Jeremiah 9:4

King James Version (1611 Edition)

Take yee heede euery one of his neighbour, and trust yee not in any brother: for euery brother will vtterly supplant, and euery neighbour will walke with slanders.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Everyone has to be on guard against his friend.Don’t trust any brother,for every brother will certainly deceive,and every friend spread slander.

Hebrew Names Version
Take you heed everyone of his neighbor, and don't you trust in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders.

King James Version
Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.

English Standard Version
Let everyone beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother is a deceiver, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.

New American Standard Bible
"Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; Because every brother utterly betrays, And every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.

New Century Version
"Watch out for your friends, and don't trust your own relatives, because every relative is a cheater, and every friend tells lies about you.

Amplified Bible
"Let everyone beware of his neighbor And do not trust any brother. For every brother is a supplanter [like Jacob, a deceiver, ready to grab his brother's heel], And every neighbor goes around as a slanderer.

World English Bible
Take you heed everyone of his neighbor, and don't you trust in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Let euery one take heede of his neighbour, and trust you not in any brother: for euery brother will vse deceite, and euery friend will deale deceitfully,

Legacy Standard Bible
"Let everyone beware of his neighbor,And do not trust any brother,Because every brother surely supplants,And every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.

Berean Standard Bible
"Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander.

Contemporary English Version
Jeremiah, all your friends and relatives tell lies about you, so don't trust them.

Complete Jewish Bible
Everyone deceives his neighbor, no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongues to lie, they wear themselves out with sinning.

Darby Translation
Take ye heed every one of his friend, and confide not in any brother; for every brother only supplanteth, and every friend goeth about with slander.

Easy-to-Read Version
"Watch your neighbors! Don't trust your own brothers, because every brother is a cheat. Every neighbor talks behind your back.

George Lamsa Translation
Take heed every one of his neighbor and do not trust in any brother; for every brother henceforth will defraud and every neighbor will walk deceitfully.

Good News Translation
Everyone must be on guard against their friends, and no one can trust their relatives; for all relatives are as deceitful as Jacob, and everyone slanders their friends.

Lexham English Bible
"Let everyone be on your guard against his neighbor, and you must not trust in any brother, for everyone surely betrays, and every neighbor goes about with slander.

Literal Translation
Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor, and do not trust any brother. For every brother will supplant, and every neighbor will walk as a slanderer.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yee one must kepe himself from another, no man maye safely trust his owne brother: for one brother vndermyneth another, & one neghboure begyleth another.

American Standard Version
Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders.

Bible in Basic English
Let everyone keep watch on his neighbour, and put no faith in any brother: for every brother will certainly be tricking his brother, and every neighbour will go about saying evil.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And they deceive every one his neighbour, and truth they speak not; they have taught their tongue to speak lies, they weary themselves to commit iniquity.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Yea, one must kepe hym selfe from another, no man may safely trust his owne brother: for one brother vndermindeth another, one neighbour beguileth another.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Beware ye each of his neighbour, and trust ye not in your brethren: for every one will surely supplant, and every friend will walk craftily.

English Revised Version
Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will go about with slanders.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Ech man kepe hym fro his neiybore, and haue no trist in ony brother of hym; for whi ech brother disseyuyng schal disseyue, and ech frend schal go gilefuli.

Update Bible Version
Take heed every one of his neighbor, and don't trust in any brother; for every brother will completely supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders.

Webster's Bible Translation
Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders.

New English Translation
Everyone must be on his guard around his friends. He must not even trust any of his relatives. For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

New King James Version
"Everyone take heed to his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; For every brother will utterly supplant, And every neighbor will walk with slanderers.

New Living Translation
"Beware of your neighbor! Don't even trust your brother! For brother takes advantage of brother, and friend slanders friend.

New Life Bible
"Let every one watch his neighbor. Do not trust any brother. Because every brother sets traps, and every neighbor goes about hurting people with his talk.

New Revised Standard
Beware of your neighbors, and put no trust in any of your kin; for all your kin are supplanters, and every neighbor goes around like a slanderer.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Every one, of his neighbour, beware ye, And in no brother, may ye trust, - For, every brother, supplanteth! And every neighbour, as a tale-bearer, goeth about;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Let every man take heed of his neighbour, and let him not trust in any brother of his: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every friend will walk deceitfully.

Revised Standard Version
Let every one beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother; for every brother is a supplanter, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.

Young's Literal Translation
Each of his friend -- beware ye, And on any brother, do not trust, For every brother doth utterly supplant, For every friend slanderously doth walk,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; Because every brother deals craftily, And every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.

Contextual Overview

¹ Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountaine of teares, that I might weepe day and night for the slaine of the daughter of my people. ² Oh that I had in the wildernesse a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leaue my people, and goe from them: for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. ³ And they bend their tongue like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the trueth vpon the earth: for they proceed from euil to euill, and they know not me, saith the Lord. ⁴ Take yee heede euery one of his neighbour, and trust yee not in any brother: for euery brother will vtterly supplant, and euery neighbour will walke with slanders. ⁵ And they will deceiue euery one his neighbour, and will not speake the trueth, they haue taught their tongue to speake lies, and weary themselues to commit iniquity. ⁶ Thine habitation is in the middest of deceit, through deceit they refuse to know me, sayth the Lord. ⁷ Therfore thus saith the Lord of hostes; Behold, I will melt them, and trie them: for how shall I doe for the daughter of my people? ⁸ Their tongue is as an arrowe shot out, it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his waite. ⁹ Shall I not visit them for these things, saith the Lord ? shall not my soule be auenged on such a nation as this? ¹⁰ For the mountaines will I take vp a weeping and wayling, and for the habitations of the wildernesse a lamentation, because they are burnt vp, so that none can passe through them, neither can men heare the voyce of the cattell, both the foule of the heauens, and the beast are fled, they are gone.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

