Jeremiah 17:19-27

Keep the Sabbath Holy

19 Thus said the LORD to me: "Go and stand in the People's Gate, by which ¹the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem,

20 and say: 'Hear the word of the LORD, ²you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates.

21 Thus says the LORD: Take care for the sake of your lives, and ³do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem.

22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath ⁴or do any work, but ⁵keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers.

23 Yet ⁶they did not listen or incline their ear, ⁷but stiffened their neck, that they ⁸might not hear and receive instruction.

24 "'But if you listen to me, declares the LORD, and ⁹bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but ¹⁰keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it,

25 then ¹¹there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever.

26 And people shall come from ¹²the cities of Judah ¹³and the places around Jerusalem, ¹⁴from the land of Benjamin, ¹⁵from the Shephelah, from the hill country, ¹⁶and from ¹⁷the Negeb, bringing ¹⁸burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and ¹⁹bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD.

27 But if you do not listen to me, to ²⁰keep the Sabbath day holy, ²¹and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will ²²kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall ²³devour the palaces of Jerusalem and ²⁴shall not be quenched.'"

Jeremiah 17:19-27 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 17

This chapter is a further prophecy of the destruction of the Jews, with the causes of it, their sins, as their idolatry, which was notorious; of which their own consciences, their altars, and their children, were witnesses, Jer 17:1,2 for which they are threatened with the spoil of their substance and treasure, and discontinuance in their land, Jer 17:3,4 as also their confidence in an arm of flesh, which brought the curse of God upon them, when such are blessed that trust in him; and the difference between those that trust in men and those that trust in the Lord is illustrated by very apt similes, Jer 17:5-8, the source of which vain confidence is the wicked heart of man, known to none but God, Jer 17:9,10 and the vanity of it is exposed by a partridge sitting on eggs without hatching them, Jer 17:11, and their departure from God, by trusting in the creature, and in outward things, is aggravated by their temple being the throne and seat of the divine Majesty; by what God is to his people that trust in him; and by the shame and ruin that follow an apostasy from him, Jer 17:12,13, wherefore the prophet, sensible of his own backslidings, prays to be healed and saved by the Lord, who should have all the praise and glory, Jer 17:14 and then relates the scoffs of the people at the word of God by him, another cause of their ruin; declares his own innocence and integrity; prays for protection and security from fear in a time of trouble; and for confusion, terror, and destruction to his persecutors, Jer 17:15-18, then follows an order to him from the Lord, to go and stand in the gate of the city, and exhort all ranks of men to the observation of the sabbath, with directions how to keep it, which had not been observed by their fathers, and which was another cause of their ruin, Jer 17:19-23, and the chapter is closed with promises of blessings in city, court, and country, in church and state, should they religiously observe the sabbath day; but if they profaned it, the city of Jerusalem, and its palaces, should be burnt with fire, Jer 17:24-27.

Cross References

• 1. See Jeremiah 13:13
• 2. [See ver. 19 above]
• 3. [John 5:10]; See Nehemiah 13:15-19
• 4. See Numbers 15:32-36
• 5. Exodus 23:12; Exodus 31:13; Isaiah 56:2; Isaiah 58:13; Ezekiel 20:12, 20; See Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15
• 6. Jeremiah 7:24, 26; [Jeremiah 11:10]
• 7. [2 Chronicles 30:8; Acts 7:51]
• 8. See Jeremiah 5:3
• 9. [See ver. 21 above]
• 10. [See ver. 22 above]
• 11. Jeremiah 22:4
• 12. Jeremiah 32:44; Jeremiah 33:13
• 13. Zechariah 7:7
• 14. Jeremiah 32:44; Jeremiah 33:13
• 15. Zechariah 7:7
• 16. Zechariah 7:7
• 17. Genesis 13:1
• 18. Leviticus 7:12; Leviticus 22:29; 2 Chronicles 33:16; Psalms 107:22; Psalms 116:17
• 19. Leviticus 7:12; Leviticus 22:29; 2 Chronicles 33:16; Psalms 107:22; Psalms 116:17
• 20. [See ver. 22 above]
• 21. [See ver. 21 above]
• 22. Jeremiah 21:14; Jeremiah 43:12; Jeremiah 49:27; Jeremiah 50:32; Lamentations 4:11; Amos 1:14
• 23. Jeremiah 52:13; 2 Kings 25:9
• 24. Jeremiah 7:20