Jeremiah 9:3

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, 1 

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.

Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. 2 

They have become powerful in the land,

but they have not done so by honest means. 3 

Indeed, they do one evil thing after another 4 

and do not pay attention to me. 5 

Jeremiah 9:16

9:16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors 6  have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swords 7  until I have destroyed them.’” 8 

Jeremiah 9:24

9:24 If people want to boast, they should boast about this:

They should boast that they understand and know me.

They should boast that they know and understand

that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth

and that I desire people to do these things,” 9 

says the Lord.

1 tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.

2 tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

3 tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

4 tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

5 tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).

6 tn Heb “fathers.”

7 tn Heb “I will send the sword after them.” The sword here is probably not completely literal but refers to death by violent means, including death by the sword.

8 sn He will destroy them but not completely. See Jer 5:18; 30:11; 46:28.

9 tn Or “fairness and justice, because these things give me pleasure.” Verse 24 reads in Hebrew, “But let the one who brags brag in this: understanding and knowing me that I, the Lord, do faithfulness, justice, and righteousness in the earth for/that I delight in these.” It is uncertain whether the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) before the clause “I delight in these things” is parallel to the כִּי introducing the clause “that I, the Lord, act…” or causal giving the grounds for the Lord acting the way he does. In the light of the contrasts in the passage and the emphasis that Jeremiah has placed on obedience to the covenant and ethical conduct in conjunction with real allegiance to the Lord not mere lip service, it is probable that the clauses are parallel. For the use of כִּי to introduce clauses of further definition after a direct object as here see GKC 365 §117.h and see BDB 393 s.v. יָדַע Qal.1.a. For parallels to the idea of Yahweh requiring these characteristics in people see Hos 6:6, Mic 6:8.