◄ Jeremiah 17:20 ►
Say to them, 'Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, all people of Judah and Jerusalem who enter through these gates.
Study Bible
Say to them,

The LORD commanded Jeremiah to deliver His message publicly and faithfully, speaking with divine authority rather than personal opinion.

Jer 35:13 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says:…
Jer 11:2 Listen to the words of this covenant and tell them…
Ezk 3:11 Go to your people, the exiles; speak to them…

‘Hear the word of the LORD,

God called His people to receive His revelation with attentive obedience. His word exposed sin, directed covenant life, and offered the way of repentance.

Jer 42:15 then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah!…
Isa 1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom;…
Hos 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel,…

O kings of Judah,

Judah’s rulers bore special responsibility before God because their decisions shaped the nation’s worship, justice, and allegiance to the covenant.

Jer 19:3 Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah…
Jer 22:2 Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah…
2Ki 23:11 And he removed from the entrance to the house of the LORD…

all people of Judah and Jerusalem

The summons included every class of society. Neither rulers nor ordinary citizens could escape accountability for the nation’s spiritual condition.

2Ch 34:30 And he went up to the house of the LORD with all the people…
Jer 11:6 Then the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words…
Jer 36:9 Now in the ninth month of the fifth year…

who enter through these gates.

Jeremiah proclaimed God’s word at Jerusalem’s public gates, where kings, merchants, judges, and worshipers passed daily. The coming instruction concerning the Sabbath required visible obedience in the ordinary patterns of national life.

Jer 7:2 “Stand in the gate of the house of the LORD and proclaim…
Psa 122:2 Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.
Psa 24:7-10 Lift up your heads, O gates! Be lifted up, O ancient doors,…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jeremiah
A prophet called by God to deliver His messages to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Known for his perseverance in the face of opposition.

2. Kings of Judah
The ruling monarchs of the southern kingdom of Judah, responsible for leading the people in accordance with God's laws.

3. People of Judah
The inhabitants of the southern kingdom, often called to repentance by the prophets due to their disobedience.

4. Jerusalem
The capital city of Judah, a central place of worship and political power, often symbolic of the spiritual state of the nation.

5. Gates of Jerusalem
The entry points to the city, symbolizing the threshold between the secular and the sacred, and a place of judgment and decision-making.
Teaching Points
The Importance of Listening to God
The call to "hear the word of the LORD" is a reminder that God speaks to His people and expects them to listen attentively. In our daily lives, we must prioritize time to read and meditate on Scripture, seeking to understand God's will.

Leadership Accountability
The mention of the "kings of Judah" highlights the responsibility of leaders to guide their people according to God's commands. Whether in church, family, or community, leaders are accountable to God for their influence and decisions.

The Role of the Community
The address to "all people of Judah and Jerusalem" underscores the collective responsibility of the community to uphold God's standards. As believers, we are called to support one another in faith and obedience.

The Significance of the Gates
The "gates" symbolize decision points in our lives where we choose to follow God's path or our own. We must be vigilant at these crossroads, ensuring our choices align with God's word.

Repentance and Obedience
The broader context of Jeremiah's message is a call to repentance and obedience. True repentance involves a change of heart and actions, aligning our lives with God's commands.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the call to "hear the word of the LORD" in Jeremiah 17:20 challenge your current approach to reading and applying Scripture in your life?

2. In what ways can leaders today, whether in the church or other areas, learn from the accountability expected of the "kings of Judah"?

3. How can you contribute to fostering a community that collectively seeks to obey God's word, as seen in the call to "all people of Judah and Jerusalem"?

4. Reflect on a recent decision point in your life. How did you ensure that your choice was in line with God's word, similar to the significance of the "gates"?

5. Considering the theme of repentance in Jeremiah, what steps can you take to ensure that your repentance leads to genuine obedience and transformation?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Emphasizes the importance of hearing and obeying God's word, similar to the call in Jeremiah 17:20 for the people to "hear the word of the LORD."

Isaiah 1:10-20
Calls the leaders and people to listen to God's word and repent, paralleling Jeremiah's message to the kings and people of Judah.

Ezekiel 33:30-33
Describes the people's tendency to hear God's words but not act on them, a recurring issue addressed by Jeremiah.

Matthew 7:24-27
Jesus' teaching on the wise and foolish builders, highlighting the importance of not just hearing but also doing God's word.

James 1:22-25
Encourages believers to be doers of the word, not just hearers, reinforcing the message of obedience found in Jeremiah.
Sermons
Sabbath SanctificationS. Conway Jeremiah 17:19-27
The Hallowing of the Sabbath DayD. Young Jeremiah 17:19-27
The Sabbath and its ObligationA.F. Muir Jeremiah 17:19-27
People
Benjamin, David, Jeremiah
Places
Jerusalem, Negeb, People's Gate, Shephelah
Topics
Doors, Ear, Enter, Gates, Hast, Inhabitants, Jerusalem, Judah, Kings, Listen
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jeremiah 17:18

     8754   fear

Jeremiah 17:17-18

     4921   day

Library
Sin's Writing and Its Erasure
'The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars.'--JER. xvii. 1. 'Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.'-2 COR. iii. 3. 'Blotting out the handwriting that was against us.'---COL .ii. 14. I have put these verses together because they …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Soul Gazing on God
'A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.'--JER. xvii. 12. I must begin by a word or two of explanation as to the language of this passage. The word 'is' is a supplement, and most probably it ought to be omitted, and the verse treated as being, not a statement, but a series of exclamations. The next verse runs thus, 'O Lord! the hope of Israel, all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed'; and the most natural and forcible understanding of the words of my text is reached …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Two Lists of Names
'They that depart from Me shall be written in the earth'--JER. xvii. 13. 'Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.'--LUKE x. 20. A name written on earth implies that the bearer of the name belongs to earth, and it also secondarily suggests that the inscription lasts but for a little while. Contrariwise, a name written in heaven implies that its bearer belongs to heaven, and that the inscription will abide. We find running throughout Scripture the metaphor of books in which men's names are …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Heath in the Desert and the Tree by the River
'He shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited...He shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.'--JER. xvii. 6, 8. The prophet here puts before us two highly finished pictures. In the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Nation's Duty in a War for Freedom.
(Preached March 28th, 1813.) TEXT: JEREMIAH xvii. 5-8, AND xviii. 7-10. MY devout hearers! Through an extraordinary occurrence we find the order of our discourses on the suffering Saviour interrupted, and our to-day's meeting devoted to a very different subject. How deeply have we all been moved by the events of the last weeks! We saw march forth from our gates the army of a people nominally allied to us, but our feeling was not that of parting with friends; with thankful joy did we feel at last …
Friedrich Schleiermacher—Selected Sermons of Schleiermacher

"The Carnal Mind is Enmity against God for it is not Subject to the Law of God, Neither Indeed Can Be. So Then they that Are
Rom. viii. s 7, 8.--"The carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." It is not the least of man's evils, that he knows not how evil he is, therefore the Searcher of the heart of man gives the most perfect account of it, Jer. xvii. 12. "The heart is deceitful above all things," as well as "desperately wicked," two things superlative and excessive in it, bordering upon an infiniteness, such …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Severinus in Germany.
As the Lord ever sends his angels when there is most need of help, so in the midst of the desolation and destruction which ensued on that irruption of the barbarians by which the Roman empire was broken in pieces after the death of Attila, the great desolator and exterminator, (A. D. 453,) He sent to the aid of the oppressed people of Germany, on the banks of the Danube, in their sore need, a man endowed with an extraordinary energy of love. His whole appearance has in it something enigmatical. As …
Augustus Neander—Light in the Dark Places

Trust of the Wicked, and the Righteous Compared. Jer 17:5-8
 …
John Newton—Olney Hymns

But in Order that we Fall not Away from Continence...
10. But in order that we fall not away from Continence, we ought to watch specially against those snares of the suggestions of the devil, that we presume not of our own strength. For, "Cursed is every one that setteth his hope in man." [1838] And who is he, but man? We cannot therefore truly say that he setteth not his hope in man, who setteth it in himself. For this also, to "live after man," what is it but to "live after the flesh?" Whoso therefore is tempted by such a suggestion, let him hear, …
St. Augustine—On Continence

Epistle i. To the Roman Citizens.
To the Roman Citizens. Gregory, servant of the servants of God, to his most beloved sons the Roman citizens. It has come to my ears that certain men of perverse spirit have sown among you some things that are wrong and opposed to the holy faith, so as to forbid any work being done on the Sabbath day. What else can I call these but preachers of Antichrist, who, when he comes, will cause the Sabbath day as well as the Lord's day to be kept free from all work. For, because he pretends to die and rise …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

"And if any Man Sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,",
1 John ii. 1.--"And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,", &c. There is here a sad supposition, but too certain, that any man may sin, yea, that all men will sin, even those who have most communion with God, and interest in the blood of Christ. Yet they are not altogether exempted from this fatal lot of mankind. It is incident even to them to sin, and too frequently incident, but yet we have a happy and sweet provision, for indemnity from the hazard of sin,--"we have an advocate …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"For what the Law could not Do, in that it was Weak through the Flesh, God Sending his Own Son in the Likeness of Sinful Flesh,
Rom. viii. 3.--"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh." For what purpose do we meet thus together? I would we knew it,--then it might be to some better purpose. In all other things we are rational, and do nothing of moment without some end and purpose. But, alas! in this matter of greatest moment, our going about divine ordinances, we have scarce any distinct or deliberate …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Appendix xvii. The Ordinances and Law of the Sabbath as Laid Down in the Mishnah and the Jerusalem Talmud.
The terribly exaggerated views of the Rabbis, and their endless, burdensome rules about the Sabbath may best be learned from a brief analysis of the Mishnah, as further explained and enlarged in the Jerusalem Talmud. [6476] For this purpose a brief analysis of what is, confessedly, one of the most difficult tractates may here be given. The Mishnic tractate Sabbath stands at the head of twelve tractates which together from the second of the six sections into which the Mishnah is divided, and which …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Fourth Commandment
Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it. Exod 20: 8-11. This …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The First Part
Of the Apocalyptical Commentaries, according to the Rule of the Apocalyptical Key, on the First Prophecy which is contained in the Seals and Trumpets; with an Introduction concerning the Scene of the Apocalypse. As it is my design to investigate the meaning of the Apocalyptical visions, it is requisite for me to treat, in the first place, of that celestial theatre to which John was called, in order to behold them, exhibited as on a stage, and afterwards of the prophecies in succession, examined by …
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse

