Jeremiah 7:28
And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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What's often missed is that "truth" here really means "faithfulness" – not just speaking truthfully, but a deep, abiding loyalty to God and His covenant. This faithfulness has "perished," meaning it's completely gone from their speech and lives, leaving only hollow words.
Jeremiah has been delivering a message of judgment at the Temple, but the people, blinded by their misplaced trust in the building itself, have refused to listen. This verse marks a turning point where God directs Jeremiah to declare their fundamental rebellion, highlighting their consistent disobedience and their outright rejection of truth and faithfulness, setting the stage for the further pronouncements of judgment that follow.
Jeremiah is commissioned to deliver a stark message to a people who have forgotten their unique calling. What makes this nation stand out, not for its faithfulness, but for its defiance?
Jeremiah declares, 'This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God...' The text emphasizes 'the nation,' highlighting Israel's distinct relationship with God. Unlike other nations, Israel was chosen and given the very voice of God to follow. Their disobedience wasn't a minor slip; it was a rejection of their covenant identity and the singular privilege of hearing God's commands directly. This makes their failure all the more profound.
God's relationship with His people is often marked by correction. What does Jeremiah reveal about Israel's response to God's attempts to guide them back?
The verse states they 'did not accept discipline.' This wasn't just about ignoring commands; it was a refusal to learn or be changed by God's methods. Israel had experienced both God's blessings and His judgments, yet neither seemed to teach them. They rejected the 'instruction' – the training and guidance that would have kept them on the right path. This stubbornness turned God's loving discipline into a wasted opportunity for repentance and restoration.
The final part of the verse paints a grim picture of what happens when obedience and discipline are rejected. What is the ultimate consequence for their speech and their witness?
When obedience is abandoned and correction is refused, 'truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.' This signifies more than just occasional lies. It suggests a profound decay of integrity and faithfulness. Their words, even their oaths sworn by God's name, had become empty. The very essence of truth – sincerity, honesty, and faithfulness – had been uprooted from their community. This spiritual erosion meant their witness to the world was not one of God's righteousness, but of hypocrisy and emptiness.
Understand the original words
YHWH · Hebrew Noun
Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God of Israel who revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush.
musar · Hebrew Noun
Refers to correction or instruction, often involving chastisement or training, which God provides to guide His people back to righteousness.
'emunah · Hebrew Noun
Refers to faithfulness, reliability, and integrity; in a theological sense, it is the standard of God's truth to which His people are called to conform.
Jeremiah's sharp words in this verse are spoken in the shadow of impending doom, highlighting Judah's persistent disobedience and corruption in the face of repeated warnings, ultimately leading to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and the Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian Empire conquers the northern Kingdom of Israel, deporting many of its citizens and scattering them among other conquered peoples. This event serves as a stark warning to the southern Kingdom of Judah.
626 BC
Jeremiah begins his prophetic ministry
Jeremiah is called by God to prophesy to Judah, a time of increasing political instability and religious corruption.
609 BC
King Josiah killed at Megiddo
Josiah, a righteous king who had initiated reforms, is killed in battle against Pharaoh Neco of Egypt. This leaves Judah vulnerable and politically adrift.
605 BC
First deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar, crown prince of Babylon, defeats the Egyptians and Assyrians at Carchemish. He then besieges Jerusalem and deports some of the royal family and elite, including Daniel, to Babylon.
This passage echoes Jeremiah's lament, highlighting the absence of 'truth' and 'steadfast love' in the land due to a lack of knowledge of God, a direct consequence of disobedience and lack of discipline.
Isaiah 5:20This verse speaks to a similar perversion of truth where wrong is called right and right is called wrong, illustrating the moral decay and spiritual blindness that arises when a nation rejects God's voice and discipline.
Deuteronomy 28:15This passage outlines the curses that would fall upon Israel if they disobeyed God's voice and failed to observe His commands, directly connecting their disobedience to negative consequences, much like the judgment implied in Jeremiah's prophecy.
Proverbs 1:7This proverb states that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction, mirroring the core issue in Jeremiah 7:28 where the nation rejects God's voice and correction.
Matthew 15:8Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13, criticizing people who honor God with their lips but whose hearts are far from Him, reflecting the 'truth has perished' aspect of Jeremiah 7:28, where outward profession is divorced from inward reality.
pulpitJeremiah 7:28: "But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth."
Verse 28. - But thou shalt say; rather, thou shalt therefore say. A nation; rather, the nation. "What one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to him-serf?" (2 Samuel 7:23). And yet "this is the nation that have not hearkened," etc. Truth; rather, g…
cambridgeJeremiah 7:28: "But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth."
28 . the nation ] conspicuous for their disobedience. Cp. Psalm 12:4 . truth ] mg. faithfulness . See on ch. Jeremiah 5:3 . 29–8:3 . See introd. note on the section. The verbs and pronoun are fem. in the original, shewing that E.VV. are right in giving them a collective sense, and inserting “O Jerusalem.”…
What's often missed is that "truth" here really means "faithfulness" – not just speaking truthfully, but a deep, abiding loyalty to God and His covenant. This faithfulness has "perished," meaning it's completely gone from their speech and lives, leaving only hollow words.
Jeremiah has been delivering a message of judgment at the Temple, but the people, blinded by their misplaced trust in the building itself, have refused to listen. This verse marks a turning point where God directs Jeremiah to declare their fundamental rebellion, highlighting their consistent disobedience and their outright rejection of truth and faithfulness, setting the stage for the further pronouncements of judgment that follow.
Jeremiah has been delivering a message of judgment at the Temple, but the people, blinded by their misplaced trust in the building itself, have refused to listen. This verse marks a turning point where God directs Jeremiah to declare their fundamental rebellion, highlighting their consistent disobedience and their outright rejection of truth and faithfulness, setting the stage for the further pronouncements of judgment that follow.
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597 BC
Second deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar deports King Jehoiachin and thousands more Judeans, including the prophet Ezekiel, to Babylon following a rebellion. Jerusalem's temple is also plundered.
586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
The Babylonians lay siege to Jerusalem again, eventually breaching the walls, destroying the city and its revered Temple, and exiling most of the remaining population. This is the catastrophic fulfillment of Jeremiah's warnings.
"And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips." — What's often missed is that "truth" here really means "faithfulness" – not just speaking truthfully, but a deep, abiding loyalty to God and His covenant. This faithfulness has "perished," meaning it'…
