Jeremiah 35:15 is God’s message to the people of Judah that he had repeatedly sent prophets to call them away from their evil ways and away from worshiping other gods, with the promise that they would then remain in the land he had given them. The verse records their refusal to listen. The words are spoken by the LORD through the prophet Jeremiah, who is passing on God’s complaint to the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem.
I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Every one of you must return now from his evil way, amend your doings, and don’t go after other gods to serve them, then you will dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers:’ but you have not inclined your ear, nor listened to me.
Jeremiah 35:15 (WEB)
What Jeremiah 35:15 Means
The verse begins with God describing a long pattern of sending messengers. The phrase “rising up early and sending them” suggests persistence, as if God were eager and attentive rather than distant. Each prophet carried the same basic message: turn from the wrong you are doing, change your behavior, and stop serving false gods. The verse frames this as an invitation, not a threat, since the stated result of repentance is that the people would stay in their homeland.
The verse does not promise that the land is secure no matter what people do, and it does not claim God is powerless to act. It also does not say that every individual Judahite was guilty in exactly the same way. What it does show is that God’s warnings came with real hope attached, and that the people’s stubborn refusal to listen was the real obstacle. Read honestly, the verse describes a relationship in which God keeps reaching out and the people keep turning away.
The Context of Jeremiah 35:15
The book of Jeremiah is traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, who ministered in Judah in the years leading up to the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC. His audience was the kingdom of Judah in its final decades, a people who had largely abandoned the covenant faithfulness their ancestors had promised. Chapter 35 sets a deliberate contrast: the Rechabites, a family who obeyed their ancestor Jonadab’s rule against drinking wine, are held up as faithful. Just before verse 15, God says he has spoken to Judah “rising up early and speaking,” and they did not listen.
Verses 16 and 17 then draw the sharp conclusion. The Rechabites kept their father’s command, while Judah did not listen to God, so judgment is announced. This setting shows that verse 15 is not a random list of demands. It is the center of a comparison between a family that obeyed a human command and a nation that ignored the word of the LORD, and that comparison makes the verse’s sorrowful tone much clearer.
Key Phrases in Jeremiah 35:15
Ezekiel 18:32
For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies,” says the Lord the LORD. “Therefore turn yourselves, and live!
(WEB)
This verse reinforces God’s desire that people turn and live rather than face destruction. Like Jeremiah 35:15, it shows that the call to repentance comes from a God who takes no pleasure in anyone’s death.
Jeremiah 7:13
Now, because you have done all these works,” says the LORD, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you didn’t hear; and I called you, but you didn’t answer…
(WEB)
This passage from earlier in Jeremiah describes the same pattern of God speaking persistently while the people refuse to respond. Reading it alongside verse 15 deepens the sense of a long, patient history of rejection.
A Short Prayer From Jeremiah 35:15
Lord, you keep calling me back when I drift, and you do not give up on me after the first or second warning. Open my ears to hear what you are saying through your word, through wise people, and through my own conscience. Where I have turned toward things that cannot save or satisfy me, show me the way back and give me the courage to change my direction. Help me to trust your promises and to walk faithfully in the place you have given me. Amen.
