, to Babylon.
c. 597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Following a rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar deported King Jehoiachin and a larger contingent of Judah's elite to Babylon. This event deeply impacted the remaining population.
587/586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Third Deportation
After a prolonged siege, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple, deporting most of the remaining population to Babylon. This was the final, catastrophic end of the kingdom of Judah.
This passage describes people who, despite clear warnings, follow the stubbornness of their own hearts, echoing Jeremiah's charge that the people refused to listen and followed their evil will.
Proverbs 14:12This proverb highlights that there is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way of death, directly paralleling Jeremiah's indictment of the people walking after their own evil hearts and refusing God's guidance.
Romans 1:21-23Paul describes people who, knowing God, did not honor him and became futile in their thinking, exchanging the truth for a lie, which resonates with Jeremiah's message of a people who have forsaken God and are stubbornly following their own misguided imaginations.
Hebrews 10:26-27This passage warns against deliberately continuing to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, akin to Jeremiah's description of a people who willfully reject God's word and continue in their hardened ways, leading to severe judgment.
barnesJeremiah 16:12: "And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:"
Imaginations - Read stubbornness.
calvinJeremiah 16:10-13: "And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?"
- And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what…
This verse highlights that the people's sin wasn't just following their fathers' missteps, but actively pursuing their own evil desires, making them even worse. The original language points to this "evil heart" as a stubborn will, a deliberate refusal to listen, rather than simply ignorance. This wasn't just a mistake; it was a conscious, stubborn rebellion against God's voice.
Jeremiah has been instructed by God to declare impending judgment, and the people are about to ask why such disaster is coming upon them. In response, God explains that their sin is worse than that of their ancestors, who followed idols and ignored His law. This generation is even more stubborn, walking according to their own wicked desires and refusing to listen to God at all.
Jeremiah has been instructed by God to declare impending judgment, and the people are about to ask why such disaster is coming upon them. In response, God explains that their sin is worse than that of their ancestors, who followed idols and ignored His law. This generation is even more stubborn, walking according to their own wicked desires and refusing to listen to God at all.
"and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me." — This verse highlights that the people's sin wasn't just following their fathers' missteps, but actively pursuing their own evil desires, making them even worse. The original language points to this…
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Last reviewed October 2026
