They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.

JEREMIAH 44:10KJV
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Jeremiah 44:10 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 44:10 mean?

Jeremiah 44:10 says that the people have not humbled themselves, have not shown reverence or fear toward God, and have not followed the laws and commands that God gave to them and their ancestors. The verse points out their ongoing stubbornness and disobedience, even after many warnings and consequences.

In this verse, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking God’s words to the people of Judah who have fled to Egypt after Jerusalem’s destruction. Jeremiah is confronting them for repeating the same mistakes as their ancestors—ignoring God’s instructions and refusing to change their ways. The verse highlights a pattern of resistance to God’s guidance, which is a central theme in Jeremiah’s message to the exiles.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 44:10

  • "humbled" (כָּנַע, kanaʿ): This word means to be brought low or to submit oneself. Here, it emphasizes that the people have not shown any willingness to admit wrongdoing or change their attitude before God.
  • "law" (תּוֹרָה, torah): This word refers to God’s instruction or teaching, not just legal rules. The verse points out that the people have ignored the broader guidance God provided for living rightly.
  • "statutes" (חֻקָּה, chuqqah): This term means specific decrees or regulations. The verse distinguishes between general instruction ("torah") and particular commands ("chuqqah"), showing the people’s disregard for all aspects of God’s will.
  • "set" (נָתַן, natan): This word means "to give" or "to set before." It stresses that God actively presented these laws and statutes to the people and their ancestors, making their disobedience a deliberate choice.

Why Jeremiah 44:10 matters

  • The verse clarifies that the problem is not ignorance but a persistent refusal to listen and change, even after repeated chances.
  • By mentioning both the people and their ancestors, Jeremiah 44:10 connects the current generation’s actions to a long-standing pattern of disobedience, highlighting the seriousness of their choices.
  • This verse sets up the reason for the warnings and judgments that follow in the chapter, showing that God’s response is not sudden or unfair but comes after much patience and repeated calls to repentance.

Where else these words appear

“humbled” Hebrew H1792 · used in 18 verses

  • Job 4:19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?
  • Job 34:25 Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
  • Isaiah 3:15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

“statutes” Hebrew H2708 · used in 100 verses

  • Genesis 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
  • Leviticus 26:43 The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.
  • 2 Kings 17:34 Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;