Jeremiah 16:10

My Notes

What Does Jeremiah 16:10 Mean?

The people ask Jeremiah: "Why has the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What sin have we committed?" The questions sound innocent — they seem genuinely confused about why judgment is coming. But in context, their confusion is itself the problem. After decades of prophetic warning, they still can't see what they've done.

The word "wherefore" (madu'a) is a genuine request for explanation. They want to understand the connection between their behavior and God's response. But the request reveals a disconnect: they've been told — repeatedly, daily, for generations — and they still don't get it. Their ignorance isn't information-based; it's will-based. They can't see their sin because they don't want to.

God's answer (verses 11-13) is direct: your fathers forsook Me, and you've done worse. The sin isn't hidden. The explanation isn't complicated. The question "what is our sin?" is itself evidence of how deep the blindness goes.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Are you genuinely unable to see what's wrong, or have you been ignoring what you've been told?
• 2.What has God already said to you — through Scripture, counsel, or circumstances — that you haven't applied?
• 3.How does sin produce its own blindness?
• 4.Is your confusion about God's discipline genuine ignorance or willful deafness?

Devotional

"What did we do?" The people ask with straight faces. After generations of prophets, decades of warnings, centuries of evidence — they genuinely can't figure out what they did wrong. The question that should be humiliating is asked sincerely.

This is one of the most disturbing dynamics in Scripture: the inability to see your own sin. Not because the information isn't available — Jeremiah has been telling them daily. Not because the sin is subtle — they're worshipping foreign gods in broad daylight. But because sin produces its own blindness. The deeper you're in it, the less you can see it.

The people's question sounds reasonable: tell us what we did wrong and we'll fix it. But God has been telling them. For centuries. Every morning. Through every prophet. And they still ask "what is our sin?" as if nobody ever mentioned it. The asking is proof that they haven't been listening. The question answers itself.

This is a warning for anyone who feels confused about why things aren't going well. Before you ask God "what did I do?" — ask yourself whether you've been listening to what He's already said. The answer might already be available in the sermons you've ignored, the Scriptures you've skimmed, the counsel you've dismissed.

Sometimes the answer to "what is our sin?" is: the fact that you have to ask.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture