Jeremiah 9:26
in Jeremiah 9Egypt, 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.
KJV
Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.
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This verse in Jeremiah 9
Commentary
12 notes on this verseThe novelty of the expression may perhaps deter not only the Jews but even some of our brothers. For Paul, who introduces "circumcision of the heart," seems to assume things that are impossible. For how shall it be possible that a member be circumcised that, covered by the internal viscera, lies hidden even from the view of people? Let us return, therefore, to the words of the prophets that, with the aid of your prayers, these matters about which we are inquiring might become clear.
This site's exposition
I will punish all who are circumcised yet uncircumcised
on Jeremiah 9:25-26
The LORD will punish “all who are circumcised yet uncircumcised” and names Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon and Moab together. The last line is the reversal, “the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart”. Paul draws the same distinction at Romans 2:28-29, between outward circumcision and circumcision of the heart.
This site's exposition
who clip the hair of their temples
Clarke reports that the Vulgate and Targum read the phrase as peoples who cut their hair short. Blayney takes them as the Arabians of the great desert, and Gill, after Kimchi, names the Kedarenes. Judah stands in their company.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Vers. 25, 26.) Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will visit everyone who is circumcised and has the foreskin, including Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all those who have shaved their heads and live in the desert, for all the nations are uncircumcised. But the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.
The ancient Scriptures therefore teach the benefit of spiritual circumcision and that bodily circumcision makes no difference. For it is not the Gentiles who are accused of being uncircumcised but the Jews, who were physically circumcised but whose heart was uncircumcised.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab,.... Places and people among which the Jews were dispersed, and whose punishment is predicted in Jeremiah chapters forty six through forty nine, and whose countries are now under the dominion of the Turks: (h). and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness; who dwelt in the desert of Arabia; these, according to Kimchi, were the Kedarenes, and the kingdoms of Hazor, a people that dwelt in the utmost corners, whom Nebuchadnezzar smote, as Jeremiah foretold, Jer 49:
They are heathens in their hearts, strangers to God, and enemies in their minds by wicked works. Their hearts are disposed to idols, as the hearts of the uncircumcised Gentiles are. Note, The seals of the covenant, though they dignify us, and lay us under obligations, will not save us, unless the temper of our minds and the tenour of our lives agree with the covenant.
Note, The Judge of all the earth is impartial, and none shall fare the better at his bar for any external advantages, but he will render to every man, circumcised or uncircumcised, according to his works. The condemnation of impenitent sinners that are baptized will be as sure as, nay, and more severe than, that of impenitent sinners that are unbaptized.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
All that are in the utmost corners - כל קצוצי פאה col ketsutsey pheah. These words have been variously understood. The Vulgate translates: Omnes qui attonsi sunt in comam; “All who have their hair cut short.” The Targum, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic have understood it nearly in the same way; and so our margin. Others think that the insular or peninsular situation of the people is referred to. Dr. Blayney thinks the Arabians are meant, who dwelt in the great desert, between Mesopotamia and Palestine.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
All that are in the utmost corners - Really, all who have the corners of their hair shorn. The people meant are those Arabs who cut the hair close upon the forehead and temples, but let it grow long behind. See Lev 19:27. For all these nations are uncircumcised - Or, “for all the pagan are uncircumcised.” circumcision probably prevailed partially in the pagan mysteries as a sign of special sanctity, but to the Jews alone it represented their covenant-relation to God.
The words behind it
26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִצְרַ֣יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יְהוּדָ֗ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֱד֞וֹם | ʾedom | Edom | H123 → | 99 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּנֵ֤י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּוֹן֙ | ʾamon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| וְעַל֙ | veal | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| קְצוּצֵ֣י | ketzutzei | [those who] are cut off of | H7112 → | 14 times |
| פֵאָ֔ה | feah | [the] corner | H6285 → | 86 times |
| הַיֹּשְׁבִ֖ים | haiyoshevim | who dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר | bamidbar | in the wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַגּוֹיִם֙ | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| עֲרֵלִ֔ים | ʾarelim | [are] uncircumcised | H6189 → | 35 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עַרְלֵי־ | ʾarlei- | [are] uncircumcised of | H6189 → | 35 times |
| לֵֽב׃ ס | lev | heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מִצְרַ֣יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
יְהוּדָ֗הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
אֱד֞וֹםEdom
ʾedomH123 →99 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
בְּנֵ֤י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
עַמּוֹן֙Ammon
ʾamonH5983 →106 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
מוֹאָ֔בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
וְעַל֙and on
vealH5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
קְצוּצֵ֣י[those who] are cut off of
ketzutzeiH7112 →14 times
פֵאָ֔ה[the] corner
feahH6285 →86 times
הַיֹּשְׁבִ֖יםwho dwell
haiyoshevimH3427 →1079 times
בַּמִּדְבָּ֑רin the wilderness
bamidbarH4057 →270 times
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הַגּוֹיִם֙the nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
עֲרֵלִ֔ים[are] uncircumcised
ʾarelimH6189 →35 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
עַרְלֵי־[are] uncircumcised of
ʾarlei-H6189 →35 times
לֵֽב׃ סheart
levH3820 →595 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
Jeremiah 4:4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:16
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.
- Deuteronomy 30:6
The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.
- Romans 2:28–29
A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical.
- Colossians 2:11
In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands.
- Jeremiah 21:12
O house of David, this is what the LORD says: ‘Administer justice every morning, and rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor, or My wrath will go forth like fire…
- Deuteronomy 10:16
Through
Ezekiel 44:7In addition to all your other abominations, you brought in foreigners uncircumcised in both heart and flesh to occupy My sanctuary; you defiled My temple when you offered My food—the fat and the blood;…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:4
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 22:25
Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’”
- Jeremiah 4:4
Through
Leviticus 26:41and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity,
it leads to
- Acts 7:51
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
- Acts 7:51
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
Who and where
5 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 (…
- PlaceThe NileEgyptThe land where Joseph rose, where Israel grew into a nation in bondage, where the Passover lamb was slain and the sea opened, and…
- PlaceTransjordanEdomThe highland nation descended from Esau that refused Israel passage on the King's Highway, and whose pride the prophets answered.
- PlaceTransjordanMoabThe high country east of the Dead Sea, home of Lot's descendants, where Balak hired Balaam, where Ruth was born, and where Moses l…
- PlaceTransjordanAmmonKingdom east of the Jordan descended from Lot, judged alongside Moab in Zephaniah 2:8-11 and Amos 1:13-15.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; 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 (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 3 and Theodoret of Cyrus, ON JEREMIAH 3:9.