EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Jeremiah 9:3
3The Lord says, ‘The tongues of these people speak lies, like the bows of soldiers shoot arrows. They have become powerful in the land, but they have used lies to do that. They do more and more evil things, and they do not respect me.
Jeremiah 9:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.
- New International Version (NIV)“They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me,” declares the Lord.
- English Standard Version (ESV)They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me,” says the Lord.
Context of Jeremiah 9:3
1‘My head should be like a pool of water. My eyes should be like a river of tears. Then I would never stop crying for my dear people who have died in war. 2I would like to live in a hut in the desert. Then I could leave my people. I could forget about them. They have all turned away from God. They have not been faithful to him. They are a crowd of people that nobody can trust.’ The Lord says, ‘The tongues of these people speak lies, like the bows of soldiers shoot arrows. They have become powerful in the land, but they have used lies to do that. They do more and more evil things, and they do not respect me. 4Be careful of your friends. Do not even trust your brothers! They will always try to cheat you. All your friends will speak lies about you. 5They deceive each other, and they never tell the truth. They have taught their tongues to speak lies. They love to do bad things and they cannot stop themselves.
Read all of Jeremiah 9Jeremiah 9:3 word by word
וַֽיַּדְרְכ֤וּ אֶת־לְשׁוֹנָם֙ קַשְׁתָּ֣ם שֶׁ֔קֶר וְלֹ֥א לֶאֱמוּנָ֖ה גָּבְר֣וּ בָאָ֑רֶץ כִּי֩ מֵרָעָ֨ה אֶל־רָעָ֧ה׀ יָצָ֛אוּ וְאֹתִ֥י לֹֽא־יָדָ֖עוּ נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And they bendדָּרַךְdârak · to treadH1869
- their tonguesלָשׁוֹןlâshôn lâshôn leshônâh · tongueH3956
- their bowקֶ֫שֶׁתqesheth · bowH7198
- liesשֶׁ֫קֶרsheqer · deceptionH8267
- but they are not valiantגָּבַרgâbar · to prevailH1396
- for the truthאֱמוּנָה'ĕmûnâh 'ĕmûnâh · faithfulnessH530
- upon the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- for they proceedיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- from evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
- and they knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- not me, saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
Cross-references for Jeremiah 9:3
- Jeremiah 9:5They deceive each other, and they never tell the truth. They have taught their tongues to speak lies. They love to do bad things and they cannot stop themselves.
- Psalms 52:2Your tongue is like a sharp knife! You talk about how to hurt other people, You speak nothing but lies.
- Psalms 64:3Their tongues are like sharp swords that hurt people. Their cruel words are like arrows that they shoot at people.
- Psalms 120:2I prayed, ‘Lord, keep me safe from people who tell lies. Save me from people who want to deceive me.’
- Isaiah 59:3Your hands are dirty with the blood of murder. They are dirty with all the bad things that you do. Your mouth tells lies, and it says wicked things about other people.
- Micah 7:3They know very well how to work together to do bad things. Rulers demand gifts and judges ask for money. Powerful bad people always get what they want. All these people work together to do what is bad.
- Romans 3:13Bad words come out of their mouth, like a very bad smell. They tell lies all the time, so that people do wrong things. The things that they say hurt people, like a snake's poison.
- Matthew 10:31So do not be afraid of those people who are against you. You are more valuable to God than many little birds.
- Mark 8:38People who are living today do not obey God. They are very bad. But you must not be ashamed of me or of my words. If you are, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you. One day he will return and God's holy angels will be with him. He will have the bright glory of his Father. He will be ashamed of you on that day if you are ashamed of him now.’
- Romans 1:16I am not ashamed to tell people the good news. God uses that good news to show his great power. He uses it to save all people who believe in Jesus Christ. First, God saves all Jews who are believers. And he also saves all Gentiles who are believers.
- Philippians 1:28I want to know that you are not afraid of the people who speak against you. If you are brave, that will be a sign from God. It will show your enemies that they will lose and you will win. God will punish them, but he will save you.
- Jude 1:3My friends, I wanted very much to write to you about how God has saved us from sin. That is what he has done for you and for us. But instead of that, I now know that I must write to you about something else. I must tell you to be strong and brave. You must do everything that you can to keep God's true message safe. God has given this message to his special people and his message will never change. Do not let anyone teach you a different message.
- Revelation 12:11Our brothers and sisters fought against him and they won. They could do this because of the death of the Lamb as a sacrifice. They continued to speak God's true message. They were also ready to die as God's servants. That is why they were able to win against Satan.
- Jeremiah 7:26But my people did not listen to me. They have refused to obey me. They have continued to do evil things, even worse than their ancestors did.’
- 2 Timothy 3:13Bad people like that will become even worse. Some of them will teach a false message and people will believe their lies. Those false teachers even believe their own lies!
- Jeremiah 4:22The Lord says, ‘My people are fools. They do not know me. They are like children who do not know anything. They understand nothing. They are very clever at doing evil things. But they do not know how to do what is good.’
Commentaries on Jeremiah 9:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3They bend their tongues like their bow for lies - And their lies are such that they as fully take away life as the keenest arrow shot from the best strung bow. The false prophets told the people that there was no desolation at hand: the people believed them; made no preparation for their defense; did not return to the Lord; and the sword came and destroyed them. They are not valiant for the truth - They are bold in sin, and courageous to support their…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2-9Verses 2-9 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The Lord did not scold Jeremiah for his outburst. Instead, the Lord listed the charges against his people. The comparison with bows shows that the people's lies were meant to harm others.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. bend ... tongues ... for lies--that is, with lies as their arrows; they direct lies on their tongue as their bow (Psa 64:3, 4). not valiant for ... truth--(Jr 7:28). Maurer translates, "They do not prevail by truth" or faith (Psa 12:4). Their tongue, not faith, is their weapon. upon ... earth--rather, "in the land." know not me--(Ho 4:1).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 9:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 9
- 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
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