the Second Week after Easter
Click here to learn more!
Read the Bible
King James Version
Jeremiah 4:3
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- BridgewayEncyclopedias:
- InternationalParallel Translations
For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
For thus says the LORD to the men of Yehudah and to Yerushalayim, Break up your fallow ground, and don't sow among thorns.
For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: "Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: "Break up your uncultivated ground, And do not sow among thorns.
This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: "Plow your unplowed fields, and don't plant seeds among thorns.
For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, "Plow your uncultivated ground [for a season], And do not sow among thorns.
For thus says Yahweh to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and don't sow among thorns.
For thus saith the Lorde to the men of Iudah, and to Ierusalem,
For thus says Yahweh to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,"Break up your fallow ground,And do not sow among thorns.
For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: "Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among the thorns.
People of Jerusalem and Judah, don't be so stubborn! Your hearts have become hard, like unplowed ground where thornbushes grow.
For here is what Adonai says to the people of Y'hudah and Yerushalayim: "Break up your ground that hasn't been plowed, and do not sow among thorns."
For thus saith Jehovah to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up for you a fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: "Your fields have not been plowed. Plow those fields! Don't plant seeds among the thorns.
For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Light your lamp; and sow not among thorns.
The Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, "Plow up your unplowed fields; do not plant your seeds among thorns.
For thus says Yahweh to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, "Break up for yourselves prepared virgin soil, and you must not sow among thornbushes.
For so says Jehovah to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow to the thorns.
For thus saieth the LORDE, to all Iuda and Ierusalem: plowe youre londe, and sowe not amonge the thornes.
For thus saith Jehovah to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: Get your unworked land ploughed up, do not put in your seeds among thorns.
For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: break up for you a fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
For thus saith the Lord to the men of Iudah and Ierusalem, Breake vp your fallow ground, and sow not among thornes.
For thus saith the Lorde to all Iuda and Hierusalem: Plowe your lande, and sowe not among the thornes.
For thus saith the Lord to the men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Break up fresh ground for yourselves, and sow not among thorns.
For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
For the Lord God seith these thingis to a man of Juda and to a dwellere of Jerusalem, Make ye newe to you a lond tilid of the newe, and nyle ye sowe on thornes.
For thus says Yahweh to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and don't sow among thorns.
For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
Yes, the Lord has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives.
For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: "Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.
This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns.
For the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, "Break up your ground which has not been planted, and do not plant seeds among thorns.
For thus says the Lord to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.
For thus saith Yahweh Unto the men of Judah and unto Jerusalem, Till ye the untilled ground, - And do not sow among thorns.
For thus saith the Lord to the men of Juda and Jerusalem: Break up anew your fallow ground, and sow not upon thorns:
For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: "Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
For thus said Jehovah, To the man of Judah, and to Jerusalem: Till for yourselves tillage, And do not sow unto the thorns.
Here's another Message from God to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Plow your unplowed fields, but then don't plant weeds in the soil! Yes, circumcise your lives for God's sake. Plow your unplowed hearts, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem. Prevent fire—the fire of my anger— for once it starts it can't be put out. Your wicked ways are fuel for the fire.
For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, "Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Break: Genesis 3:18, Hosea 10:12, Matthew 13:7, Matthew 13:22, Mark 4:7, Mark 4:18, Mark 4:19, Luke 8:7, Luke 8:14, Galatians 6:7, Galatians 6:8
Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 7:3 - prepare Job 36:10 - commandeth Proverbs 24:31 - it Isaiah 28:24 - break Isaiah 66:15 - with his
Cross-References
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord .
And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord , them have I given thee.
