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Jeremiah 9
1Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
2If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people.
3“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
4“Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander.
5Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they wear themselves out committing iniquity.
6You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD.
7Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do because of the daughter of My people?
8Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
9Should I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD. Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”
10I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they have gone away.
11“And I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
12Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a desert, so no one can pass through it?
13And the LORD answered, “It is because they have forsaken My law, which I set before them; they have not walked in it or obeyed My voice.
14Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts and gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.”
15Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will feed this people wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
16I will scatter them among the nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”
17This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Take note, and summon the wailing women; send for the most skillful among them.
18Let them come quickly and take up a lament over us, that our eyes may overflow with tears, and our eyelids may gush with water.
19For the sound of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How devastated we are! How great is our shame! For we have abandoned the land because our dwellings have been torn down.’”
20Now, O women, hear the word of the LORD. Open your ears to the word of His mouth. Teach your daughters to wail, and one another to lament.
21For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares.
22Declare that this is what the LORD says: “The corpses of men will fall like dung upon the open field, like newly cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather it.”
23This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
24But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
25“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh—
26Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair of their temples. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
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Afflictions Made Beneficial in Purifying Us Jeremiah 9:6, 7
You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD. / Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do because of the daughter of My people?
Ammonites: Prophecies Concerning Jeremiah 9:25, 26
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised yet uncircumcised: / Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair of their temples. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
Arrows of Slanderous Tongues Jeremiah 9:8
Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
Believing Lies Jeremiah 9:3
“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
Birds: Often Remove from Places Suffering Calamities Jeremiah 9:10
I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they have gone away.
Blindness: Spiritual Jeremiah 9:3, 6
“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD. / You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD.
Boasting: General Scriptures Concerning Jeremiah 9:23
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
Bragging Jeremiah 9:23
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
Burial: Attended by Hired Mourners Jeremiah 9:17, 18
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Take note, and summon the wailing women; send for the most skillful among them. / Let them come quickly and take up a lament over us, that our eyes may overflow with tears, and our eyelids may gush with water.
Character of the Wicked: Uncircumcised in Heart Jeremiah 9:26
Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair of their temples. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
Church: Backslidden Jeremiah 9:1–3
Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people. / If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people. / “They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
Church: Love For Jeremiah 9:1
Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
Circumcision: Figurative Jeremiah 9:26
Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair of their temples. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
Company: Evil Jeremiah 9:2
If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people.
Compassion and Sympathy: Exercise Towards: The Chastened Jeremiah 9:1
Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
Conceit: General Scriptures Concerning Jeremiah 9:23
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
Death: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To Jeremiah 9:21
For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares.
Deceit: Evil of Hinders Knowledge of God Jeremiah 9:6
You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD.
Deceit: Evil of Keeps from Knowledge of God Jeremiah 9:6
You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD.
Deceit: Punishment of Jeremiah 9:7–9
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do because of the daughter of My people? / Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him. / Should I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD. Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”
Deceit: The Wicked: Use, to Each Other Jeremiah 9:5
Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they wear themselves out committing iniquity.
Deceit: Use, to Each Other Jeremiah 9:5
Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they wear themselves out committing iniquity.
Dishonesty: General Scriptures Concerning Jeremiah 9:4–6, 8
“Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander. / Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they wear themselves out committing iniquity. / You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD.
Disobedience to God: Bitter Results of, Illustrated Jeremiah 9:13, 15
And the LORD answered, “It is because they have forsaken My law, which I set before them; they have not walked in it or obeyed My voice. / Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will feed this people wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
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Jeremiah 9:1-26 Jeremiah's Lamentation for the Jews' Sins and Consequent
Punishment.
Jeremiah 9:1 Verse 1
This verse is more fitly joined to the last chapter, as verse 23 in the Hebrew (compare Isa 22:4; La 2:11; 3:48).
