Jeremiah 9:2

Lexham English Bible

Contextual Overview

¹ Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night, for the slain of the daughter of my people. ² Oh that I had in the desert a place of overnight lodging for travelers, that I may leave my people and go from them, for all of them are adulterers, a band of traitors. ³ And they bend their tongue like their bow, for falsehood and not truth is superior in the land, for they go forth from evil to evil, and they do not know me," declares Yahweh. ⁴ "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. ⁵ And everyone deceives his neighbor, and they do not speak the truth, they have taught their tongues to speak lies, they are tired from going astray. ⁶ Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit, upon deceit they refuse to know me," declares Yahweh. ⁷ Therefore, thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Look, I am about to refine them, and I will test them, for what else can I do, because of the presence of the daughter of my people? ⁸ Their tongue is a murderous arrow, it speaks deceit. With his mouth he speaks peace with his neighbor, but in his inner parts he sets up his ambush. ⁹ Because of these things shall I not punish them?" declares Yahweh, "On a nation that is like this shall I not take revenge? ¹⁰ For the mountains I lift up weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the desert a lament, because they are laid waste so that no man passes through. And the sounds of cattle are not heard, from the birds of heaven to the animals they have fled, they are gone.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that I had: Psalms 55:6-8, Psalms 120:5-7, Micah 7:1-7

for: Jeremiah 5:7, Jeremiah 5:8, Jeremiah 23:10, Ezekiel 22:10, Ezekiel 22:11, Hosea 4:2, Hosea 7:4, James 4:4

an assembly: Jeremiah 12:1, Jeremiah 12:6, Hosea 5:7, Hosea 6:7, Micah 7:2-5, Zephaniah 3:4, Malachi 2:11

Reciprocal: Judges 16:6 - General 1 Samuel 15:35 - Samuel mourned 1 Kings 19:9 - unto a cave Psalms 12:2 - They Psalms 36:4 - setteth Psalms 55:7 - General Proverbs 21:19 - better Proverbs 26:25 - speaketh fair Ecclesiastes 4:3 - who Isaiah 59:13 - speaking Jeremiah 2:29 - ye all have Jeremiah 7:9 - steal Jeremiah 13:22 - the greatness Ezekiel 21:24 - your transgressions Hosea 7:1 - they commit Hosea 7:3 - General Micah 6:12 - spoken Habakkuk 1:3 - General Luke 6:45 - and an Romans 2:22 - adultery

Cross-References

Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven, and over every animal that moves upon the earth."

Genesis 2:19
And out of the ground Yahweh God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and he brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called that living creature was its name.

Genesis 9:4
Only you shall not eat raw flesh with blood in it.

Genesis 9:8
And God said to Noah and to his sons with him,

Genesis 9:20
And Noah began to be a man of the ground, and he planted a vineyard.

Genesis 9:22
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and he told his two brothers outside.

Genesis 9:23
Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, and the two of them put it on their shoulders and, walking backward, they covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were turned backward, so that they did not see the nakedness of their father.

Genesis 35:5
Then they set out on their journey, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, so that they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

Leviticus 26:6
And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and there shall not be anybody who makes you afraid, and I will remove harmful animals from the land, and no sword shall pass through your land.

Leviticus 26:22
And I will send wild animals out among you, and they shall make you childless, and they shall cut down your domestic animals, and they shall make you fewer; and your roads shall be desolate.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men,.... Such as travellers take up with in a desert, when they are benighted, and cannot reach a town or village. This the prophet chose, partly that he might have an opportunity to give vent to his grief, being alone; for which reason he did not desire to be in cities and populous places, where he might be amused and diverted while his people were in distress: and partly to show his sympathy, not being able to bear the sight of their misery; and also some degree of indignation at their impieties, which had brought ruin upon them; on account of which it was more eligible to dwell with the wild beasts of the desert than with them in his native country: wherefore it follows,

that I might leave my people, and go from them; which of itself was not desirable; no man chooses to leave his country, his own people, and his father's house, and go into distant lands and strange countries; and especially into a wilderness, where there is neither suitable food nor agreeable company: wherefore this shows, that there must be something very bad, and very provoking, to lead him to take such a step as this: the reason follows,

for they be all adulterers; either in a literal or figurative sense; the latter seems rather intended; for though corporeal fornication and adultery might greatly prevail among them, yet not to such a height as that "all" of them were guilty; whereas idolatry did generally obtain among them: an assembly of treacherous men; not a few only, but in general they were apostates from God and from true religion, and treacherous to one another. The Septuagint calls them "a synod"; and Joseph Kimchi interprets it "a kingdom"; deriving the word from עצר, as it signifies to have rule and dominion; denoting, that the kingdom in general was false and perfidious.

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.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 9:2. O that I had in the wilderness — In the eastern countries there are no such inns or houses of entertainment as those in Europe. There are in different places public buildings called caravanserais, where travellers may lodge: but they are without furniture of any kind, and without food. Indeed they are often without a roof, being mere walls for a protection against the wild beasts of the desert. I wish to hide myself any where, in the most uncomfortable circumstances, that I may not be obliged any longer to witness the abominations of this people who are shortly to be visited with the most grievous punishments. Several interpreters suppose this to be the speech of GOD. I cannot receive this. I believe this verse to be spoken by the prophet, and that God proceeds with the next verse, and so on to the ninth inclusive.