Jeremiah 9:13

13 And the LORD answered, “It is because they have forsaken My law, which I set before them; they have not walked in it or obeyed My voice.

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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

Jeremiah 9:13 In-Context

11 “And I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”

12 Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a desert, so no one can pass through it?

13 And the LORD answered, “It is because they have forsaken My law, which I set before them; they have not walked in it or obeyed My voice.

14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts and gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.”

15 Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will feed this people wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.