Jeremiah 9:8
in Jeremiah 9Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth wait for him.
KJV
Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
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This verse in Jeremiah 9
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 8, 9.) The arrow that wounds their tongue speaks deceit: in their mouth they speak peace with their friend but hide traps for them secretly. Will I not visit them for these things, says the Lord, or will not my soul take revenge on a nation such as this? Every heretic who wounds the hearts of those who hear and do not understand the scripture possesses an arrow that wounds, and speaks in deceit. And when he promises peace to his neighbor with his mouth, he secretly sets traps.
This site's exposition
I will refine them and test them
on Jeremiah 9:7-9
The words “I will refine them and test them” answer the deceit with the metalworker's remedy. The question “what else can I do because of the daughter of My people” states the LORD's own reluctance. The line “Their tongues are deadly arrows” returns to the chapter's opening charge.
This site's exposition
Their tongues are deadly arrows
Gill notes that the Hebrew word behind deadly may mean drawn out, like an arrow from a quiver, while the Septuagint reads wounding. The second half gives the method, peace spoken aloud and an ambush planned within. Jerome applies it to teachers who wound with smooth words.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermon 68 · Written before 444.
proposed
A most base pest, my beloved, is double-dealing and hypocrisy in our actions and conduct; and for a man to make pretence of pleasant-spoken words, and of a tongue anointed, so to speak, with the honey of deception, while the heart is full of utter bitterness. Of such we say, in the words of one of the holy prophets, "Their tongue is a piercing arrow: the words of their mouth are deceitful: he speaks peacefully to his neighbour, and enmity is in his heart." And again; "Their words are smoother than oil, yet are they arrows:" by which is meant that they have the force of darts falling violently and shot forth from bows.
A commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermon 148 · Written before 444.
proposed
Christ very justly condemned him with the greater severity, saying, "Judas, do you betray the Son of man with a kiss?" And Matthew says, that when the traitor drew near to Christ, our common Saviour, he both kissed Him, and added thereto, "Hail, Master." Do you say hail to Him Who by your instrumentality is made the prey of death? How could such a word possibly be true? So that we see, that inasmuch as that false one, Satan, was within Him, he used falsehood even in saying, Hail. Because of such deeds the prophet somewhere says, "Their tongue is a piercing spearhead: the words of their mouth are deceitful: to his neighbour he speaks things of peace, but in his soul there is enmity."
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Their tongue is as an arrow shot out,.... As an arrow out of a bow, which moves swiftly, and comes with great force; or, "drawn out" (u); as out of a quiver. The word is used of gold, and rendered "beaten gold", 1Ki 10:16, gold drawn out into plates; and here of an arrow drawn out of a quiver; and so it is interpreted in the Talmud (w); or is "wounding", as the Septuagint, or "slaying" (x); denoting the mischief and injury done to the characters of men, by a deceitful, detracting, and calumniating tongue.
Those that will not know God as their lawgiver shall be made to know him as their judge. God determines here to bring his judgments upon them, for the refining of some and the ruining of the rest. [1.] Some shall be refined (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
They all either practised this sin or connived at those that did. Lewdness and uncleanness constituted that crying sin of Sodom at which righteous Lot was vexed in soul, and it is a sin that renders men loathsome in the eyes of God and all good men; it makes men an abomination. [2.] They were false. This is the sin that is most enlarged upon here.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חֵ֥ץ | chetz | [is] an arrow | H2671 → | 53 times |
| שָׁח֛וּט | shochet | beaten | H7819 → | 81 times |
| לְשׁוֹנָ֖ם | leshonam | tongue their | H3956 → | 117 times |
| מִרְמָ֣ה | mirmah | deceit | H4820 → | 39 times |
| דִבֵּ֑ר | diber | it speaks | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| בְּפִ֗יו | befiv | with mouth his | H6310 → | 498 times |
| שָׁל֤וֹם | shalom | peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| רֵעֵ֙הוּ֙ | reehu | neighbor his | H7453 → | 188 times |
| יְדַבֵּ֔ר | yedaber | someone speaks | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| וּבְקִרְבּ֖וֹ | uvekirbo | and in inner being his | H7130 → | 227 times |
| יָשִׂ֥ים | yasim | he sets | H7760 → | 584 times |
| אָרְבּֽוֹ׃ | ʾarebo | ambush his | H696 → |
חֵ֥ץ[is] an arrow
chetzH2671 →53 times
שָׁח֛וּטbeaten
shochetH7819 →81 times
לְשׁוֹנָ֖םtongue their
leshonamH3956 →117 times
מִרְמָ֣הdeceit
mirmahH4820 →39 times
דִבֵּ֑רit speaks
diberH1696 →1141 times
בְּפִ֗יוwith mouth his
befivH6310 →498 times
שָׁל֤וֹםpeace
shalomH7965 →236 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
רֵעֵ֙הוּ֙neighbor his
reehuH7453 →188 times
יְדַבֵּ֔רsomeone speaks
yedaberH1696 →1141 times
וּבְקִרְבּ֖וֹand in inner being his
uvekirboH7130 →227 times
יָשִׂ֥יםhe sets
yasimH7760 →584 times
אָרְבּֽוֹ׃ambush his
ʾareboH696 →
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
Psalms 28:3Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.
it leads to
- Psalms 55:21
His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
- Psalms 12:2
They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
- Jeremiah 9:8–9
Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
- Psalms 26:9
Do not take my soul away with sinners, or my life with men of bloodshed,
- Psalms 55:21
Through
Psalms 55:21His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
it leads to
- 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.
- Proverbs 5:3–4
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
- Psalms 28:3
Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.
- Proverbs 26:28
A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
- Psalms 57:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermon 68; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermon 148; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.