Jeremiah 9:2 Verse 2
lodging-place--a caravanseral for caravans, or companies travelling in the desert, remote from towns. It was a square building enclosing an open court. Though a lonely and often filthy dwelling, Jeremiah would prefer even it to the comforts of Jerusalem, so as to be removed from the pollutions of the capital (Ps 55:7, 8).
Jeremiah 9:3 Verse 3
bend ... tongues ... for lies--that is, with lies as their arrows; they direct lies on their tongue as their bow (Ps 64:3, 4). not valiant for ... truth--(Jer 7:28). Maurer translates, "They do not prevail by truth" or faith (Ps 12:4). Their tongue, not faith, is their weapon. upon ... earth--rather, "in the land." know not me--(Ho 4:1).
Jeremiah 9:4 Verse 4
supplant--literally, "trip up by the heel" (Ho 12:3). walk with slanders--(Jer 6:28).
Jeremiah 9:5 Verse 5
weary themselves--are at laborious pains to act perversely [Maurer]. Sin is a hard bondage (Hab 2:13).
Jeremiah 9:6 Verse 6
Thine--God addresses Jeremiah, who dwelt in the midst of deceitful men. refuse to know me--Their ignorance of God is wilful (Jer 9:3; 5:4, 5).
Jeremiah 9:7 Verse 7
melt ... try them--by sending calamities on them. for how shall I do--"What else can I do for the sake of the daughter of My people?" [Maurer], (Isa 1:25; Mal 3:3).
Jeremiah 9:8 Verse 8
tongue ... arrow shot out--rather, "a murdering arrow" [Maurer] (Jer 9:3). speaketh peaceably ... in heart ... layeth ... wait--layeth his ambush [Henderson], (Ps 55:21).
Jeremiah 9:9 Verse 9
(Jer 5:9, 29).
Jeremiah 9:10 Verse 10
Jeremiah breaks in upon Jehovah's threats of wrath with lamentation for his desolated country. mountains--once cultivated and fruitful: the hillsides were cultivated in terraces between the rocks. habitations of ... wilderness--rather, "the pleasant herbage (literally, 'the choice parts' of any thing) of the pasture plain." The Hebrew for "wilderness" expresses not a barren desert, but an untilled plain, fit for pasture. burned up--because no one waters them, the inhabitants being all gone. none can pass through them--much less inhabit them. fowl--(Jer 4:25).
Jeremiah 9:11 Verse 11
And--omit "And." Jehovah here resumes His speech from Jer 9:9. heaps--(see on Isa 25:2). dragons--jackals.
Jeremiah 9:12 Verse 12
Rather, "Who is a wise man? (that is, Whosoever has inspired wisdom, 2Pe 3:15); let him understand this (weigh well the evils impending, and the causes of their being sent); and he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken (that is, whosoever is prophetically inspired), let him declare it to his fellow countrymen," if haply they may be roused to repentance, the only hope of safety.
Jeremiah 9:13 Verse 13
Answer to the "for what the land perisheth" (Jer 9:12).
Jeremiah 9:14 Verse 14
(Jer 7:24). Baalim--plural of Baal, to express his supposed manifold powers. fathers taught them--(Ga 1:14; 1Pe 1:18). We are not to follow the errors of the fathers, but the authority of Scripture and of God [Jerome].
Jeremiah 9:15 Verse 15
feed--(Jer 8:14; 23:15; Ps 80:5).
Jeremiah 9:16 Verse 16
nor their fathers have known--alluding to Jer 9:14, "Their fathers taught them" idolatry; therefore the children shall be scattered to a land which neither their fathers nor they have known. send a sword after them--Not even in flight shall they be safe.
Jeremiah 9:17 Verse 17
mourning women--hired to heighten lamentation by plaintive cries baring the breast, beating the arms, and suffering the hair to flow dishevelled (2Ch 35:25; Ec 12:5; Mt 9:23). cunning--skilled in wailing.
Jeremiah 9:18 Verse 18
(Jer 14:17).
