What Does Jeremiah 3:13 Mean in the King James?
Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Return begins by naming rebellion as a breakaway path and a voice left unheard.
THE MEANING
The verse names a present rupture: you rebel against the LORD your God, scatter your ways among strangers beneath every green tree, and do not heed the LORD’s voice. Its opening call to acknowledge brings that divided path and unheard voice into view.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that return is possible while the rupture remains unnamed: the verse identifies rebellion, the scattered path, and the voice left unheard.
THE ROOT
פָּשַׁעַתְּ
pāšaʿat
GROWS FROM
פשע
To rebel, break away.
The verb translated “transgressed” belongs to the root of rebellion and breaking away; its noun branch names the break itself as פֶּשַׁע. The verse frames the rupture as a departure from relationship, made visible in the scattered ways that follow.
ALSO GROWS
pešaʿ: Rebellion; transgression.
פֶּשַׁע
This noun names the break enacted by the verb in the verse.
pōšēaʿ: A rebel; one who breaks away.
פֹּשֵׁעַ
The same root describes the one who makes the break, keeping the verse’s transgression relational rather than abstract.
דְּרָכַיִךְ
derakhayikh
GROWS FROM
דרך
To tread, step, or make a way.
The English “ways” can sound like an abstract code of conduct, while this Hebrew family also carries the concrete act of treading a route. Here, the scattered paths are lived directions spread among strangers beneath every green tree.
ALSO GROWS
derekh: Way; path; road.
דֶּרֶךְ
This is the singular form of the word whose plural appears in the verse.
dārakh: To tread; step.
דָּרַךְ
This verb shares the root and shows how a way is connected to the steps taken along it.
שְׁמַעְתֶּם
shemaʿtem
GROWS FROM
שמע
To hear, listen, and attend.
“obeyed” in this verse is shemaʿtem. The verb is built on שָׁמַע, “hear,” and in this setting hearing carries the response of attention. The LORD’s voice is named, while the listening response is absent.
ALSO GROWS
shemaʿ: Hear; listen and respond.
שְׁמַע
This form makes audible the receptive response implied by the verse’s verb.
shemuʿah: Report; news; something heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
This branch shows the root extending from the act of hearing to what reaches the hearer.
THE PATTERN
Return opens as the breach is named openly and met with release or cleansing.
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.THE THREAD
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.Isaiah uses the same root, פשע, in “our transgressions,” naming rebellion as a shared rupture. The verse places that rupture beside healing, opening Jeremiah’s call to acknowledge the break toward the possibility of repair.
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