The Meaning of Jeremiah 35:17 Explained

Jeremiah 35:17

KJV: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.

YLT: therefore thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am bringing in unto Judah, and unto all inhabitants of Jerusalem, all the evil that I have spoken against them, because I have spoken unto them, and they have not hearkened, yea, I call to them, and they have not answered.'

Darby: therefore thus saith Jehovah the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken unto them, but they have not hearkened, and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.

ASV: therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore thus saith  the LORD  God  of hosts,  the God  of Israel;  Behold, I will bring  upon Judah  and upon all the inhabitants  of Jerusalem  all the evil  that I have pronounced  against them: because I have spoken  unto them, but they have not heard;  and I have called  unto them, but they have not answered. 

What does Jeremiah 35:17 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Therefore, the Lord was going to bring upon the people all the disaster that He had previously warned them about. They had not listened to Him when He spoke to them, or answered Him when He called to them.
"Notice the telling contrasts between the Recabites and Judah."1. The Recabites obeyed a fallible leader ( Jeremiah 35:14); Judah"s leader was the eternal God (cf. Malachi 1:6)."2. Jonadab gave his commands to the Recabites only once; God repeatedly sent his messages to his people ( Jeremiah 35:15). "3. The restrictions that bound the Recabites did not deal with eternal issues; God"s messages to his people had eternal as well as temporal implications. "4. The Recabites obeyed the commands of Jonadab for about three hundred years; the Lord"s people constantly disobeyed ( Jeremiah 35:16). "5. The loyalty of the Recabites would be rewarded; for their disloyalty God"s people would be punished ( Jeremiah 35:17)." [1]

Context Summary

Jeremiah 35:1-19 - A Lesson From The Rechabites
Among the refugees from the neighboring country who sought asylum within the walls of Jerusalem, was a group of Arabs, known as Rechabites. Probably they encamped in one of the open spaces. They clung tenaciously to the regulations promulgated by Jonadab some three hundred years before. See Judges 1:16; 2 Kings 10:15; 1 Chronicles 2:55. They drank no wine, did not cultivate the ground, and lived in tents. We do well not to touch alcohol; not to strike our roots two deeply into this world, where we are pilgrims and strangers; and to cultivate the pilgrim spirit, which looks for and travels toward the city that hath foundations. Israel had not been as true to the divine precepts as the Rechabites to those of their founder. Therefore the Chosen People would be dispossessed and scattered; while the Rechabites have preserved their independence to the present day. Obedience is the only source of permanence. "He that doeth the will of God abideth forever." [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 35

1  By the obedience of the Rechabites,
12  Jeremiah condemns the disobedience of the Jews
18  God blesses the Rechabites for their obedience

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 35:17 mean?

Therefore thus says Yahweh God of hosts the God of Israel behold I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem - the doom that I have pronounced against them because I have spoken to them but not they have heard and I have called to them they have answered
לָ֠כֵן כֹּֽה־ אָמַ֨ר יְהוָ֜ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י צְבָאוֹת֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הִנְנִ֧י מֵבִ֣יא אֶל־ יְהוּדָ֗ה וְאֶ֤ל כָּל־ יֽוֹשְׁבֵי֙ יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם אֵ֚ת הָ֣רָעָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם יַ֣עַן דִּבַּ֤רְתִּי אֲלֵיהֶם֙ וְלֹ֣א שָׁמֵ֔עוּ וָאֶקְרָ֥א לָהֶ֖ם עָנֽוּ

כֹּֽה־  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֨ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֜ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהֵ֤י  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
צְבָאוֹת֙  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
אֱלֹהֵ֣י  the  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
הִנְנִ֧י  behold  I 
Parse: Interjection, first person common singular
Root: הֵן  
Sense: behold, lo, though hypothetical part.
מֵבִ֣יא  will  bring 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
יְהוּדָ֗ה  Judah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
וְאֶ֤ל  and  on 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
יֽוֹשְׁבֵי֙  the  inhabitants 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם  of  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
אֵ֚ת  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הָ֣רָעָ֔ה  the  doom 
Parse: Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי  I  have  pronounced 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם  against  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
יַ֣עַן  because 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יַעַן  
Sense: because, therefore, because that, on account of prep.
דִּבַּ֤רְתִּי  I  have  spoken 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
אֲלֵיהֶם֙  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
וְלֹ֣א  but  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
שָׁמֵ֔עוּ  they  have  heard 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
וָאֶקְרָ֥א  and  I  have  called 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
לָהֶ֖ם  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
עָנֽוּ  they  have  answered 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: לְעַנּׄות 
Sense: to answer, respond, testify, speak, shout.