וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם זֶ֤ה הַגֹּוי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽוא־שָׁמְע֗וּ בְּקֹול֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֔יו וְלֹ֥א לָקְח֖וּ מוּסָ֑ר אָֽבְדָה֙ הָֽאֱמוּנָ֔ה וְנִכְרְתָ֖ה מִפִּיהֶֽם׃
(Jeremiah 7:28)
And you shall say to them: “This is the nation that did not listen to the voice of YHWH its God and did not accept discipline—faithfulness has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.”
A Sentence of Rejection
Jeremiah 7:28 delivers a prophetic indictment in compact, carefully arranged Hebrew syntax. Through the use of relative clauses, coordinated verb sequences, and an evocative final ellipsis (missing subject), the verse builds a structure of national failure. This is not just accusation—it is divine analysis embedded in grammatical form.
Relative Clause with Demonstrative: זֶ֤ה הַגֹּוי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר…
The phrase opens with זֶ֤ה הַגֹּוי֙ (“This is the nation”)—a demonstrative + noun structure functioning as subject, immediately followed by a relative clause that defines their character.
- אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽוא־שָׁמְע֗וּ – “who did not listen”
- בְּקֹול֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֔יו – “to the voice of YHWH its God”
This construction defines the nation by what it refuses: not their actions, but their unwillingness to hear. The grammar frames disobedience as identity.
Coordinated Verbs: וְלֹ֥א לָקְח֖וּ מוּסָ֑ר
Following the first failure (not listening), a second parallel phrase reinforces the accusation:
- וְלֹ֥א לָקְח֖וּ – “and they did not take”
- מוּסָ֑ר – “discipline” or “correction”
This coordination of verbs highlights the double refusal: they neither listened nor accepted rebuke. These are not redundant—they show rejection at both auditory and moral levels.
Poetic Judgment: אָֽבְדָה הָֽאֱמוּנָה
With this phrase, the tone shifts from description to judgment:
- אָֽבְדָה – “has perished” (Qal perfect 3fs)
- הָֽאֱמוּנָה – “faithfulness” or “truth”
Note that אֱמוּנָה is grammatically feminine, so the verb agrees with it. The perfect tense expresses a completed loss—it is not merely fading; it is gone.
Final Blow: וְנִכְרְתָ֖ה מִפִּיהֶֽם
This passive verb form וְנִכְרְתָ֖ה (Nifal perfect 3fs from כ־ר־ת, “to cut off”) intensifies the statement:
- מִפִּיהֶם – “from their mouth”
Interestingly, there is no explicit subject in this clause. The likely implied subject is again הָאֱמוּנָה, carried over from the previous phrase. This is a case of elliptical syntax, a poetic form of brevity that heightens rhetorical punch. “It has been cut off from their mouth”—the truth is not even spoken anymore.
Masoretic Flow and Emphasis
The cantillation marks in this verse pace the reader deliberately:
- Disjunctive accents separate the clauses.
- Strong stops before each evaluative clause amplify the cadence of condemnation.
This marks it as a prophetic speech unit—each phrase a drumbeat of divine accusation.
When Syntax Condemns
Jeremiah 7:28 teaches not only theology but syntax as theology. Through its layers of:
- Relative clauses that define character
- Coordinated verb pairs that intensify failure
- Elliptical clauses that deliver judgment with poetic brevity
—it shows us that in Biblical Hebrew, grammar doesn’t just carry the message—it is the message. The nation didn’t just act wrongly—they became the nation that does not listen.