Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence:

JEREMIAH 23:39KJV
Know the Bible

Jeremiah 23:39 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 23:39 mean?

Jeremiah 23:39 describes God’s decision to completely reject and remove the people and their city from His presence because of their persistent unfaithfulness. God declares that He will forget and forsake them, taking away the city He had given to their ancestors and casting them out from before Him.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Judah, especially addressing false prophets and leaders who have led the people astray. The setting is a warning of coming judgment due to ongoing disobedience and the spreading of lies in God’s name. The verse emphasizes the seriousness of breaking covenant with God and the real consequences for a community that turns away from Him.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 23:39

  • "Utterly" (נָשָׂא, nāśā’): This word often means "to lift" or "to carry," but here it is used in a sense of "lifting away" or "removing," intensifying the idea of total rejection.
  • "Forget" (נָשָׁה, nāshāh): This word means "to forget" or "to neglect." In this context, it is not a passive forgetting, but an active decision by God to set aside His people.
  • "Forsake" (נָטַשׁ, nāṭash): This word means "to abandon" or "to leave behind." It highlights the seriousness of God’s withdrawal of His protection and favor.
  • "Presence" (פָּנִים, pānîm): This word literally means "face." To be cast out of God’s presence means losing the relationship and nearness to God that the people once enjoyed.

Why Jeremiah 23:39 matters

  • Jeremiah 23:39 clarifies that God’s judgment is not just a temporary discipline but can involve a complete removal of blessing and relationship when unfaithfulness persists.
  • The verse underscores the responsibility of leaders and prophets, showing that misleading others in God’s name brings severe consequences for the whole community.
  • Understanding the strong language in the original Hebrew helps readers see the depth of God’s sorrow and seriousness in responding to persistent rebellion, not just anger but a decisive, sorrowful separation.

Where else these words appear

“forget” Hebrew H5382 · used in 6 verses

  • Genesis 41:51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.
  • Job 11:6 And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
  • Isaiah 44:21 Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.

“utterly” Hebrew H5377 · used in 15 verses

  • Genesis 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
  • Psalms 55:15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
  • Jeremiah 29:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

“forsake” Hebrew H5203 · used in 39 verses

  • Genesis 31:28 And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing.
  • 1 Samuel 30:16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
  • Isaiah 16:8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.