Jeremiah 13:23
What is written? (ESV)
Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil.
What does it say?
The Ethiopian can’t change the color of his skin nor can the leopard change his spots. Likewise, you can’t do good when you are accustomed to doing evil.
What is its immediate context?
God is instructing the prophet Jeremiah what to preach to the people of Judah. His message was largely ignored by the people of Judah, as God had foretold it would be.
How Jeremiah 13:23 is applied across Bible answers
Does man have free will?
This passage doesn't apply since the point here is that the people had fallen so far into sin and were so "accustomed to do evil" that it would be nearly impossible to repent and turn away (e.g. "change his skin").
God warned them during Isaiah's day,17 and now about 100 years later told Jeremiah that the people of Judah had grown even more sinful than "Faithless Israel" (Jer 3:11) and they were not going to listen to him (Jer 7:27) --- but God still sent him to preach repentance to them, and God finally has had enough declaring, "behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me." (Jer 16:10-12)
