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Jeremiah 9:7

in Jeremiah 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?

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how else should I do, because of the daughter of my people?

KJV

Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?

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This verse in Jeremiah 9

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Jeremiah · Written before 420.

(Verse 7.) Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will melt (or refine) and test them. For what else shall I do from the face of the daughter of my people (or what shall I do from the face of the malice of the daughter of my people)?

This site's exposition

I will melt them, and try them

on Jeremiah 9:7-9

I will melt them, and try them answers the deceit of the previous verses with the metalworker's own remedy, ore heated until what it is made of can no longer hide. The question asked in the text, how shall I do for the daughter of my people, is genuine rather than rhetorical, the Lord's own reluctance stated alongside the coming judgment. Their tongue is as an arrow shot out returns to the chapter's opening charge of deceitful speech, and the demand for vengeance on such a nation closes the unit on the same note struck at 5:9 and 5:29 nearly word for word.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Try them - By melting them, I will bring upon them, the fire of the Chaldean war, that shall purge away those deceits in which they trust, that the remnant may be purified. For how - I have tried all other means.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Behold, I win melt them - I will put them in the furnace of affliction, and see if this will be a means of purging away their dross. See on Jer 6:27 (note).
OBSERVE, here, that God represents Himself as greatly concerned to know what to do with His people. Of course, He speaks after the manner of men, for, as the infinitely wise God, knowing all things from the beginning, Jehovah knew what He would do. But yet, in order that we may understand something of the workings of the Divine mind, He represents Himself as brought to a non-plus and saying, in the words of our text, "How shall I deal with the daughter of My people?"

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • לָכֵ֗ן<to> therefore

    lakhenH3651 →771 times

  • כֹּ֤הthus

    kohH3541 →577 times

  • אָמַר֙he says

    ʾamarH559 →5305 times

  • יְהוָ֣הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • צְבָא֔וֹתof hosts

    tzevaotH6635 →485 times

  • הִנְנִ֥יhere I

    hiniH2005 →316 times

  • צוֹרְפָ֖ם[am] about to refine them

    tzorfamH6884 →33 times

  • וּבְחַנְתִּ֑יםand I will test them

    uvechantimH974 →29 times

  • כִּֽי־for

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • אֵ֣יךְhow?

    ʾeikhH349 →82 times

  • אֶעֱשֶׂ֔הwill I act

    ʾeesehH6213 →2628 times

  • מִפְּנֵ֖י<from> because of

    mipeneiH6440 →2123 times

  • בַּת־[the] daughter of

    bat-H1323 →588 times

  • עַמִּֽי׃people my

    ʾamiH5971 →1873 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Isaiah 48:10See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.15 worksIsaiah 1:25I will turn My hand against you; I will thoroughly purge your dross; I will remove all your impurities.8 works1 Peter 1:7so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.7 worksJeremiah 6:27“I have appointed you to examine My people like ore, so you may know and try their ways.6 worksMalachi 3:3And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.6 worksZechariah 13:9This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”5 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Hosea 11:8–9How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassion is stirred!4 works1 Peter 4:12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.4 worksJob 7:18that You attend to him every morning, and test him every moment?4 worksJeremiah 6:29–30The bellows blow fiercely, blasting away the lead with fire. The refining proceeds in vain, for the wicked are not purged.3 worksEzekiel 22:18–22“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are but the dross of silver.3 worksIsaiah 64:7No one calls on Your name or strives to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.3 worksExodus 15:25And Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log. And when he cast it into the waters, they were sweetened. There the LORD made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them,3 works2 Chronicles 36:15Again and again the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to His people through His messengers because He had compassion on them and on His dwelling place.2 worksEzekiel 26:11–12The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets. He will slaughter your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground.2 worksJeremiah 31:20Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the LORD.2 worksHosea 6:4–5What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.2 worksEzekiel 22:21Yes, I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted within the city.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Zechariah 13:9

    This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…

    it leads to

    • Psalms 50:15

      Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”

    • Jeremiah 29:11–12

      For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

    • Acts 2:21

      And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

    • Isaiah 65:23–24

      They will not labor in vain or bear children doomed to disaster; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD—they and their descendants with them.

    • Isaiah 48:10

      See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

  • Through

    Isaiah 48:10

    See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 17:3

      A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Peter 4:12

      Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.

    • Job 23:10

      Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

Where this verse is studied

1 study on this verse

About Jeremiah

The Prophet Jeremiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Prophet Jeremiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Jeremiah: the study guide →Read Jeremiah 9 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2274: “God's People Melted and Tried” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.

Read on in Jeremiah 9 →