Jeremiah 17:23 (LSB)

Passage

Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or receive discipline.

Nearby Context

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.

Jeremiah 17:23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or receive discipline.

Jeremiah 17:24 “But it will be, if you listen carefully to Me,” declares Yahweh, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work on it,

Jeremiah 17:25 then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "listen", "incline", "ears", "stiffened", "necks", "order", and "receive". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "listen" and "incline", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "You shall not bring a load out..." into verse 24's "But it will be if you listen...", so "listen" and "incline" 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 "incline" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.