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Jeremiah 6:10

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Jeremiah 6:10 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of Jehovah is become unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of Jehovah is become unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
Jeremiah 6:10 — American Standard Version

Context — Jeremiah 6

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
7As a well casteth forth its waters, so she casteth forth her wickedness: violence and destruction is heard in her; before me continually is sickness and wounds.
8Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from thee; lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited.
9Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn again thy hand as a grape-gatherer into the baskets.
10To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of Jehovah is become unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
11Therefore I am full of the wrath of Jehovah; I am weary with holding in: pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
12And their houses shall be turned unto others, their fields and their wives together; for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah.
13For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
← Jeremiah 6:9Jeremiah 6:11 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? etc.] These are the words of the prophet, despairing of any success by his ministry; suggesting that the people were so universally depraved, that there were none that would hear him; that speaking to them was only beating the air, and that all expostulations, warnings, remonstrances, and testimonies, would signify nothing: behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken; their ears were stopped with the filth of sin naturally, and they wilfully stopped their ears like the adder; and so being unsanctified, they neither could hear nor desired to hear the word of the Lord, as to understand it; (see <440751>Acts 7:51):…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“ear is uncircumcised--closed against the precepts of God by the foreskin of carnality (Lev 26:41; Eze 44:7; Act 7:51). word . . . reproach-- (Jer 20:8).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Give warning - Rather testify. Reproach - They make the Word of God the object of their ridicule. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Their ear - An uncircumcised ear, signifies the rejecting of instruction; an uncircumcised heart, an obstinate and rebellious will. They cannot - They had brought themselves under that incapacity by their obstinacy and wilfulness. A reproach - They laugh at it, and scorn it. Jeremiah 6:11”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“6:10-15 In a series of rhetorical questions, Jeremiah, the messenger-prosecutor, revealed his love for the people; he then expressed his disbelief when the people responded with scorn. After presenting evidence of sins committed by the people from the lowest level of society to the highest, the prophet transmitted a divine decree. The future tense of his indictment suggests that the message was given before the invasion. 6:10 The people could literally hear, because their retorts were filled with scorn, but they did not take the Lord’s message seriously (cp. Acts 7:51).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“To whom: Jer 5:4, Jer 5:5; Isa 28:9-13, Isa 53:1 give: Eze 3:18-21, Eze 33:3, Eze 33:9; Mat 3:7; Col 1:28; Heb 11:7 their ear: Jer 4:4, Jer 7:26; Exo 6:12; Deu 29:4; Isa 6:9, Isa 6:10, Isa 42:23-25; Act 7:51, Act 7:60 the word: Jer 20:8, Jer 20:9; Ch2 36:15, Ch2 36:16; Amo 7:10; Luk 11:45, Luk 20:19; Joh 7:7, Joh 9:40; Ti2 4:3 delight: Psa 1:2, Psa 40:8, Psa 119:16, Psa 119:24, Psa 119:35, Psa 119:70, Psa 119:77, Psa 119:174; Rom 7:22 Jeremiah 6:11”
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Related study paths

Read Jeremiah 6 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification