Jeremiah 23:20 Meaning: Understanding Does Not Come Early
Yahweh’s anger will not return until he has executed and performed the intents of his heart. In the latter days, you will understand it perfectly.
The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
The anger of Jehovah shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall understand it perfectly.
The anger of Jehovah doth not turn back Till His doing, and till His establishing, The thoughts of His heart, In the latter end of the days ye attend to it With understanding.
The anger of Jehovah shall not return, until he have executed, and until he have performed the purposes of his heart: at the end of the days ye shall understand it clearly.
Meaning in one sentence
Jeremiah 23:20 shows God's unstoppable purpose and the promise that one day His people will understand what they cannot see now.
Context
The words come from a time when prophets who never heard from God were telling people what they wanted to hear. Jeremiah 23 is a courtroom scene of sorts. God is exposing leaders who claimed His authority but spoke their own inventions. In verses 16 through 22, the Lord contrasts these false prophets with those who actually stand in His council. The storm of His wrath has gone out, Jeremiah says, and it will not stop until it has done exactly what God intends. The verse sits in that storm, as a guarantee that God’s purposes, unlike human threats, do not evaporate.
Key Words
The verb behind “will not return” (shuv) carries the weight of someone sent on an errand who does not come home until the work is finished. It is the same root the prophets use when they call people to repent, to turn back to God. Here, God’s own anger is on a mission that will not cancel halfway. The word for “purposes” (mezimmah) has a sharper edge than we might expect. It can mean a carefully laid plan, even a plot. There is nothing random about what is coming. And at the end of the verse, the Hebrew doubles the verb for understanding: literally, “you will understand with understanding.” It is not a glance. It is a comprehension that finally sinks in all the way.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians across traditions have wrestled with what “the latter days” means here. Many Protestant commentators, such as Barnes and Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, read this primarily as the coming Babylonian exile itself. The people would only understand God’s purpose when the siege and captivity actually came. Others, including the Baptist commentator Gill, see a longer horizon reaching to the time of the Messiah, when the veil would be lifted. Both readings honor the certainty of judgment in the verse. They differ on when full understanding arrives. What unites them is the conviction that God’s purposes are not empty threats and that human comprehension always lags behind God’s action.
A common misunderstanding
A common misreading takes this verse as a raw picture of an angry God who simply cannot be stopped. In fact, the verse puts the emphasis exactly where it belongs: God’s anger carries out “the intents of his heart.” The Hebrew word (mezimmah) means a carefully thought-out purpose, not an outburst. The judgment has a goal, not merely a target. It is meant to accomplish something specific. When that is done, the anger has served its purpose. The verse is a promise that God acts with intention, not impulse.
Living This Out
This verse asks you to hold two truths at once. God’s purposes are unstoppable. What He has set in motion will not be called off. That is sobering when we are on the wrong side of it. But the verse also says that understanding will come. Not now, perhaps. Not yet. But in the latter days, you will see clearly. That promise matters most when life feels confusing or when the consequences of sin are crashing in. It tells you that confusion is not final. You can ask God for the humility to learn from hard things now, and the patience to wait for the understanding that He will give in His time.
Main takeaway: God’s judgment serves a deliberate purpose, and though we may not understand it now, the day will come when we see clearly.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
God’s anger is not like ours. It does not get out of control. He knows what He is doing, and He only does what is right. One day you will understand why He lets hard things happen. Until then, you can trust Him.
For ages 9, 12
This verse helped God’s people know that when hard times came, it was not because God had lost control. He had a plan all along. In fact, the word for “purposes” in Hebrew means a carefully thought-out plan, not a sudden decision. Sometimes we do not understand why things are difficult until much later, sometimes years later. But we can trust that God’s heart has good purposes, even when we cannot see them yet. The promise “in the latter days you will understand” means that confusion is not the last word. Understanding is coming. That gives us hope while we wait, and it teaches us to be humble when we think we know everything right away. Even the people who heard Jeremiah’s words did not fully grasp them until the exile actually happened.
Questions People Ask
What does 'the latter days' mean in Jeremiah 23:20?
The phrase refers to a future time when God’s purposes become clear. Commentators differ on exactly when. Barnes and others see it as the Babylonian exile itself, when the people would finally understand why judgment came. Gill and the Jewish commentator Kimchi point further ahead to the time of the Messiah. The Hebrew word (acharit) simply means “end” or “after part,” so the timing depends on context.
Does this verse mean God’s anger is uncontrollable?
No. The key word for “intents” (mezimmah) means a carefully planned purpose. This is not a picture of God losing His temper. It is a picture of measured, purposeful judgment that will not stop until it accomplishes what God intends.
What are 'the intents of his heart' in this verse?
The Hebrew word mezimmah can mean purpose, discretion, or even a plot, a deliberate plan. In context, God has a specific goal in mind for His judgment. The false prophets had been telling people there would be peace. God says through Jeremiah that His judgment will accomplish exactly what He designed it to do, not what the false prophets predicted.
Why would the people only understand later?
The verse addresses people who refused to believe the prophets who spoke God’s word. They preferred the false prophets who promised peace. In their stubbornness, they could not see what was coming. But experience would teach them. Barnes notes that “taught by adversity” the exiles would find understanding.
Does this verse apply to us today or only to ancient Israel?
The immediate context is about Judah and the false prophets of Jeremiah’s day. But the principle that God’s purposes are unstoppable and that understanding often comes later applies broadly. The ultimate scope, as some commentators note, points to a time when all God’s people will finally see His ways clearly.
For pastors & researchers
Hebrew interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study