Jeremiah 17:20 (LSB)

Passage

and say to them, ‘Listen to the word of Yahweh, kings of Judah and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates:

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 17:18 Let those who pursue me be put to shame, but as for me, let me not be put to shame; Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed. Bring on them a day of calamity, And crush them with twofold crushing!

Jeremiah 17:19 Thus Yahweh said to me, “Go and stand in the public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem,

Jeremiah 17:20 and say to them, ‘Listen to the word of Yahweh, kings of Judah and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates:

Jeremiah 17:21 Thus says Yahweh, “Take care of yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 17:22 You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "listen", "word", "yahweh", "kings", "judah", "inhabitants", and "jerusalem". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "listen" and "word", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Thus Yahweh said to me Go and..." into verse 21's "Thus says Yahweh Take care of yourselves...", so "listen" and "word" 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 "listen" and "word" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.