Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.

JEREMIAH 3:13KJV
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Jeremiah 3:13 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 3:13 mean?

Jeremiah 3:13 calls on Israel to admit that she has rebelled against the LORD and followed other gods. The verse presents honest acknowledgment of that wrongdoing as the response the LORD asks for when calling her to return.

The LORD speaks of Israel as an unfaithful woman. “Scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree” pictures her seeking foreign gods at places associated with their worship. After the invitation to return in verse 12, verse 13 identifies what Israel must acknowledge.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 3:13

  • “acknowledge” — יָדַע (yadaʿ): The word often means to know or recognize. Here it calls for Israel to recognize her wrongdoing openly, rather than overlook it.
  • “transgressed” — פָּשַׁע (pashaʿ): The word carries the sense of rebelling or breaking away. It presents Israel’s action as a breach of allegiance to the LORD.
  • “strangers” — זוּר (zur): The word can refer to outsiders or foreigners. In the picture of an unfaithful woman, “strangers” points to the foreign gods Israel pursued.

Why Jeremiah 3:13 matters

  • The verse treats the worship of other gods as a breach of loyalty to Israel’s own God. The words “against the LORD thy God” make that relationship central to the charge.
  • The final words broaden the charge beyond the places of worship. “Ye have not obeyed my voice” describes a failure to listen to what the LORD had said.
  • The call to return is addressed to a people who have done wrong, not to people claiming innocence. Verse 12 invites Israel back, and verse 13 begins with “Only acknowledge thine iniquity.”

Where else these words appear

“scattered” Hebrew H6340 · used in 10 verses

  • Esther 3:8 And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them.
  • Psalms 112:9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
  • Proverbs 11:24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

“green” Hebrew H7488 · used in 20 verses

  • Deuteronomy 12:2 Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
  • Psalms 37:35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
  • Jeremiah 2:20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.

“transgressed” Hebrew H6586 · used in 37 verses

  • 1 Kings 8:50 And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:
  • Psalms 51:13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
  • Jeremiah 2:29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.

“strangers” Hebrew H2114 · used in 76 verses

  • Exodus 29:33 And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.
  • Psalms 54:3 For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.
  • Isaiah 28:21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.