Jeremiah 9:5

9:5 One friend deceives another

and no one tells the truth.

These people have trained themselves 1  to tell lies.

They do wrong and are unable to repent.

Jeremiah 23:35

23:35 So I, Jeremiah, tell you, 2  “Each of you people should say to his friend or his relative, ‘How did the Lord answer? Or what did the Lord say?’ 3 

1 tn Heb “their tongues.” However, this is probably not a natural idiom in contemporary English and the tongue may stand as a part for the whole anyway.

2 tn The words “So, I, Jeremiah tell you” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show that it is he who is addressing the people, not the Lord. See “our God” in v. 38 and “Here is what the Lord says…” which indicate the speaker is other than he.

3 tn This line is sometimes rendered as a description of what the people are doing (cf. NIV). However, repetition with some slight modification referring to the prophet in v. 37 followed by the same kind of prohibition that follows here shows that what is being contrasted is two views toward the Lord’s message, i.e., one of openness to receive what the Lord says through the prophet and one that already characterizes the Lord’s message as a burden. Allusion to the question that started the discussion in v. 33 should not be missed. The prophet alluded to is Jeremiah. He is being indirect in his reference to himself.