Jeremiah 9:19 Verse 19
The cry of "the mourning women." spoiled--laid waste. dwellings cast us out--fulfilling Le 18:28; 20:22. Calvin translates, "The enemy have cast down our habitations."
Jeremiah 9:20 Verse 20
Yet--rather, "Only" [Henderson]. This particle calls attention to what follows. teach ... daughters wailing--The deaths will be so many that there will be a lack of mourning women to bewail them. The mothers, therefore, must teach their daughters the science to supply the want.
Jeremiah 9:21 Verse 21
death ... windows--The death-inflicting soldiery, finding the doors closed, burst in by the windows. to cut off ... children from ... streets--Death cannot be said to enter the windows to cut off the children in the streets, but to cut them off, so as no more to play in the streets without (Zec 8:5).
Jeremiah 9:22 Verse 22
saith the Lord--continuing the thread of discourse from Jer 9:20. dung--(Jer 8:2). handful ... none ... gather them--implying that the handful has been so trodden as to be not worth even the poor gleaner's effort to gather it. Or the Eastern custom may be referred to: the reaper cuts the grain and is followed by another who gathers it. This grain shall not be worth gathering. How galling to the pride of the Jews to hear that so shall their carcasses be trodden contemptuously under foot!
Jeremiah 9:23 Verse 23
wisdom--political sagacity; as if it could rescue from the impending calamities. might--military prowess.
Jeremiah 9:24 Verse 24
Nothing but an experimental knowledge of God will save the nation. understandeth--theoretically; in the intellect. knoweth--practically: so as to walk in My ways (Jer 22:16; Job 22:21; 1Co 1:31). loving kindness--God's mercy is put in the first and highest place, because without it we should flee from God in fear and despair. judgment ... righteousness--loving-kindness towards the godly; judgment towards the ungodly; righteousness the most perfect fairness in all cases [Grotius]. Faithfulness to His promises to preserve the godly, as well as stern execution of judgment on the ungodly, is included in "righteousness." in the earth--contrary to the dogma of some philosophers, that God does not interfere in terrestrial concerns (Ps 58:11). in these ... I delight--as well in doing them as in seeing them done by others (Mic 6:8; 7:18).
Jeremiah 9:25 Verse 25
with the uncircumcised--rather, "all that are circumcised in uncircumcision" [Henderson]. The Hebrew is an abstract term, not a concrete, as English Version translates, and as the pious "circumcised" is. The nations specified, Egypt, Judah, &c., were outwardly "circumcised," but in heart were "uncircumcised." The heathen nations were defiled, in spite of their literal circumcision, by idolatry. The Jews, with all their glorying in their spiritual privileges, were no better (Jer 4:4; De 10:16; 30:6; Ro 2:28, 29; Col 2:11). However, Eze 31:18; 32:19, may imply that the Egyptians were uncircumcised; and it is uncertain as to the other nations specified whether they were at that early time circumcised. Herodotus says the Egyptians were so; but others think this applies only to the priests and others having a sacred character, not to the mass of the nation; so English Version may be right (Ro 2:28, 29).
Jeremiah 9:26 Verse 26
Egypt--put first to degrade Judah, who, though in privileges above the Gentiles, by unfaithfulness sank below them. Egypt, too, was the power in which the Jews were so prone to trust, and by whose instigation they, as well as the other peoples specified, revolted from Babylon. in the utmost corners--rather, "having the hair shaven (or clipped) in angles," that is, having the beard on the cheek narrowed or cut: a Canaanitish custom, forbidden to the Israelites (Le 19:27; 21:5). The Arabs are hereby referred to (compare Jer 25:23; 49:32), as the words in apposition show, "that dwell in the wilderness." uncircumcised ... uncircumcised in the heart--The addition of "in the heart" in Israel's case marks its greater guilt in proportion to its greater privileges, as compared with the rest.