And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king:
Gill's Notes on the Bible
For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem,.... The two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who were at the time of this prophecy in their own land; and so are distinguished from Israel the ten tribes, who were in captivity; unless the same persons should be meant, who were called by these several names, the people of the Jews; and it was in Judea that our Lord appeared in the flesh, and to the inhabitants thereof he ministered, he was the minister of the circumcision; and so to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, whom he called to repentance, and would have gathered, Matthew 23:37:
break up your fallow ground; this is ground that lies untilled, not ploughed, nor sown, on which nothing grows but the produce of nature, as weeds, thorns, briers, c. is common to men and beasts, and is trodden upon, and, so is hard and unsusceptible of seed which, if it accidentally falls upon it, makes no impression on it, and is not received by it; and the breaking of it up is by the plough. The "fallow ground" fitly represents the hearts of unregenerate men, which are unopened to the word, and unbroken by it; nor have they the seed of divine grace sown in them; but are destitute of faith, hope, love, fear, and the like; there is nothing grows there but the weeds of sin and corruption; and are like a common beaten road; are the common track of sin, where lusts pass to and fro, and dwell; and so are hardened and obdurate, as hard as a stone, yea, harder than the nether millstone; and who, though they may occasionally be under the word, it makes no impression on them; it has no place in them, but is like the seed that falls by the wayside, Matthew 13:4, unless divine power attends it; for the Gospel is the plough, and ministers are the ploughmen; but it is the Lord alone that makes it effectual to the breaking up the fallow ground of men's hearts, Luke 9:62, but when the Lord puts his hand to the plough it enters within, and opens the heart; it is quick, powerful, and sharp; it cuts deep, and makes long and large furrows, even strong convictions of sin; it throws a man's inside outward, as the plough does the earth; and lays all the wicked of his heart open to him; and roots up the pride, the vanity, and boasting of the creature, and other lusts; and so makes way for the seed of divine grace to be sown there:
and sow not among thorns; or, "that ye may not sow among thorns" o; for, unless the fallow ground is broken up, it will be no other than sowing among thorns; and unless the hearts of men are opened by the power and grace of God, they will not attend to the things that are spoken; preaching and eating the word will be like sowing among thorns; cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the pleasures of life, and the lusts thereof, which are comparable to thorns, because pricking, perplexing, and distressing, and because vain and unprofitable, choke the word, and make it unfruitful; see Matthew 13:7, now this exhortation in the text does not suppose power in man to break up and open his heart; but to show his want of renewing grace; the necessity of it; and the danger he is in without it; and to awaken in him a concern for it; see Ezekiel 18:31. The words may be applied to backsliding professors, since backsliding Israel and Judah are the persons addressed; and this may be done with great propriety and pertinence to the simile; for fallow ground is that which has been broke up and sown, and laid fallow. It is usual to till and sow two years, and lay fallow a third: and backsliding Christians look very much like fallow ground; so faithless, so lukewarm, and indifferent; so inattentive to the word, and unconcerned under it; so barren and unfruitful, as if they had never had any faith, or love, or good work in them; so that they need to be renewed in the spirit of their minds; to have a new face of things put upon them: and to have a clean heart, and a right spirit, created in them. The Targum is,
"make to yourselves good works, and seek not salvation in sins.''
o ואל תזרעו "ut non seratis".
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
To the men - To each man “of Judah.” They are summoned individually to repentance.
Break up - literally, Fallow for you a fallow ground, i. e., do not sow the seeds of repentance in unfit soil, but just as the farmer prepares the ground, by clearing it of weeds, and exposing it to the sun and air, before entrusting to it the seed, so must you regard repentance as a serious matter, requiring forethought, and anxious labor. To sow in unfallowed ground was practically to sow on land full of thorns.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Jeremiah 4:3. Break up your fallow ground — Fallow ground is either that which, having been once tilled, has lain long uncultivated; or, ground slightly ploughed, in order to be ploughed again previously to its being sown. Ye have been long uncultivated in righteousness; let true repentance break up your fruitless and hardened hearts; and when the seed of the word of life is sown in them, take heed that worldly cares and concerns do not arise, and, like thorns, choke the good seed.
