Jeremiah 4:10

Bible in Basic English

Then said I, Ah, Lord God! your words were not true when you said to this people and to Jerusalem, You will have peace; when the sword has come even to the soul.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I said, “Oh no, Lord God, you have certainly deceived this people and Jerusalem, by announcing, ‘You will have peace,’ while a sword is at our throats.”

Hebrew Names Version
Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely you have greatly deceived this people and Yerushalayim, saying, You shall have shalom; whereas the sword reaches to the life.

King James Version
Then said I, Ah, Lord God ! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

English Standard Version
Then I said, "Ah, Lord God , surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,' whereas the sword has reached their very life."

New American Standard Bible
Then I said, "Oh, Lord GOD! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'You will have peace'; yet a sword touches the throat."

New Century Version
Then I said, "Lord God , you have tricked the people of Judah and Jerusalem. You said, ‘You will have peace,' but now the sword is pointing at our throats!"

Amplified Bible
Then I said, "Alas, Lord GOD! Surely You have completely deceived and misled this people and Jerusalem, [for the prophets represented You as] saying [to Your people], 'You will have peace,' but [in fact] a sword reaches to their throat."

World English Bible
Then said I, Ah, Lord Yahweh! surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, You shall have peace; whereas the sword reaches to the life.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then saide I, Ah, Lord God, surely thou hast deceiued this people and Ierusalem, saying, Ye shall haue peace, and the sworde perceth vnto the heart.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace'; whereas a sword touches the throat."

Berean Standard Bible
Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD, how completely You have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'You will have peace,' when a sword is at our throats."

Contemporary English Version
I said, "You are the Lord God. So why have you fooled everyone, especially the people of Jerusalem? Why did you promise peace, when a knife is at our throats?"

Complete Jewish Bible
Then I said, "Oh, Adonai Elohim ! Surely you have sadly deceived this people and Yerushalayim by saying, ‘You will have peace,' when the sword is at our very throats!"

Darby Translation
And I said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

Easy-to-Read Version
Then I, Jeremiah, said, "Lord God , you have tricked the people of Judah and Jerusalem. You said to them, ‘You will have peace.' But now the sword is pointing at their throats!"

George Lamsa Translation
Then I said, I beseech thee, O LORD God, surely I have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem; for I have said, You shall have peace; and behold, the sword reaches into the soul.

Good News Translation
Then I said, "Sovereign Lord , you have completely deceived the people of Jerusalem! You have said there would be peace, but a sword is at their throats."

Lexham English Bible
Then I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh, surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It will be peace for you,' while the sword reaches up to the throat."

Literal Translation
Then I said, Ah, Lord Jehovah! Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, You shall have peace, but the sword reaches to the soul.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde I: O LORDE God, hast thou then disceaued this people and Ierusalem, sayenge: ye shall haue peace, and now the swearde goeth thorow their lyues?

American Standard Version
Then said I, Ah, Lord Jehovah! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the life.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then said I: 'Ah, Lord GOD! surely Thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.'

King James Version (1611)
Then said I, Ah Lord God, surely thou hast greatly deceiued this people, and Ierusalem, saying, Ye shall haue peace, whereas the sword reacheth vnto the soule.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then sayde I: Oh Lorde God, hast thou then deceaued this people and Hierusalem, saying, Ye shall haue peace: and nowe the sworde goeth through their lyues?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I said, O sovereign Lord, verily thou hast deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, There shall be peace; whereas behold, the sword has reached even to their soul.

English Revised Version
Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y seide, Alas! alas! alas! Lord God; therfor whether thou hast disseyued this puple and Jerusalem, seiynge, Pees schal be to you, and lo! a swerd is comun `til to the soule?

Update Bible Version
Then I said, Ah, Lord Yahweh! surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, You shall have peace; whereas the sword reaches to the life.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth to the soul.

New English Translation
In response to all this I said, "Ah, Lord God , you have surely allowed the people of Judah and Jerusalem to be deceived by those who say, ‘You will be safe!' But in fact a sword is already at our throats."

New King James Version
Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, Saying, "You shall have peace,' Whereas the sword reaches to the heart."

New Living Translation
Then I said, "O Sovereign Lord , the people have been deceived by what you said, for you promised peace for Jerusalem. But the sword is held at their throats!"

New Life Bible
Then I said, "O Lord God, for sure You have fooled these people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace,' when in truth a sword brings danger to their lives."

New Revised Standard
Then I said, "Ah, Lord God , how utterly you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,' even while the sword is at the throat!"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said I, - Ah! My Lord Yahweh! Surely, thou hast suffered this people and Jerusalem to be beguiled, saying, Peace, shall ye have, - whereas the sword shall reach unto the soul.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I said: Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God, hast thou then deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: You shall have peace: and behold the sword reacheth even to the soul?

Revised Standard Version
Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD, surely thou hast utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'It shall be well with you'; whereas the sword has reached their very life."

Young's Literal Translation
And I say, `Ah, Lord Jehovah, Surely thou hast entirely forgotten this people and Jerusalem, saying, Peace is for you, And struck hath a sword unto the soul!'

THE MESSAGE
Then I said, "Alas, Master God ! You've fed lies to this people, this Jerusalem. You assured them, ‘All is well, don't worry,' at the very moment when the sword was at their throats."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'You will have peace'; whereas a sword touches the throat."

