And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.

JEREMIAH 25:6KJV
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Jeremiah 25:6 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 25:6 mean?

Jeremiah 25:6 presents God’s warning to the people of Judah against giving their service and worship to other gods. God promises that, if they turn away from those gods and stop provoking his anger, he will not bring harm upon them.

After the call to turn from evil in verse 5, Jeremiah speaks of another part of the people’s conduct: their treatment of gods made by human hands. The phrase “works of your hands” points to objects the people made and then treated as gods.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 25:6

  • “go” — הָלַךְ (halakh): This word often means to walk or go. Here, “go after” pictures people following other gods, rather than merely noticing or knowing about them.

  • “worship” — שָׁחָה (shachah): This word carries the sense of bowing down. It gives a physical picture of the honor the people were giving to other gods.

Why Jeremiah 25:6 matters

  • The warning concerns actions, not just a choice of words about God. “Serve” and “worship” describe ways the people gave their loyalty to other gods.

  • The promise is part of an appeal to change course. The words “I will do you no hurt” follow the commands to stop pursuing other gods and provoking God’s anger.

Where else these words appear

“anger” Hebrew H3707 · used in 53 verses

  • Deuteronomy 4:25 When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger:
  • 1 Kings 22:53 For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
  • Ecclesiastes 5:17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

“hurt” Hebrew H7489 · used in 80 verses

  • Genesis 19:7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
  • 2 Kings 21:11 Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols:
  • Isaiah 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.