Jeremiah 9:11
in Jeremiah 9“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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.
KJV
And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
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This verse in Jeremiah 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd I will make Jerusalem heaps,.... That is, the walls and houses of it shall be thrown down, and become heaps of stones and rubbish: and a den of dragons; only inhabited by wild beasts: and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without inhabitant; so that the calamity would be universal; not only Jerusalem, but all the cities of the land, would be destroyed, forsaken, and uninhabited.
This site's exposition
a weeping and wailing for the mountains
on Jeremiah 9:10-11
The words “I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains” turn the coming devastation into a funeral for the land itself. Jerusalem becomes “a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals”, the city built for worship now home to the wild.
This site's exposition
a haunt for jackals
The Hebrew word is tannim, which the King James renders dragons and Clarke identifies as jackals, animals that live on what larger beasts leave. Gill notes that the sentence falls on every city of Judah along with Jerusalem. Nothing is spared.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 11) And I will make Jerusalem a heap of sand (or in exile) and a dwelling place of dragons, and I will make the cities of Judah desolate; because there is no inhabitant.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The answer is ready, Because it has become an unholy one? 12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the L ORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:82%@v10-12
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A den of dragons - תנים tannim is supposed to mean here jackals; the chakal is a beast frequent in the east, an attendant on the lion, the refuse of whose prey he devours. It is an animal that seems to have been bred originally between the wolf and the dog. The original is sometimes interpreted, dragons, whales, etc.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Who is the man so wise Who will understand this, and who is the prophet to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken,
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָתַתִּ֧י | venatati | and I will make | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֛ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| לְגַלִּ֖ים | legalim | into heaps of stones | H1530 → | 34 times |
| מְע֣וֹן | meon | a habitation of | H4583 → | 18 times |
| תַּנִּ֑ים | tanim | jackals | H8577 → | 28 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עָרֵ֧י | ʾarei | [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| יְהוּדָ֛ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| אֶתֵּ֥ן | ʾeten | I will make | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| שְׁמָמָ֖ה | shemamah | a waste | H8077 → | 57 times |
| מִבְּלִ֖י | mibeli | because not | H1097 → | 58 times |
| יוֹשֵֽׁב׃ ס | yoshev | inhabitant | H3427 → | 1079 times |
וְנָתַתִּ֧יand I will make
venatatiH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֛םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
לְגַלִּ֖יםinto heaps of stones
legalimH1530 →34 times
מְע֣וֹןa habitation of
meonH4583 →18 times
תַּנִּ֑יםjackals
tanimH8577 →28 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עָרֵ֧י[the] cities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
יְהוּדָ֛הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
אֶתֵּ֥ןI will make
ʾetenH5414 →2011 times
שְׁמָמָ֖הa waste
shemamahH8077 →57 times
מִבְּלִ֖יbecause not
mibeliH1097 →58 times
יוֹשֵֽׁב׃ סinhabitant
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 34:13Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals, an abode for ostriches.
it leads to
- Malachi 1:3
but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 10:22
Listen! The sound of a report is coming— a great commotion from the land to the north. The cities of Judah will be made a desolation, a haunt for jackals.
- Psalms 44:19
But You have crushed us in the lair of jackals; You have covered us with deepest darkness.
- Hosea 9:6
For even if they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them. Their precious silver will be taken over by thistles, and thorns will overrun their tents.
- Malachi 1:3
Through
Jeremiah 51:37Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals, an object of horror and scorn, without inhabitant.
it leads to
- Revelation 18:2
And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable…
- Revelation 18:2
Through
Isaiah 25:2Indeed, You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin. The fortress of strangers is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
it leads to
- Isaiah 13:22
Hyenas will howl in her fortresses and jackals in her luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.
- Isaiah 17:1
This is the burden against Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.
- Isaiah 25:12
The high-walled fortress will be brought down, cast to the ground, into the dust.
- Isaiah 13:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.