When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.

JEREMIAH 14:12KJV
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Jeremiah 14:12 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 14:12 mean?

Jeremiah 14:12 describes how God will not respond to the people’s religious acts—such as fasting, burnt offerings, or other sacrifices—because their hearts are not right, and instead, He will bring judgment through war, famine, and disease. The verse shows that outward rituals cannot replace genuine faithfulness or obedience.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Judah during a time of crisis, likely a drought. The people are trying to seek God’s favor through traditional religious practices, but God makes it clear that these actions are empty without true repentance. Instead of accepting their offerings, God warns that severe consequences—sword, famine, and pestilence—are coming because of their persistent unfaithfulness.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 14:12

  • fast (צוֹם, tsom): This word refers to abstaining from food as a religious act. Here, it highlights that even sincere-seeming acts of humility are not enough when the heart is not changed.
  • hear (שָׁמַע, shama‘) and cry (רִנָּה, rinah): “Hear their cry” uses two words—one for listening and one for a desperate plea. God is saying He will not respond to their urgent prayers if they are not genuine.
  • offering (עֹלָה, ‘olah) and oblation (מִנְחָה, minchah): These are specific types of sacrifices—burnt offerings and grain offerings. Their mention shows the people are doing all the right rituals, but God rejects them because the relationship is broken.
  • consume (כָּלָה, kalah): This word means to bring to an end or finish off. God is warning of complete judgment, not just a temporary setback.

Why Jeremiah 14:12 matters

  • Jeremiah 14:12 makes clear that religious rituals alone do not guarantee God’s favor; sincerity and obedience are essential.
  • The verse helps correct the misunderstanding that God can be appeased by outward acts while ignoring deeper issues of faith and justice.
  • This verse connects to the wider message of Jeremiah, where God repeatedly calls for genuine repentance rather than empty tradition.

Where else these words appear

“fast” Hebrew H6684 · used in 17 verses

  • Judges 20:26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
  • 2 Samuel 12:21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
  • Ezra 8:23 So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.

“cry” Hebrew H7440 · used in 33 verses

  • 1 Kings 8:28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:
  • Psalms 105:43 And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness:
  • Isaiah 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

“pestilence” Hebrew H1698 · used in 48 verses

  • Exodus 5:3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.
  • Psalms 91:3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
  • Jeremiah 42:22 Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn.

“accept” Hebrew H7521 · used in 55 verses

  • Genesis 33:10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
  • 2 Chronicles 36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
  • Psalms 149:4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.