The Meaning of Jeremiah 18:12 Explained

Jeremiah 18:12

KJV: And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.

YLT: And they have said, It is incurable, For after our own devices we do go, And each the stubbornness of his evil heart we do.

Darby: But they say, There is no hope; for we will walk after our own devices, and we will each one do according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.

ASV: But they say, It is in vain; for we will walk after our own devices, and we will do every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they said,  There is no hope:  but we will walk  after  our own devices,  and we will every one  do  the imagination  of his evil  heart. 

What does Jeremiah 18:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

However, the people would respond that repentance would not bring any change. The situation was hopeless from their viewpoint. Actually, they did not want to change.
"Here is a sad reflection on the end result of evil-doing and of continuous breach of covenant. A state is reached where all desire and hope of repentance is lost and men are content to follow the uninhibited promptings of their own rebellious and wicked hearts. At this point judgment is inevitable." [1]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 18

1  Under the type of a potter is shown God's absolute power in disposing of nations
11  Judgments threatened to Judah for her strange revolt
18  Jeremiah prays against his conspirators

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 18:12 mean?

And they said that is hopeless so according to our own plans we will walk and every one the dictates of his heart Evil we will obey -
וְאָמְר֖וּ ! נוֹאָ֑שׁ כִּֽי־ אַחֲרֵ֤י מַחְשְׁבוֹתֵ֙ינוּ֙ נֵלֵ֔ךְ וְאִ֛ישׁ שְׁרִר֥וּת לִבּֽוֹ־ הָרָ֖ע נַעֲשֶֽׂה ס

וְאָמְר֖וּ  And  they  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
! נוֹאָ֑שׁ  that  is  hopeless 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָאַשׁ  
Sense: to despair.
כִּֽי־  so 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
אַחֲרֵ֤י  according  to 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אַחַר 
Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).
מַחְשְׁבוֹתֵ֙ינוּ֙  our  own  plans 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: מַחֲשָׁבָה  
Sense: thought, device.
נֵלֵ֔ךְ  we  will  walk 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וְאִ֛ישׁ  and  every  one 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
שְׁרִר֥וּת  the  dictates 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שְׁרִרוּת  
Sense: stubbornness, hardness, firmness.
לִבּֽוֹ־  of  his  heart 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
הָרָ֖ע  Evil 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.
נַעֲשֶֽׂה  we  will  obey 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common plural
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation