Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.

JEREMIAH 26:13KJV
Know the Bible

Jeremiah 26:13 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 26:13 mean?

Jeremiah 26:13 urges the people to change their behavior and actions and to listen to God, promising that if they do, God will change His mind about bringing disaster upon them. The verse makes clear that the threatened judgment is not inevitable if the people respond to God's warning.

In this verse, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking to the people of Judah in Jerusalem. He is warning them that their current path will lead to destruction, but he also offers hope: if they "amend" their "ways" and "doings," and "obey" God's voice, then God will "repent" or relent from the "evil" (meaning disaster or calamity) He has declared. This moment comes as Jeremiah stands in the temple, facing opposition for his message, but he stresses that God's warnings are meant to give people a chance to turn back.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 26:13

  • "Amend" (הֵיטִיב, heitiv) means to make good or improve. Jeremiah is not just calling for minor adjustments but for a real change in direction and character.
  • "Repent" (נָחַם, nacham) here refers to God relenting or changing His course of action, not feeling regret as humans do. It highlights that God's warnings are genuine opportunities for mercy if people respond.
  • "Evil" (רָעָה, ra'ah) in this context means disaster or calamity, not moral evil. The verse is about God withholding a threatened judgment, not about God doing something morally wrong.

Why Jeremiah 26:13 matters

  • Jeremiah 26:13 clarifies that God's warnings are not empty threats; they are invitations for people to change and avoid judgment.
  • The verse shows that God's character includes both justice and mercy—He is willing to withhold disaster if people genuinely turn back to Him.
  • This verse connects to the larger message of Jeremiah, where the prophet repeatedly calls for repentance, showing that even in the face of looming judgment, hope remains if people respond to God's call.

Where else these words appear

“doings” Hebrew H4611 · used in 41 verses

  • Deuteronomy 28:20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
  • Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
  • Jeremiah 32:19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

“repent” Hebrew H5162 · used in 100 verses

  • Genesis 5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
  • Job 29:25 I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.
  • Jeremiah 18:8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

“amend” Hebrew H3190 · used in 102 verses

  • Genesis 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
  • Deuteronomy 30:5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
  • Psalms 36:3 The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.