Jeremiah 9:13

13 The LORD says: It is because they have abandoned my Instruction that I gave them, and haven't obeyed or followed it.

Jeremiah 9:13 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 9:13

And the Lord saith
The Septuagint version adds, "to me"; there being no wise and understanding man, nor prophet ^F2, to take up this affair, and open the cause of it, therefore the Lord undertakes it himself: the question was put to them, but they not answering it, the Lord does it, because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them;
in a plain and easy manner, so as to be readily understood; yet this they attended not unto, but forsook it, neglected it, and cast it behind their backs. Kimchi's note on the phrase, "before them", is,

``not in heaven is it, nor beyond the sea is it;''

see ( Deuteronomy 30:11-14 ) : and have not obeyed my voice;
in the law, and by the prophets: neither walked therein:
according to it, as the Lord directed; they neither hearkened to the voice of the Lord, nor did as they were instructed by it.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F2 Vid. T. Nedarim, fol. 81. 1. & Bava Metzia fol. 85. 1, 2.

Jeremiah 9:13 In-Context

11 I will reduce Jerusalem to ruins, a den for wild dogs. I will make the towns of Judah a wasteland, without inhabitant.

12 Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has been taught by the LORD and can therefore explain it? Why has the land been reduced to rubble and laid waste like a desert, with no one passing through?

13 The LORD says: It is because they have abandoned my Instruction that I gave them, and haven't obeyed or followed it.

14 Instead, they have followed their own willful hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.

15 Therefore, this is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: I'm going to feed this people bitter food and give them poison to drink.