Jeremiah 3:9

Jeremiah 3:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
• New International Version (NIV)Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.

Context of Jeremiah 3:9

7I thought that one day she would come back to me. But she did not return. Israel's sister, Judah, saw what Israel did. 8Israel was not faithful to me and she served other gods. So I sent her away, like a husband may send his wife away if she is not faithful to him. Judah saw what happened to Israel, but she was not afraid. Like a prostitute, she also went to find other gods that she could serve. She was not ashamed of what she was doing. She worshipped idols made of wood and stone. She made the land unclean because she was not faithful to me. 10Still Judah has not turned back to me. She wants me to think that she has, but she has not. Like her sister, Israel, she has not been faithful.’ That is what the Lord says. 11The Lord said to me, ‘It is true that Israel's people have not been faithful to me. But Judah's people are even more guilty than them.

Jeremiah 3:9 word by word

וְהָיָה֙ מִקֹּ֣ל זְנוּתָ֔הּ וַתֶּחֱנַ֖ף אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַתִּנְאַ֥ף אֶת־הָאֶ֖בֶן וְאֶת־הָעֵֽץ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it came to pass through the lightnessקֹלqôl qôl · frivolityH6963
• of her whoredomזְנוּתzenûth · fornicationH2184
• that she defiledחָנֵףchânêph · to polluteH2610
• the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• and committed adulteryנָאַףnâ'aph · to commit adulteryH5003
• with stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• and with stocksעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086

Cross-references for Jeremiah 3:9

• Ezekiel 23:10They removed her clothes to make her ashamed. They took away her sons and daughters. They attacked her and they killed her. Because of her punishment, women everywhere talked about her.
• Jeremiah 3:2Look up at the tops of the hills. You have loved other gods on all of them! You sat by the side of the road, and you waited for a lover to come. Like a robber, you waited to catch men so that you could sleep with them. You have not been faithful to me, but you have looked for other gods, like a prostitute. The wicked things that you have done have made the land unclean.
• Jeremiah 2:7But I, the Lord, brought you to a good land. It was a place where fruit grew on trees. You could eat all those good things, as well as the crops that you grew there. You came into the land that I had promised to give to you. But you spoiled it with your sins. You made it a disgusting place.
• Jeremiah 2:27They worship a piece of wood, and they say, “You are my father.” They say to a stone, “You gave birth to me.” They have not turned to come to me. Instead, they have turned away from me. But when trouble comes to them, they call out to me to rescue them.
• Jeremiah 10:8The people of those nations are stupid and foolish. They think that wooden idols can teach them something!
• Isaiah 57:6You take big stones from the streams, and they become your idols. They are the gods that you love to worship. You pour drink offerings over them. You offer grain to them. Because of what you do, should I not punish you?
• Ezekiel 16:17You took your beautiful gold and silver rings and your jewels. You used them to make images of male idols for yourself. You worshipped them instead of me.
• Hosea 4:12They ask wooden idols to tell them what to do! A stick tells them what will happen in the future! They have turned away from me and they have lost their way. They have not been faithful to me, their God, as a prostitute is not faithful to her husband.
• Habakkuk 2:19It will be very bad for anyone who says to a piece of wood, “Wake up!” It will be bad for anyone who says to a stone that cannot speak, “Get up and help me!” It cannot teach you! It has gold or silver to make it look nice, but it is not alive.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 3:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9The lightness of her whoredom - The grossness of her idolatry: worshipping objects the most degrading, with rites the most impure.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Lightness - Others render as in the margin. Defiled - Rather, profaned. The land especially consecrated to Yahweh‘s service was treated by Judah as a common land.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-11Verses 6-11 If we mark the crimes of those who break off from a religious profession, and the consequences, we see abundant reason to shun evil ways. It is dreadful to be proved more criminal than those who have actually perished in their sins; yet it will be small comfort in everlasting punishment, for them to know that others were viler than they.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9defiled the land: Because Israel turned away from their faith, fertile fields stopped producing crops, and sheep did not graze on green grass (Isaiah 57:6).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. it--Some take this verse of Judah, to whom the end of Jr 3:8 refers. But Jr 3:10 puts Judah in contrast to Israel in this verse. "Yet for all this," referring to the sad example of Israel; if Jr 3:9 referred to Judah, "she" would have been written in Jr 3:10, not "Judah." Translate, "It (the putting away of Israel) had come to pass through ... whoredom; and (that is, for) she (Israel) had defiled the land" &c. [Maurer]. English Version, however, may be…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 3:9

• Backsliders
• Church
• Condescension of God
• Idolatry
• Impenitence

In the dictionaries

• Adultery
• Confusion
• Fornication
• Marriage
• Marry
• Reserve
• Defile; Defilement
• Forehead
• Godless
• Habaziniah

Commentaries on Jeremiah 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings