Jeremiah 29:19 (WEB)

Passage

because they have not listened to my words,” says Yahweh, “with which I sent to them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but you would not hear,” says Yahweh.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 29:17 Yahweh of Armies says: “Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like rotten figs that can’t be eaten, they are so bad.

Jeremiah 29:18 I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an object of horror, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them,

Jeremiah 29:19 because they have not listened to my words,” says Yahweh, “with which I sent to them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but you would not hear,” says Yahweh.

Jeremiah 29:20 Hear therefore Yahweh’s word, all you captives, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Jeremiah 29:21 Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: “Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he will kill them before your eyes.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "listened", "words", "says", "yahweh", "sent", "servants", "prophets", and "rising". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "listened" and "words", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "I will pursue after them with the..." into verse 20's "Hear therefore Yahweh s word all you...", so "listened" and "words" 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 "listened" and "words" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.