“In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.”
My Notes
What Does Jeremiah 50:20 Mean?
Jeremiah 50:20 is one of the most radical promises of forgiveness in the Old Testament. Spoken in the context of Babylon's coming judgment (chapter 50), this verse turns from the destroyer to the destroyed and declares something almost unimaginable: Israel's sin will be looked for and not found.
"In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD" — the temporal marker places this in the eschatological future — the day when Babylon falls and God acts decisively to restore His people.
"The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none" — the Hebrew biqquash (shall be sought, searched for) paired with 'eynennu (there shall be none, it is not there) creates an image of someone searching through records for a crime that has been completely erased. The iniquity (Hebrew 'avon — crookedness, guilt, punishment of sin) isn't just forgiven. It's gone. Unfindable. As if it never existed.
"And the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found" — the Hebrew chatta'th (sins, offenses) of Judah are similarly unfindable. The Hebrew lo' timatse'na (they shall not be found) uses the language of a failed search. Someone looks for the evidence — turns the house upside down, checks every drawer — and comes up empty.
"For I will pardon them whom I reserve" — the Hebrew selachti (I will pardon) is God's proprietary forgiveness word (used only of divine action). The Hebrew sha'ar (reserve, leave as a remnant) identifies the recipients: the remnant, the ones God preserves through judgment. God pardons — and His pardoning is so thorough that it eliminates the evidence.
The theological vision is staggering: a forgiveness so complete that the sin becomes invisible. Not covered. Not overlooked. Searched for and not found. This anticipates the new covenant promise of Jeremiah 31:34: "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Reflection Questions
- 1.The verse describes sin 'sought for and not found' — erased so completely it's unfindable. Do you believe that's how God forgives you? What makes that hard to accept?
- 2.Israel's record of sin filled decades of prophetic accusation. If God can erase that record, what record in your life feels too long or too severe for the same treatment?
- 3.God says 'I will pardon them whom I reserve.' The pardon is God's initiative, not earned by the remnant. How does that change the way you approach God after failure?
- 4.Human forgiveness often remembers. God's forgiveness eliminates the evidence. What would it change in your life if you truly believed your sin was searched for and not found?
Devotional
Someone goes looking for your sin. They search the records. They check every file. They turn the place upside down.
And they find nothing.
That's the promise in this verse. Not that your sin is forgiven and filed away somewhere. Not that it's pardoned but still on record. It's sought for and not found. The evidence has been eliminated. The file is empty. The guilt you carried — the crookedness, the offenses, the whole accumulation of everything you did wrong — searched for, and gone.
This isn't human-grade forgiveness. Humans forgive and remember. Humans pardon and keep the receipt. God pardons and destroys the evidence so thoroughly that when someone comes looking, there's nothing to find.
Jeremiah writes this about Israel — a nation whose sins filled forty years of prophetic indictment. Everything Jeremiah cataloged — the idolatry, the injustice, the burning of children, the rejection of prophets, the broken covenant — all of it, sought for and not found. If God can erase that record, He can erase yours.
The last phrase matters: "I will pardon them whom I reserve." God chooses a remnant and pardons them. The pardon isn't earned by the quality of the remnant — it's given by the character of the God who reserves them. You're not pardoned because your repentance was impressive enough. You're pardoned because God decided to pardon, and His pardoning is so complete that the sin ceases to exist.
If you're carrying guilt that you believe is permanent — a record you think can never be expunged — this verse says otherwise. Sought for and not found. That's how thoroughly God forgives.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord,.... When mystical Babylon shall be destroyed, and the Jews will be…
Those days - The days of the Messiah. Reserve - Or, permit to remain: hence, the remnant, a word pregnant with meaning…
God is here by his prophet, as afterwards in his providence, proceeding in his controversy with Babylon. Observe,
I. The…
In those days, and in that time, etc.] See on ch. Jer 23:5 and cp. Jer 31:34; Mic 7:18.
whom I leave those who come…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture