Jeremiah 5:23-25
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What's easy to miss is that "revolting" and "rebellious" describe two distinct movements of the heart away from God. "Revolting" captures the passive turning away, a drawing back because God's ways are disliked, while "rebellious" signifies the active defiance and opposition that follows. They've not only stopped obeying, they've actively started resisting.
But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’ Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jeremiah has just described how even the powerful forces of nature, like the sea, obey God's commands, but the people of Judah refuse to listen. This verse reveals the deep-seated reason for their disobedience: their hearts are stubbornly rebellious, having turned away from God and His ways, persisting in their departure from Him.
Jeremiah paints a stark picture of a people who have lost their way. What does it mean for a heart to be 'revolting'?
The verse describes the people's hearts as 'stubborn and rebellious.' The word for 'stubborn' here literally means 'turning away' or 'turning back.' It's not just a passive state, but an active choice.
The Choice to Drift
Imagine a boat drifting away from the shore. It doesn't suddenly leap into the water; it gradually loosens its moorings and is carried by the current. That's what a 'revolting' heart does. It begins to loosen its connection to God, to His ways, and to His truth.
The Active Defiance
The second word, 'rebellious,' describes a heart that doesn't just drift but actively fights against God's authority. It's a heart that says 'no' to God's commands and chooses its own path, even when that path leads away from life and righteousness.
The verse states they have 'turned aside and gone away.' Does this imply they are beyond hope?
The phrase 'turned aside and gone away' carries a sense of finality, suggesting a deep departure from God. It's more than just a temporary lapse; it's a persistent movement away from Him.
The Danger of Persistence
This isn't just about one act of disobedience, but a pattern of behavior. The commentaries note that they 'continue obstinate' and are 'gone entirely away from truth and righteousness.' This persistent departure from God's ways hardens the heart, making it harder to hear His call to return.
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A Call to Come Back
While the verse describes a grim reality, it’s important to remember Jeremiah’s overall message. His prophecy is a passionate plea for repentance. The description of their 'gone away' state is meant to shock them into recognizing the gravity of their choices, not to declare them irrecoverable. God desires their return.
Understand the original words
sarar · Hebrew Adjective/Verb
A persistent, obstinate, or refractory spirit that resists God’s authority and refuses to submit to His will.
marah · Hebrew Adjective
Deliberate defiance or opposition against God’s established authority and commands; a refusal to comply with His revealed word.
lebab · Hebrew Noun
The internal seat of human personality, will, intellect, and moral decision-making; it is the center of human response to God.
avon · Hebrew Noun
A twisted or crooked act; a moral distortion or violation of the law that creates guilt and separates the creature from the Creator.
chatta’ah · Hebrew Noun
A generic term for sin, often defined as missing the mark of God's standard, acting in rebellion, or committing offenses against His holy law.
Jeremiah's words highlight a deep-seated, ongoing spiritual rebellion within Judah, a refusal to heed God's warnings even as the consequences of their actions – exile and destruction – become increasingly imminent.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and the Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian Empire conquers the northern kingdom of Israel, deporting many Israelites and replacing them with foreign populations. This event serves as a stark warning to the southern kingdom of Judah about the consequences of disobedience.
626 BC
Jeremiah begins his prophetic ministry
Jeremiah is called by God to prophesy to Judah, a kingdom increasingly surrounded by powerful empires and plagued by internal spiritual decay. He will spend over 40 years warning them.
609 BC
King Josiah's reforms halted
Following the death of the righteous King Josiah, attempts to reform the nation's worship and adherence to God's law falter. This marks a turning point toward renewed spiritual decline.
605 BC— this verse
First deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquers Judah and carries off a first group of exiles, including members of the royal family and educated elite. This is the beginning of the Babylonian exile.
597 BC
Second deportation to Babylon
Babylon deports more Judeans, including the prophet Ezekiel, after a rebellion against Babylonian rule. The situation in Jerusalem grows increasingly dire.
586 BC
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
Nebuchadnezzar utterly destroys Jerusalem and its magnificent Temple, bringing the southern kingdom of Judah to an end and scattering its people. This fulfills Jeremiah's dire prophecies.
This passage describes a stubborn and rebellious son who refuses to obey his parents, paralleling the persistent rebellion of God's people described in Jeremiah.
Psalm 78:8This verse speaks of a generation that did not hold fast to God or His covenant, reflecting the same spirit of turning away and rebellion found in Jeremiah 5:23.
Hebrews 3:12-13This New Testament passage warns believers against having a sinfully hard, rebellious heart that leads them to fall away from the living God, echoing Jeremiah's message about people turning aside.
Romans 1:28-32This passage describes people who, because they did not see fit to acknowledge God, were given over to a depraved mind and engaged in sinful practices, illustrating the consequence of a rebellious heart that turns away from God.
clarkeJeremiah 5:23: "But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone."
They are revolted and gone - They have abandoned me, and are gone farther and farther into transgression. They are gone entirely away from truth and righteousness.
pooleJeremiah 5:23: "But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone."
They are not only revolted from me, and gone back, but they continue obstinate, and will not return, Psalm 78:8 , as the next clause intimates, where God shows their obstinacy by the effect of it. Gone, viz. from me, they persist in their courses, no reclaiming of them; for they are not only revolted, but they are gone quite away, and are irreclaimable.
What's easy to miss is that "revolting" and "rebellious" describe two distinct movements of the heart away from God. "Revolting" captures the passive turning away, a drawing back because God's ways are disliked, while "rebellious" signifies the active defiance and opposition that follows. They've not only stopped obeying, they've actively started resisting.
Jeremiah has just described how even the powerful forces of nature, like the sea, obey God's commands, but the people of Judah refuse to listen. This verse reveals the deep-seated reason for their disobedience: their hearts are stubbornly rebellious, having turned away from God and His ways, persisting in their departure from Him.
Jeremiah has just described how even the powerful forces of nature, like the sea, obey God's commands, but the people of Judah refuse to listen. This verse reveals the deep-seated reason for their disobedience: their hearts are stubbornly rebellious, having turned away from God and His ways, persisting in their departure from Him.
"But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and th…" — What's easy to miss is that "revolting" and "rebellious" describe two distinct movements of the heart away from God. "Revolting" captures the passive turning away, a drawing back because God's ways a…
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Last reviewed October 2026
