Jeremiah 7:23 (DRB)

Passage

But this thing I commanded them, saying: Hearken to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people: and walk ye in all the way that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 7:21 Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat ye the flesh.

Jeremiah 7:22 For I spoke not to your fathers, and I commanded them not, in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning the matter of burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Jeremiah 7:23 But this thing I commanded them, saying: Hearken to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people: and walk ye in all the way that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.

Jeremiah 7:24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear: but walked in their own will, and in the perversity of their wicked heart: and went backward and not forward,

Jeremiah 7:25 From the day that their fathers came out of the land of Egypt, even to this day. And I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, from day to day, rising up early and sending.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "commanded", "saying", "hearken", "voice", "shall", "people", and "walk". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "commanded" and "saying", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "For I spoke not to your fathers..." into verse 24's "But they hearkened not nor inclined their...", so "commanded" and "saying" belong inside that flow. In Jeremiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "commanded" and "saying" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.