Jeremiah 9:3 BSB — MannaFest

Jeremiah 9:3

“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And they bend their tongue, as it were their bow, for falsehood; and they are grown strong in the land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith Jehovah.

KJV

And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.

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Commentary

3 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Jeremiah (420)

(Verse 3.) Because they are all adulterers, a gathering of transgressors. And they have stretched out their tongue like a bow of falsehood and not of truth. They have grown strong in the land, for they have gone from evil to evil, and they have not known me, says the Lord. Sinners go from evil to evil, when they exchange idols for idols, and they go from sins to sins, or certainly from the evil of siege to captivity. And indeed, concerning the saints, it is said: They will go from strength to strength (Psalm 83:8).

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

(2.) That which aggravates the sin on this false and lying generation is, [1.] That they are ingenious to sin: They have taught their tongue to speak lies, implying that through the reluctances of natural conscience they found it difficult to bring themselves to it.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

They bend their tongues like their bow for lies - And their lies are such that they as fully take away life as the keenest arrow shot from the best strung bow. The false prophets told the people that there was no desolation at hand: the people believed them; made no preparation for their defense; did not return to the Lord; and the sword came and destroyed them. They are not valiant for the truth - They are bold in sin, and courageous to support their lies; but the truth they neither patronize nor support.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

19 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַֽיַּדְרְכ֤וּ	vai.yad.re.Khu	and they have bent	H1869 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
לְשׁוֹנָם֙	le.sho.Nam	tongue their	H3956 →
קַשְׁתָּ֣ם	kash.Tam	bow of their	H7198 →
שֶׁ֔קֶר	She.ker	falsehood	H8267 →
וְלֹ֥א	ve.Lo'	and not	H3808 →
לֶאֱמוּנָ֖ה	le.'e.mu.Nah	to faithfulness	H530 →
גָּבְר֣וּ	ga.ve.Ru	they are strong	H1396 →
בָאָ֑רֶץ	va.'A.retz	in the land	H776 →
כִּי֩	ki	for	H3588 →
מֵרָעָ֨ה	me.ra.'Ah	from evil	H7451 →
אֶל־	'el-	to	H413 →
רָעָ֧ה׀	ra.'Ah	evil	H7451 →
יָצָ֛אוּ	ya.Tza.'u	they have gone out	H3318 →
וְאֹתִ֥י	ve.'o.Ti	and <obj.> me	H853 →
לֹֽא־	lo'-	not	H3808 →
יָדָ֖עוּ	ya.Da.'u	they know	H3045 →
נְאֻם־	ne.'um-	[the] utterance of	H5002 →
יְהוָֽה׃ ס	Yah.weh	Yahweh	H3068 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Romans 3:13
“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”
leads to
- Psalms 5:9
  For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.
- Psalms 140:3
  They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah
- Psalms 57:4
  My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts— with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
Jeremiah 4:22
“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”
leads to
- 1 Corinthians 14:20
  Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
- Romans 16:19
  Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.
- Jeremiah 5:21
  “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.
- Hosea 4:6
  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget…
- Romans 3:11
  There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.

Featured studies on this passage

On Jeremiah 9:3

The Weeping Prophet — the Confessions of Jeremiah

Open the study →

About Jeremiah

The Prophet Jeremiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Jeremiah: the study guide →Read chapter 9 →The featured study →

Continue: Jeremiah 9 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Jeremiah

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Jeremiah