And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.
What does Jeremiah 18:12 mean?
Sinners call it liberty to live at large; whereas for a man to be a slave to his lusts, is the very worst slavery. They forsook God for idols.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Jeremiah 18:11-13 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Jeremiah 18:12
And they said - Better, But they say. Imagination - Or, stubbornness, see Jeremiah 3:17 .
Key words
- but they said
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but they said.
- but they said
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but they said.
Context in Jeremiah 18
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Jeremiah 18 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as conflict with kings, priests, and prophets. Jeremiah combines fierce warning, autobiographical anguish, symbolic action, the promise of a new covenant, and the trauma of Jerusalem’s fall. Read this chapter with the wider themes of judgment, tears, and new covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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