But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:

JEREMIAH 9:14KJV
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Jeremiah 9:14 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 9:14 mean?

Jeremiah 9:14 says that the people have chosen to follow their own stubborn ideas and the worship of Baalim, as their ancestors did, instead of listening to God. This verse highlights that their actions are not new, but are learned behaviors passed down from previous generations.

In this passage, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking God’s message to the people of Judah. The situation is one of warning: God is explaining why judgment is coming. The verse points out that the people’s hearts are set on their own desires and on following false gods, specifically Baalim, which refers to various local deities worshipped in Canaan. The mention of their fathers teaching them this way shows that these patterns of turning from God have deep roots in their community.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 9:14

  • "walked" (יָלַךְ, yalak): This word means to go or walk, but often in the Hebrew Bible it refers to the way someone lives or the path they choose. Here, it emphasizes that the people have actively chosen a direction away from God.
  • "imagination" (שְׁרִרוּת, sherirut): This word is often understood as stubbornness or the inclinations of one’s own will, not just creative thoughts. It highlights that the people are following their own stubborn hearts, not just daydreaming.
  • "Baalim" (בַּעֲלִים, baalim): This is the plural form of Baal, referring to multiple false gods or idols. The use of the plural shows that the people were not just worshipping one false god, but were involved in widespread idol worship.

Why Jeremiah 9:14 matters

  • Jeremiah 9:14 clarifies that the people’s disobedience is not just a momentary lapse, but a deeply rooted pattern learned from their ancestors, making the problem generational.
  • The verse emphasizes the seriousness of following one’s own stubborn heart (not just “imagination” as in modern English), showing that the issue is willful resistance to God’s ways.
  • By naming Baalim, Jeremiah 9:14 connects the people’s current behavior to the specific problem of idol worship that had plagued Israel for centuries, setting the stage for why judgment is coming in the surrounding passage.

Where else these words appear

“imagination” Hebrew H8307 · used in 10 verses

  • Deuteronomy 29:19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:
  • Jeremiah 7:24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.
  • Jeremiah 16:12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:

“Baalim” Hebrew H1168 · used in 68 verses

  • Judges 2:11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
  • 1 Kings 19:18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
  • 2 Chronicles 17:3 And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;

“taught” Hebrew H3925 · used in 80 verses

  • Deuteronomy 4:1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.
  • Psalms 25:4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
  • Proverbs 5:13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!