Jeremiah 9:4

Green's 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.

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.

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.

King James Version (1611)
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.

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 my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! ² Oh, that I had a lodging place for travelers in the wilderness, that I might leave my people and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous ones. ³ And they bend their tongues, their bow is a lie. And they are not mighty for the truth on the earth, for they go from evil to evil. They also do not know Me, says Jehovah. ⁴ 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. ⁵ And everyone will deceive his neighbor, and they will not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies. They weary themselves to commit iniquity. ⁶ Your home is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know Me, says Jehovah. ⁷ For this reason, so says Jehovah of Hosts, Behold, I will refine them and test them. For what else can I do because of the daughter of My people? ⁸ Their tongue is a murdering arrow; it speaks deceit. One speaks peace with his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he sets his ambush. ⁹ Shall I not visit them for these things ? says Jehovah. Or shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this? ¹⁰ I will take up a weeping and a wailing for the mountains and a mourning for the pastures of the wilderness. For they are burned up, without a man passing through. Yea, they do not hear the voice of cattle. From the fowl of the heavens and tothe beast, they have 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 every living creature which is with you, among fowl, among cattle, and among every animal of the earth with you, from all that go out from the ark, to every animal of the earth.

Genesis 9:14
And it will be when I gather the clouds on the earth, then the bow shall be seen in the clouds.

Leviticus 3:17
It shall be a never ending statute for your generations in all your dwellings. You shall not eat any fat or any blood.

Leviticus 7:26
And you shall not eat any blood in all your dwellings, of fowl, or of animal.

Leviticus 19:26
You shall not eat with the blood; you shall not divine, nor conjure spirits .

Deuteronomy 12:16
Only, you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it as water on the earth.

Deuteronomy 12:23
Only, be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh;

Deuteronomy 14:21
You shall not eat of anything that died of itself. You may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it. Or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God. You shallnot boil a kid in its mother's milk.

Deuteronomy 15:23
Only, you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.

Acts 15:20
but to write to them to hold back from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and that strangled, and 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.”