Jeremiah 7:25 · Bible study
Jeremiah 7:25 Commentary: ‘Daily Rising Early’
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore Jeremiah 7:25 where God describes sending prophets daily, rising early. Understand the Hebrew verbs and God’s relentless pursuit of His people.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God relentlessly sent prophets from the exodus to Jeremiah’s day, pictured as rising early each day to call His people back.
- Key words: “Rising early” (H7925 Hiphil infinitive absolute) + “sending” (H7971 Qal infinitive absolute), paired infinitives emphasize continuous, diligent action.
- Main debate: Whether the phrase is strictly anthropomorphic metaphor or describes God’s actual daily intervention in history; most commentators take it as vivid idiom for eager persistence.
- Theological theme: Divine patience and grace alongside human stubbornness and the cost of persistent rebellion.
- Best use: A sermon on God’s character (slow to anger) and a warning against hardening one’s heart through repeated rejection of His Word.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
From the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets again and again.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them.
KJV King James Version 1769
Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day, I have sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Even from the day when your fathers Went out of the land of Egypt till this day, I send to you all my servants the prophets, Daily rising early and sending,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt, unto this day, have I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them;
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
From the day that their fathers came out of the land of Egypt, even to this day. And I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, from day to day, rising up early and sending.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Desde el día que vuestros padres salieron de la tierra de Egipto hasta hoy. Y os envié á todos los profetas mis siervos, cada día madrugando y enviándolos:
Desde o dia em que vossos pais saíram da terra do Egito até hoje, eu vos enviei a todos os meus servos os profetas, e enviando-os dia após dia.
Depuis le jour où vos pères sont sortis du pays d’ Égypte,
Ja, von dem Tage an, da ich eure Väter aus Ägyptenland geführt habe, bis auf diesen Tag habe ich stets zu euch gesandt alle meine Knechte, die Propheten.
Van dien dag af, dat uw vaders uit Egypteland zijn uitgegaan, tot op dezen dag, zo heb Ik tot u gezonden al Mijn knechten, de profeten, dagelijks vroeg op zijnde en zendende.
Dal giorno che i vostri padri uscirono dal paese d’Egitto fino al dì d’oggi, io v’ho mandato tutti i miei servi, i profeti, e ve l’ho mandati ogni giorno, fin dal mattino;
Ode dnia, którego wyszli ojcowie wasi z ziemi egipskiej, aż do dnia tego, posyłałem do was wszystkich sług moich proroków, co dzień rano wstawając i posyłając;
С того дня, как отцы ваши вышли из земли Египетской, до сего дня Я посылал к вам всех рабов Моих - пророков, посылал всякий день с раннего утра;
自從 你們列祖 出 埃及 地 的那日，直到 今 日，我差遣 我的僕人 眾 先知 到你們那裡去，每日 從早起來 差遣他們。
From the day when your fathers came out of Egypt till this day, I have sent my servants the prophets to you, getting up early every day and sending them:
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Jeremiah 7:25
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that Jeremiah 7:25 emphasizes God’s persistent, unrelenting outreach to His people. Calvin argues that God “had lost all his labor” yet continued sending prophets, exposing Israel’s “perpetual imitation” of their fathers’ rebellion. Keil and Delitzsch note that the phrase “daily rising up early and sending” (Hebrew: yom hashkem veshaloach, a Hiphil infinitive absolute + Qal infinitive absolute) conveys “watchful care”, God’s anxious diligence day after day. Gill adds that this clause is concessive: “although I have sent,” which deepens the indictment: the more God sent, the more the people hardened themselves. The core agreement: this verse frames the entire prophetic tradition as a divine initiative of grace, relentlessly pursuing a stubborn nation.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: God persistently sent prophets to Israel from the exodus to Jeremiah’s day, and Israel persistently refused to listen.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'daily rising up early' | All major traditions agree the phrase denotes God’s diligent, persistent sending of prophets. | Some see it as a literal description of God rising at dawn; others as a metaphorical expression for eagerness and care. Both agree on the persistence. |
| Connection between prophets and exodus generation | God began sending prophets immediately after the exodus, covering the entire history from Moses to Jeremiah. | Whether this refers only to canonical prophets (like those in the writing prophets) or also includes other divinely sent figures (judges, leaders). |
| Relationship between obedience and sacrifice in the surrounding passage | Obedience to God’s voice is the primary requirement; sacrifice without obedience is empty. | How to understand Jeremiah 7:22-23: some argue God temporarily set aside the sacrificial system, while others emphasize the priority of obedience over ritual. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jeremiah 7:25 sits within the “Temple Sermon” (chapters 7, 10), likely delivered early in Jehoiakim’s reign, before the fourth year of that king (Lange). Jeremiah stood in the temple gate and charged the people with trusting in the building as a charm against judgment while living in disobedience. The sermon recalls the destruction of Shiloh (v.12), the earlier sanctuary, as a warning.
The verse covers a massive span, from the exodus to Jeremiah’s own day. The Hebrew phrase “from the day… unto this day” ( lemin hayom… ad hayom hazzeh ) echoes Deuteronomy 9:7, which also rebukes Israel’s rebellion from the start. The anthropomorphism “daily rising up early and sending” uses the Hiphil infinitive absolute of shakham (“rising early”) followed by the Qal infinitive absolute of shalach (“sending”). This double infinitive construction intensifies the idea of continuous, eager action, God is pictured as one who cannot sleep in, who rises at dawn to plead with His children. The same idiom appears in 2 Chronicles 36:15, reinforcing that God’s patience extended through the entire monarchy.
