9:1-6Jeremiah felt conflicting emotions concerning his people. Lying, deceit, treachery, adultery, and idolatry had become common sins. He was angered by their sin, but he had compassion, too. He was set apart from them by his mission for God, but he was also one of them. Jesus had similar feelings when he stood before Jerusalem, the city that would reject him (Matthew 23:37).
Life Application Study BibleJeremiahChapter 9
Jeremiah 9
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1219, 1220, 1221
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
9Jeremiah 9
1Judgment for Disobedience
3“My people bend their tongues like bowsto shoot out lies.They refuse to stand up for the truth.They only go from bad to worse.They do not know me,”says the LORD.
4“Beware of your neighbor!Don't even trust your brother!For brother takes advantage of brother,and friend slanders friend.
5They all fool and defraud each other;no one tells the truth.With practiced tongues they tell lies;they wear themselves out with all their sinning.
6They pile lie upon lieand utterly refuse to acknowledge me,”says the LORD.
7Therefore, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says:“See, I will melt them down ina crucibleand test them like metal.What else can I do with my people?*
8For their tongues shoot lies like poisoned arrows.They speak friendly words to their neighborswhile scheming in their heart to kill them.
9Should I not punish them for this?” says the LORD.“Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?”
10I will weep for the mountainsand wail for the wilderness pastures.For they are desolate and empty of life;the lowing of cattle is heard no more;the birds and wild animals have all fled.
11“J will make Jerusalem into a heap of ruins,” says the LORD. “It will be a place haunted by jackals. The towns of Judah will be ghost towns, with no one living in them.” 12Who is wise enough to understand all this? Who has been instructed by the LORD and can explain it to others? Why has the land been so ruined that no one dares to travel through it? 13The LORD replies, “ This has happened because my people have abandoned my instructions; they have refused to obey what I said. 14Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them. ‘So now, this is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. ‘61 will scatter them around the world, in places they and their ancestors never heard of, and even there I will chase them with the sword until I have destroyed them completely.” Weeping in Jerusalem
17This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says:“Consider all this, and call for the mourners.Send for the women who moum at funerals.
18Quick! Begin your weeping!Let the tears flow from your eyes.
19Hear the people of Jerusalem* crying in despair,‘We are ruined! We are completely humiliated!We must leave our land,because our homes have been torn down.m
20Listen, you women, to the words of the Lor;open your ears to what he has to say.Teach your daughters to wail;teach one another how to lament.
21For death has crept in through our windowsand has entered our mansions.It has killed off the flower of our youth:Children no longer play in the streets,and young men no longer gather in the squares.
22This is what the LORD says:“Bodies will be scattered across the fields like clumps of manure,like bundles of grain after the harvest.No one will be left to bury them.”
23This is what the LORD says:“Don't let the wise boast in their wisdom,or the powerful boast in their power,or the rich boast in their riches.
24But those who wish to boastshould boast in this alone:that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORDwho demonstrates unfailing loveand who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,and that I delight in these things.I, the LORD, have spoken!
25“A time is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit—2the Egyptians, Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites, the people who live in the desert in remote places,* and yes, even the people of Judah. And like all these pagan nations, the people of Israel also have uncircumcised hearts.”
Textual footnotes
- 9:1 Verse 9:1 is numbered 8:23 in Hebrew text.
- 9:2 Verses 9:2-26 are numbered 9:1-
- 9:7 Hebrew with the daughter of my people? Greek version reads with the evil daughter of my people? 9:19 Hebrew Zion.
- 9:26 Or in the desert and clip the corners of their hair.
Life Application Notes 3 notes
9:23,24People tend to admire three things about others: wisdom, power, and riches. But God puts a higher priority on knowing him personally and living a life that reflects his justice, righteousness, and love. What do you want people to admire most about you?
9:25,26Circumcision went back to the time of Abraham. For the people of Israel, it was a symbol of their covenant relationship to God (Genesis 17:9-14). Circumcision was also practiced by pagan nations, but not as the sign of a covenant with God. By Jeremiah’s time, the Israelites had forgotten the spiritual significance of circumcision even though they continued to do the physical ritual.