Jeremiah 7:26

Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.

Yet they hearkened {H8085} not unto me, nor inclined {H5186} their ear {H241}, but hardened {H7185} their neck {H6203}: they did worse {H7489} than their fathers {H1}.

they would not listen or pay attention to me, but stiffened their necks; they did worse than their ancestors.

Yet they would not listen to Me or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and did more evil than their fathers.

yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff: they did worse than their fathers.

Context

Jeremiah 7:26 is part of the prophet Jeremiah's powerful "Temple Sermon" (chapters 7-10), delivered at the gate of the Lord's house in Jerusalem. In this section, God confronts the people of Judah for their false confidence in the Temple and religious rituals while their lives were filled with idolatry, injustice, and blatant disobedience to His commands. The Lord repeatedly called them to repentance, but their response was one of persistent rebellion. This verse highlights the deep-seated spiritual apathy and stubbornness that characterized the nation, leading to their impending judgment.

Key Themes

  • Persistent Disobedience: The verse emphasizes a deliberate and continuous refusal to heed God's voice, despite His repeated warnings and calls to repentance. It's not a one-time lapse but a pattern of rejection.
  • Stubbornness and Hardness of Heart: The phrase "hardened their neck" vividly portrays an unyielding resistance to divine authority and instruction, akin to a stubborn ox refusing to be guided by the yoke. This spiritual rigidity prevented them from truly listening or turning back to God.
  • Generational Decline: The chilling statement "they did worse than their fathers" indicates a profound spiritual regression. It suggests that despite the lessons of history and the clear consequences faced by previous generations for their idolatry and rebellion, the current generation not only repeated but intensified the sins of their ancestors. This is a significant aspect of the cycle of disobedience often seen in Israel's history.
  • Divine Patience and Human Rejection: Implicit in the verse is God's enduring patience in calling His people, met by their consistent rejection. This tension underscores the tragedy of their choices.

Linguistic Insights

The phrase "hardened their neck" is a powerful Hebrew idiom, qasheh oref (קְשֵׁה עֹרֶף), literally meaning "stiff of neck." It's a common biblical expression found throughout the Old Testament to describe stubbornness, obstinacy, and an unwillingness to submit to God's will. It evokes the image of an animal resisting the plow or yoke, refusing to be led. This contrasts sharply with "inclined their ear," which implies a willing and attentive posture of listening and obedience to God's word, as seen in Psalm 116:2.

Practical Application

Jeremiah 7:26 serves as a timeless warning about the dangers of spiritual apathy and stubbornness. For believers today, it prompts crucial self-reflection:

  • Are we truly listening? We must regularly examine if we are genuinely inclining our ears to God's Word and the promptings of the Holy Spirit, or if we are selectively hearing what we want to hear.
  • Beware of Spiritual Hardening: Persistent disobedience or neglect of God's commands can lead to a hardening of the heart, making it increasingly difficult to respond to divine truth. It's a gradual process that can have severe consequences, as highlighted in Hebrews 3:13.
  • Breaking Cycles of Sin: The warning "they did worse than their fathers" challenges us to recognize and break generational patterns of sin or spiritual indifference, rather than perpetuating or even intensifying them. We are called to be a generation that learns from the past and turns fully to God.
  • The Seriousness of Disobedience: This verse reminds us that God takes our obedience seriously. While His grace is abundant, persistent and unrepentant rebellion carries profound consequences, both individually and corporately.
Note: Commentary was generated by an advanced AI, utilizing a prompt that emphasized Biblical fidelity over bias. We've found these insights to be consistently reliable, yet we always encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

  • Jeremiah 16:12

    And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:

  • 2 Chronicles 30:8

    Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers [were, but] yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.

  • Jeremiah 19:15

    Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.

  • Matthew 23:32

    Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

  • Jeremiah 7:24

    But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels [and] in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.

  • Jeremiah 17:23

    But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

  • Jeremiah 26:5

    To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending [them], but ye have not hearkened;

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