ye heed: Jeremiah 12:6, Psalms 12:2, Psalms 12:3, Psalms 55:11, Psalms 55:12, Proverbs 26:24, Proverbs 26:25, Micah 7:5, Micah 7:6, Matthew 10:17, Matthew 10:21, Matthew 10:34, Matthew 10:35, Luke 21:16

neighbour: or, friend

every brother: Genesis 27:35, Genesis 27:36, Genesis 32:28, 1 Thessalonians 4:6

walk: Jeremiah 6:28, Leviticus 19:16, Psalms 15:3, Proverbs 6:16, Proverbs 6:19, Proverbs 10:18, Proverbs 25:18, Ezekiel 22:9, 1 Peter 2:1, 1 Peter 2:2

Reciprocal: Judges 16:18 - Come up 2 Samuel 19:27 - slandered Job 6:15 - My brethren Psalms 52:2 - Thy Psalms 55:13 - my guide Psalms 116:11 - All Malachi 2:10 - why Ephesians 4:31 - evil speaking 1 Timothy 3:11 - not

Cross-References

Genesis 9:10
And with euery liuing creature that is with you, of the fowle, of the cattell, and of euery beast of the earth with you, from all that goe out of the Arke, to euery beast of the earth.

Genesis 9:14
And it shall come to passe, when I bring a cloud ouer the earth, that the bow shall be seene in the cloud.

Leviticus 3:17
It shall be a perpetuall statute for your generations, throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat, nor blood.

Leviticus 7:26
Moreouer ye shall eat no maner of blood, whether it bee of foule or of beast in any of your dwellings.

Leviticus 19:26
Ye shall not eate any thing with the blood, neither shall ye vse inchantment, nor obserue times.

Deuteronomy 12:16
Onely ye shall not eat the blood: yee shall powre it vpon the earth as water.

Deuteronomy 12:23
Onely be sure that thou eate not the blood: for the blood is the life, and thou mayest not eate the life with the flesh.

Deuteronomy 14:21
Ye shall not eate of any thing that dieth of it selfe: thou shalt giue it vnto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eate it, or thou mayest sell it vnto an alien: for thou art an holy people vnto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kidde in his mothers milke.

Deuteronomy 15:23
Onely thou shalt not eate the blood thereof: thou shalt powre it vpon the ground as water.

Acts 15:20
But that wee write vnto them, that they abstaine from pollutions of Idoles, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Take ye heed everyone of his neighbour,.... Take care of being imposed upon by them, since they are so given to lying and deceit; be not too credulous, or too easily believe what is said; or keep yourselves from them; have no company or conversation with them, since evil communications corrupt good manners:

and trust ye not in any brother; whether by blood or by marriage, or by religion, believe not his words; trust him not, neither with your money, nor with your mind; commit not your secrets to him, place no confidence in him; a people must be very corrupt indeed when this is the case: or, "trust ye not in every brother" r; some may be trusted, but not all though the following clause seems to contradict this,

for every brother will utterly supplant; or, in supplanting supplant s; play the Jacob, do as he did by his brother, who supplanted him twice; first got the birthright from him, and then the blessing; which was presignified by taking his brother by the heel in the womb, from whence he had his name; and the same word is here used, which signifies a secret, clandestine, and insidious way of circumventing another;

and every neighbour will walk with slanders; go about spreading lies and calumnies, as worshippers, backbiters, and tale bearers do. The word דכיל is used for a "merchant"; and because such persons went from place to place with their goods, and made use often times of fraudulent practices to deceive people, it is applied to one that is guilty of slander and calumny; Song of Solomon 3:8.

r ועל כל אח אל תבטחו "et omni fratri ne fidatis", Paganinus. s עקוב יעקב "supplantanto supplantat", Schmidt.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

From their punishment the prophet now turns to their sins.

Jeremiah 9:2

The prophet utters the wish that he might be spared his daily striving, and in some lone wilderness give way to his sorrow, without restraint.

A lodging place - It was usual to build in the desert, either by private charity or at the public expense, caravanserais, to receive travelers for a single night, who had however to bring their own supplies with them.

An assembly - Or, a gang.

Treacherous - Faithless toward one another.

Jeremiah 9:3

Rather, “And they bend their tongue to be their bow of lies, i. e.” just as men before a battle get their bows ready, so they of set purpose make ready to do mischief, only their arrows are lying words: “neither do they rule faithfully in the land, i. e.” Judaea.

Jeremiah 9:4

In a state of such utter lawlessness, the bonds of mutual confidence are relaxed, and suspicion takes its place.

Utterly supplant - An allusion to the name of Jacob Genesis 27:36. It might be rendered, “every brother is a thorough Jacob.”

Will walk with slanders - Or, slandereth.

Jeremiah 9:6

A continuation of the warning given in Jeremiah 9:4. “Trust no one: for thou dwellest surrounded by deceit on every side.” Their rejection of God is the result of their want of honesty in their dealings with one another 1 John 4:20.

Jeremiah 9:7

I will melt them, and try them - The punishment is corrective rather than retributive. The terms used are those of the refiner of metals, the first being the smelting to separate the pure metal from the ore; the second the testing to see whether the metal is pure, or still mixed with alloy. God will put the nation into the crucible of tribulation, that whatever is evil being consumed in the fire, all there is in them of good may be purified.

For how shall I do ... - Rather, “for how” else could I act with reference to the “daughter of my people?”

Jeremiah 9:8

An arrow shot out - Rather, “a murderous arrow.”

In heart he layeth his wait - Rather, “inwardly he layeth his ambush.”