Historically, the prophets sent included Moses, Deborah, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Hosea, and many others. Yet the response of the people is summarized with terms like “stiff-necked” (v.26) and “walked backward, not forward” (v.24). The phrase “rising up early” thus exposes two realities: God’s extraordinary grace in never giving up, and Israel’s extraordinary hardness in refusing to listen. This context remains the setting for understanding the depth of God’s love and the seriousness of persistent rebellion.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Jeremiah 7:25. The Hebrew text is stable across major manuscripts. The BSB translation “again and again” captures the iterative sense of the Hebrew idiom, while most English versions render the phrase literally.
Reception History
This verse has been a cornerstone for emphasizing God’s long-suffering character. In the early church, it was cited to argue that God never abandons His people without warning. The Reformers, particularly Calvin, used it to illustrate both God’s grace and human guilt. Jewish commentators often highlight the honor of the prophets and the tragedy of Israel’s rejection. The phrase “rising up early” reappears in 2 Chronicles 36:15 and in Nehemiah 9 (cross-references) as a refrain of God’s relentless call. In hymnody, themes of God’s faithful patience echo this verse, though no specific hymn is attached.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God’s Relentless Initiative, He sent prophets “daily, rising up early,” a Hebrew idiom that pictures God’s eagerness to call His people back.
- Israel’s Chronic Rebellion, From the exodus to Jeremiah, the pattern was disobedience. Verse 25 covers centuries of repeated rejection.
- The Call to Obedience Over Ritual, The surrounding context (vv.21-23) prioritizes listening to God’s voice over offering sacrifices.
Five-point outline
- God’s persistent grace does not depend on our response.
- Our hardness can be passed from one generation to the next.
- Prophets are gifts from God, even when their message is unwelcome.
- There is no safety in religious routine apart from a listening heart.
- God’s “giving up” (v.29) is the tragic result of prolonged refusal to listen.
Illustration hooks
- A parent who wakes early every morning to make breakfast for a teenager who leaves without a word.
- A doctor who calls a patient repeatedly to discuss critical test results; the patient ignores each message.
- A farmer who gets up before dawn to tend a field that yields no crop, yet he keeps cultivating.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God still “rise early” to speak to us today? If so, how?
- How do I know when I am stiffening my neck against God’s voice?
- What might it cost me to finally stop hardening my heart?
Leading a Discussion
This verse shows us a God who does not give up easily. He keeps sending messengers, keeps calling, keeps rising early. The goal of this discussion is to see both God’s character and our own tendency to turn away.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What specific phrase in verse 25 reveals God’s persistence? How does the Hebrew construction (double infinitives) reinforce that?
- Observation: What historical span does this verse cover? Why is it significant that God mentions the exodus here?
- Interpretation: Why does God use such human-like language, rising early, sending, to describe His actions? What does this tell us about His character?
- Interpretation: How does this verse connect to the preceding contrast between sacrifice and obedience (vv.21-23)?
- Interpretation: The people are said to have “walked backward, not forward” (v.24). What does that look like in real terms?
- Application: In what areas of your life might God be “rising early” to get your attention? How could you respond differently this week?
- Application: What would it mean for your small group or church to model a “listening posture” toward God’s Word today?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 9:7 | Remember, and don’t forget, how you provoked Yahweh your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. |
| Deuteronomy 9:21 | I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire, and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust. I threw its dust into the brook that descended out of the mountain. |
| Deuteronomy 9:24 | You have been rebellious against Yahweh from the day that I knew you. |
| I Samuel 8:7 | Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they tell you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me as the king over them. |
| I Samuel 8:8 | According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, in that they have forsaken me and served other gods, so they also do to you. |
| II Chronicles 36:15 | Yahweh, the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers, rising up early and sending, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place; |
| Ezra 9:7 | Since the days of our fathers we have been exceedingly guilty to this day; and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. |
| Nehemiah 9:16 | “But they and our fathers behaved proudly, hardened their neck, didn’t listen to your commandments, |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin argues that children cannot excuse their sins by pointing to their fathers' bad example. In his reading, the ongoing imitation of evil across generations does not lessen guilt but proves a deeper, willful stubbornness. God's repeated warnings from the exodus onward reveal how deliberate their rebellion was.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
25, 26 . Repeated substantially in ch. Jer_11:7 f.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
God emphasizes his relentless patience: from the Exodus until now, he has sent every prophet personally, rising early each day to do so. The repeated image of rising early shows that God was never late, never reluctant, and never gave up on his people despite their long history of rejection.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasizes the aggravation of Israel's sin: from the exodus onward they kept going backward, not forward, even though God sent all his prophets daily, rising early in his care. That constant, diligent sending only highlights Israel's hardness and obstinacy.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch stress that the people ignored the very heart of the law, choosing instead the stubborn counsels of their own evil hearts. They read the Hebrew as coordinating two terms the Septuagint omitted, preserving a deliberate emphasis on the people's backward turning from God.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange highlights that the people’s false trust in the temple as an unconditional guarantee of safety led them to believe they could sin freely and still be delivered. He stresses that Jeremiah refutes this by pointing to Shiloh as proof that God is not bound to any place, and by demanding genuine obedience over mere outward worship.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry shows that God speaks with deliberate contempt about the people's sacrifices, treating their ceremonial worship as worthless. The point is clear: external offerings mean nothing to God when the offerer continues in deliberate disobedience. Religious ritual cannot substitute for obedience.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley emphasizes that from the time referenced onward, the church has never lacked divinely appointed teachers. God has faithfully raised up and sent instructors for His people in every generation, ensuring the church is never left without guidance.