O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

JEREMIAH 5:3KJV
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Jeremiah 5:3 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 5:3 mean?

Jeremiah 5:3 describes how God has watched over the people, seeking honesty and faithfulness, but even after punishing them to correct their ways, they have not changed or shown remorse. Instead, the people have stubbornly refused to accept correction and have become even more resistant to returning to God.

In this verse, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking to God about the people of Judah. Jeremiah points out that, despite God’s efforts to discipline and guide them, the people have become hardened and unresponsive. The verse uses strong imagery to show just how stubborn they have become, saying their faces are harder than rock, highlighting their unwillingness to repent or change direction.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 5:3

  • "Truth" (אֱמוּנָה, ’emunah): This word means faithfulness or reliability, not just factual truth. Jeremiah is saying God is looking for people who are truly faithful and trustworthy, not just outwardly religious.
  • "Correction" (מוּסָר, musar): This word refers to discipline or instruction meant to guide someone back to the right path. The verse emphasizes that God’s discipline was meant to help, but the people refused to accept it.
  • "Faces" (פָּנִים, panim) and "harder" (חָזַק, chazaq): The phrase about making their faces harder than a rock paints a picture of people who are determined not to listen or change, showing a deep level of stubbornness.

Why Jeremiah 5:3 matters

  • Jeremiah 5:3 clarifies that God’s discipline is not meant to harm but to correct and restore, yet people can still choose to resist it.
  • The verse highlights the seriousness of spiritual stubbornness, showing that repeated warnings and hardships do not always lead to repentance.
  • This verse connects to the larger message in Jeremiah, where the prophet laments the people’s refusal to return to God despite many opportunities and warnings.

Where else these words appear

“refused” Hebrew H3985 · used in 39 verses

  • Genesis 37:35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
  • 1 Samuel 8:19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
  • Proverbs 21:7 The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment.

“truth” Hebrew H530 · used in 49 verses

  • Exodus 17:12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
  • Psalms 40:10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.
  • Psalms 119:90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.

“correction” Hebrew H4148 · used in 50 verses

  • Deuteronomy 11:2 And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm,
  • Proverbs 7:22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
  • Proverbs 23:12 Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.

“rock” Hebrew H5553 · used in 54 verses

  • Numbers 20:8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
  • 1 Kings 19:11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:
  • Isaiah 22:16 What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?