Jeremiah 8:9
in Jeremiah 8The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The wise men are put to shame, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of Jehovah; and what manner of wisdom is in them?
KJV
The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?
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This verse in Jeremiah 8
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 9) The wise are confused, terrified and captured. For they have rejected the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in them. Not because they are wise who do these things; but rather, He calls the wise so that they may be condemned under judgment and their wisdom may be proven foolishness, as the Apostle Paul says: 'You who teach others, do you not teach yourself?' (Romans 2:21). And because they have rejected the word of the Lord, therefore there is no wisdom in them.
This site's exposition
the Law of the LORD is with us
on Jeremiah 8:8-9
The wise claim “We are wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us”. The answer is that “the lying pen of the scribes has produced a deception”. The wise “will be put to shame” because “they have rejected the word of the LORD”.
This site's exposition
they have rejected the word of the LORD
Matthew Henry names the wise of this verse as the priests and false prophets who claimed the Law. Barnes notes that in the scribes' hands it had become a code of ceremony, and he compares Mark 7:13. Wisdom without the word has nothing left.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
The blessed prophet Jeremiah loudly condemned the ignorance, at once, and pride of the Jews, rebuking them in these words; "How say you that we are wise, and the word of the Lord is with us? In vain is the lying cord of the scribes. The wise men are ashamed: they trembled, and were taken: what wisdom have they, in that they have rejected the Word of the Lord!"
What is a holy title without merit but an ornament set in the mud? The Holy Scriptures have testified to this in writing: "A golden ring in a swine's snout, a woman fair and foolish." And in us the title Christian is like a golden …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
None to any purpose; none that will be found to their praise at the great day, how much soever it is found to their pride now. The pretenders to wisdom, who said, " We are wise and the law of the Lord is with us, " were the priests and the false prophets; with them the prophet here deals plainly. He threatens the judgments of God against them.
The wise men are ashamed,.... Of the wisdom of which they boasted, when it would appear to be folly, and unprofitable to them: they are dismayed and taken; frightened at the calamities coming upon them, and taken as in a snare, as the wise sometimes are in their own craftiness, Job 5:
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
They have rejected the word of the Lord - It became in the hands of the Soferim or scribes a mere code of ceremonial observance. Compare Mar 7:13.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
dismayed--confounded. what wisdom--literally, "the wisdom of what?" that is, "wisdom in what respect?" the Word of the Lord being the only true source of wisdom (Ps 119:98-100;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֹבִ֣ישׁוּ | hovishu | they will be put to shame | H954 → | 127 times |
| חֲכָמִ֔ים | chakhamim | wise [people] | H2450 → | 138 times |
| חַ֖תּוּ | chatu | they will be dismayed | H2865 → | 52 times |
| וַיִּלָּכֵ֑דוּ | vaiyilakhedu | and they have been captured | H3920 → | 121 times |
| הִנֵּ֤ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| בִדְבַר־ | vidvar- | <in> [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מָאָ֔סוּ | maasu | they have rejected | H3988 → | 76 times |
| וְחָכְמַֽת־ | vechakhemat- | and wisdom of | H2451 → | 153 times |
| מֶ֖ה | meh | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| לָהֶֽם׃ ס | lahem | [belongs] to <the> them |
הֹבִ֣ישׁוּthey will be put to shame
hovishuH954 →127 times
חֲכָמִ֔יםwise [people]
chakhamimH2450 →138 times
חַ֖תּוּthey will be dismayed
chatuH2865 →52 times
וַיִּלָּכֵ֑דוּand they have been captured
vaiyilakheduH3920 →121 times
הִנֵּ֤הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
בִדְבַר־<in> [the] word of
vidvar-H1697 →1440 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מָאָ֔סוּthey have rejected
maasuH3988 →76 times
וְחָכְמַֽת־and wisdom of
vechakhemat-H2451 →153 times
מֶ֖הwhat?
mehH4100 →752 times
לָהֶֽם׃ ס[belongs] to <the> them
lahem
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
Job 5:12He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
it leads to
- Psalms 21:11
Though they intend You harm, the schemes they devise will not prevail.
- Psalms 33:10–11
The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.
- Isaiah 8:10
Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”
- Proverbs 21:30
There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
- Psalms 37:17
For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
- Psalms 21:11
Through
Jeremiah 6:15Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 8:12
Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish…
- Matthew 15:14
Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
- Jeremiah 8:12
Through
Ezekiel 7:26Disaster upon disaster will come, and rumor after rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a prophet, but instruction from the priests will perish, as will counsel from the elders.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:20
Disaster after disaster is proclaimed, for the whole land is laid waste. My tents are destroyed in an instant, my curtains in a moment.
- Jeremiah 4:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermon 131; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Salvian the Presbyter, THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD 4:1.