Jeremiah 9:13

13 The Lord answered, "This has happened because my people have abandoned the teaching that I gave them. They have not obeyed me or done what I told them.

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 The Lord says, "I will make Jerusalem a pile of ruins, a place where jackals live; the cities of Judah will become a desert, a place where no one lives."

12 I asked, "Lord, why is the land devastated and dry as a desert, so that no one travels through it? Who is wise enough to understand this? To whom have you explained it so that they can tell others?"

13 The Lord answered, "This has happened because my people have abandoned the teaching that I gave them. They have not obeyed me or done what I told them.

14 Instead, they have been stubborn and have worshiped the idols of Baal as their ancestors taught them to do.

15 So then, listen to what I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, will do: I will give my people bitter plants to eat and poison to drink.