Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.

JEREMIAH 6:19KJV
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Jeremiah 6:19 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 6:19 mean?

Jeremiah 6:19 warns that God will bring disaster ("evil") upon the people of Judah as a direct result of their own thoughts and choices, specifically because they have ignored and rejected His words and law. The verse calls on the whole earth to witness this judgment, making it clear that the people's own actions have led to these consequences.

In this verse, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking God's message to the people of Jerusalem and Judah during a time of great unfaithfulness. God is not just punishing random wrongdoing; He is responding to the "fruit of their thoughts"—meaning the real-life results of their inner attitudes and decisions. The people have deliberately refused to listen ("hearken") to God's instructions and have turned away from His law, so their suffering is portrayed as a natural outcome of their rejection.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 6:19

  • "evil" (רָעָה, ra‘ah): This word often means calamity or disaster, not just moral evil. Here, it emphasizes that the coming trouble is a consequence, not just an arbitrary punishment.
  • "fruit" (פְּרִי, peri): This word means the result or outcome, like the harvest from a plant. The verse points out that the people's own thoughts and choices are producing these consequences.
  • "thoughts" (מַחְשָׁבוֹת, machshevot): This word refers to plans, intentions, or inner reasoning. The verse highlights that judgment comes not only from outward actions, but from the inward mindset that led to them.
  • "law" (תּוֹרָה, torah): This word means instruction or teaching, not just legal rules. The people have rejected God's guidance for living, not just a list of commands.

Why Jeremiah 6:19 matters

  • Jeremiah 6:19 clarifies that God's judgment is not random or unfair; it is a direct response to the people's own choices and attitudes, especially their rejection of His guidance.
  • The verse connects inner life ("thoughts") with outward consequences, showing that what people dwell on and plan in their hearts eventually shapes their fate.
  • By calling on the earth to witness, Jeremiah 6:19 places Judah's actions and God's response in a global, even cosmic, context—emphasizing the seriousness of turning away from God's words.

Where else these words appear

“hearkened” Hebrew H7181 · used in 45 verses

  • 1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
  • Proverbs 1:24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
  • Isaiah 48:18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:

“thoughts” Hebrew H4284 · used in 52 verses

  • Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
  • Psalms 40:5 Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
  • Isaiah 66:18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

“rejected” Hebrew H3988 · used in 69 verses

  • Leviticus 26:15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
  • Job 30:1 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.
  • Isaiah 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

“fruit” Hebrew H6529 · used in 107 verses

  • Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
  • Nehemiah 10:35 And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the LORD:
  • Isaiah 37:30 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.