Moral Depravity.
In discussing the subject of human depravity, I shall,-- I. Define the term depravity. The word is derived from the Latin de and pravus. Pravus means "crooked." De is intensive. Depravatus literally and primarily means "very crooked," not in the sense of original or constitutional crookedness, but in the sense of having become crooked. The term does not imply original mal-conformation, but lapsed, fallen, departed from right or straight. It always implies deterioration, or fall from a former state …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

Inward Witness to the Truth of the Gospel.
"I have more understanding than my teachers, for Thy testimonies are my study; I am wiser than the aged, because I keep Thy commandments."--Psalm cxix. 99, 100. In these words the Psalmist declares, that in consequence of having obeyed God's commandments he had obtained more wisdom and understanding than those who had first enlightened his ignorance, and were once more enlightened than he. As if he said, "When I was a child, I was instructed in religious knowledge by kind and pious friends, who …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The True Manner of Keeping Holy the Lord's Day.
Now the sanctifying of the Sabbath consists in two things--First, In resting from all servile and common business pertaining to our natural life; Secondly, In consecrating that rest wholly to the service of God, and the use of those holy means which belong to our spiritual life. For the First. 1. The servile and common works from which we are to cease are, generally, all civil works, from the least to the greatest (Exod. xxxi. 12, 13, 15, &c.) More particularly-- First, From all the works of our …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

But Concerning True Patience, Worthy of the Name of this virtue...
12. But concerning true patience, worthy of the name of this virtue, whence it is to be had, must now be inquired. For there are some [2650] who attribute it to the strength of the human will, not which it hath by Divine assistance, but which it hath of free-will. Now this error is a proud one: for it is the error of them which abound, of whom it is said in the Psalm, "A scornful reproof to them which abound, and a despising to the proud." [2651] It is not therefore that "patience of the poor" which …
St. Augustine—On Patience

What the Scriptures Principally Teach: the Ruin and Recovery of Man. Faith and Love Towards Christ.
2 Tim. i. 13.--"Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." Here is the sum of religion. Here you have a compend of the doctrine of the Scriptures. All divine truths may be reduced to these two heads,--faith and love; what we ought to believe, and what we ought to do. This is all the Scriptures teach, and this is all we have to learn. What have we to know, but what God hath revealed of himself to us? And what have we to do, but what …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Jewish views on Trade, Tradesmen, and Trades' Guilds
We read in the Mishnah (Kidd. iv. 14) as follows: "Rabbi Meir said: Let a man always teach his son a cleanly and a light trade; and let him pray to Him whose are wealth and riches; for there is no trade which has not both poverty and riches, and neither does poverty come from the trade nor yet riches, but everything according to one's deserving (merit). Rabbi Simeon, the son of Eleazer, said: Hast thou all thy life long seen a beast or a bird which has a trade? Still they are nourished, and that …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

The Secret of Its Greatness
[Illustration: (drop cap G) The Great Pyramid] God always chooses the right kind of people to do His work. Not only so, He always gives to those whom He chooses just the sort of life which will best prepare them for the work He will one day call them to do. That is why God put it into the heart of Pharaoh's daughter to bring up Moses as her own son in the Egyptian palace. The most important part of Moses' training was that his heart should be right with God, and therefore he was allowed to remain …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

Division of Actual Grace
Actual grace may be divided according to: (1) the difference existing between the faculties of the human soul, and (2) in reference to the freedom of the will. Considered in its relation to the different faculties of the soul, actual grace is either of the intellect, or of the will, or of the sensitive faculties. With regard to the free consent of the will, it is either (1) prevenient, also called cooeperating, or (2) efficacious or merely sufficient. 1. THE ILLUMINATING GRACE OF THE INTELLECT.--Actual …
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

Links
Jeremiah 17:20 NIV
Jeremiah 17:20 NLT
Jeremiah 17:20 ESV
Jeremiah 17:20 NASB
Jeremiah 17:20 KJV

Jeremiah 17:20 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Jeremiah 17:19
Top of Page
Top of Page