Discovery BoxJeremiah 9:3 
Context“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
Context9:16 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
Context9:24 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
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