Contextual Overview

⁵ Say openly in Judah, give it out in Jerusalem, and say, Let the horn be sounded in the land: crying out in a loud voice, Come together, and let us go into the walled towns. ⁶ Put up a flag for a sign to Zion: go in flight so that you may be safe, waiting no longer: for I will send evil from the north, and a great destruction. ⁷ A lion has gone up from his secret place in the woods, and one who makes waste the nations is on his way; he has gone out from his place, to make your land unpeopled, so that your towns will be made waste, with no man living in them. ⁸ For this put on haircloth, with weeping and loud crying: for the burning wrath of the Lord is not turned back from us. ⁹ And it will come about in that day, says the Lord, that the heart of the king will be dead in him, and the hearts of the rulers; and the priests will be overcome with fear, and the prophets with wonder. ¹⁰ Then said I, Ah, Lord God! your words were not true when you said to this people and to Jerusalem, You will have peace; when the sword has come even to the soul. ¹¹ At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A burning wind from the open hilltops in the waste land is blowing on the daughter of my people, not for separating or cleaning the grain; ¹² A full wind will come for me: and now I will give my decision against them. ¹³ See, he will come up like the clouds, and his war-carriages like the storm-wind: his horses are quicker than eagles. Sorrow is ours, for destruction has come on us. ¹⁴ O Jerusalem, make your heart clean from evil, so that you may have salvation. How long are evil purposes to have a resting-place in you?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Ah: Jeremiah 1:6, Jeremiah 14:13, Jeremiah 32:17, Ezekiel 11:13

surely: Jeremiah 14:13, Jeremiah 14:14, 1 Kings 22:20-23, Isaiah 63:17, Ezekiel 14:9, Ezekiel 14:10, Romans 1:24, Romans 1:26, Romans 1:28, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12

Ye shall have: Jeremiah 5:12, Jeremiah 6:14, Jeremiah 8:11, Jeremiah 23:17, Isaiah 30:10, Isaiah 37:35

the sword: Jeremiah 4:18, Exodus 9:14, Lamentations 2:21

Reciprocal: Jeremiah 6:18 - hear Jeremiah 6:25 - the sword Jeremiah 7:8 - ye trust Jeremiah 8:15 - General Jeremiah 28:9 - which Ezekiel 9:8 - Ah Ezekiel 13:10 - Peace Ezekiel 13:18 - that sew Ezekiel 13:22 - with lies

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
And the Lord God said to the woman, What have you done? And the woman said, I was tricked by the deceit of the snake and I took it.

Genesis 4:9
And the Lord said to Cain, Where is your brother Abel? And he said, I have no idea: am I my brother's keeper?

Genesis 4:10
And he said, What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the earth.

Genesis 9:5
And for your blood, which is your life, will I take payment; from every beast I will take it, and from every man will I take payment for the blood of his brother-man.

Genesis 18:20
And the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is very great, and their sin is very evil,

Exodus 3:7
And God said, Truly, I have seen the grief of my people in Egypt, and their cry because of their cruel masters has come to my ears; for I have knowledge of their sorrows;

Numbers 35:33
So do not make the land where you are living unholy: for blood makes the land unholy: and there is no way of making the land free from the blood which has come on it, but only by the death of him who was the cause of it.

Joshua 7:19
And Joshua said to Achan, My son, give glory and praise to the Lord, the God of Israel; give me word now of what you have done, and keep nothing back from me.

2 Kings 9:26
I saw the blood of Naboth and of his sons yesterday; and I will give you full payment in this field, says the Lord? So now, take him and put him in this field, as the Lord said.

Job 16:18
O earth, let not my blood be covered, and let my cry have no resting-place!

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said I, ah, Lord God!.... Expressing great sorrow and concern: this "ah" is by way of lamentation. The Targum interprets it as a petition,

"and I said, receive my prayer, O Lord God:''

surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem: what the false prophets did, that God is said to do, because he suffered them to deceive the people; see 1 Kings 22:20. The Targum ascribes the deception to the false prophets, and not to God,

"surely behold the false prophets deceive this people, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem;''

or this may be ironically said, because the false prophets pretended to speak in the name of the Lord; wherefore Jeremiah says, "surely thou hast greatly deceived", c. "saying, ye shall have peace" as the false prophets did, Jeremiah 6:14:

whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul; takes away the life, many are slain by it; so the Targum,

"and now behold the sword killeth among the people;''

great slaughter is made by it. L'Empereur w observes that the word here used signifies, in the Arabic language, to educate or bring up; and then the sense is,

"ah, Lord, thou hast brought up this people with great tenderness, and promised them all manner of happiness; but now thou thunderest out threatenings of calamities of all sorts, and death itself; and assigned a place for the sword to enter into their very souls;''

so the Arabic word used in the version of Acts 22:2.

w Not. ad Mosis Kimchi, οδοιπορια, p. 186.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ah, Lord God! - Alas! my Lord Yahweh: an expression of disapproval on Jeremiah’s part. Jeremiah had constantly to struggle against the misgivings of his own melancholy nature, but he never let them prevent him from doing his duty. See the introduction of Jeremiah.

Ye shall have peace - These words are generally referred to the false prophets; they rather refer to real prophecies of future blessedness promised to the Jews. Jeremiah could not reconcile the doom he was now commanded to pronounce, either with his previous prophecy, or with what he read in the writings of his predecessors. Time only could solve the difficulty. Upon the struggles of the prophets to understand their own predictions see 1 Peter 1:10-11.

Unto the soul - The sword has reached the life. i. e., has inflicted a mortal wound.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 4:10. Ah, Lord God! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people — The Targum paraphrases this verse thus: "And I said, Receive my supplication, O Lord God; for, behold, the false prophets deceive this people and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace." The prophet could not reconcile this devastation of the country with the promises already made; and he appears to ask the question, Hast thou not then deceived this people in saying there shall be peace, i.e., prosperity?

Whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. — That is, the life; the people being generally destroyed.