Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;
What does Jeremiah 18:15 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 18:14-17 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Jeremiah 18:15
" Jeremiah returns to, and continues the words of, Jeremiah 18:13 . Vanity - A word meaning "falsehood," which signifies that the worship of idols is not merely useless but injurious. They have caused them to stumble - Judah's prophets and priests were they who made her to err Jeremiah 5:31 . The idols were of themselves powerless for good or evil. In their ways ... - Or, "in their ways, the everlasting paths, to walk in byways, in a road not cast up. The paths of eternity" carry back the mind not to the immediate but to the distant past, and suggest the good old ways in which the patriarchs used to walk.
Key words
- forgotten
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Or, "that they have forgotten me" (z); this is the horrible thing they have done, which was unheard of among the Gentiles, who were always tenacious of their gods, and the worship of them; and that foolish and unwise thing, which was like leaving pure flowing streams of water for dirty puddles.
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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