English Standard Version
Jeremiah 8:17
17For behold, I am sending among you serpents, adders that cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you," declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 8:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.
- New International Version (NIV)“See, I will send venomous snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the Lord.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“For behold, I will send serpents among you, Vipers which cannot be charmed, And they shall bite you,” says the Lord.
- New Living Translation (NLT)I will send these enemy troops among you like poisonous snakes you cannot charm. They will bite you, and you will die. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Context of Jeremiah 8:17
15We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror. 16"The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan; at the sound of the neighing of their stallions the whole land quakes. They come and devour the land and all that fills it, the city and those who dwell in it. For behold, I am sending among you serpents, adders that cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you," declares the Lord. 18My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me. 19Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people from the length and breadth of the land: "Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not in her?" "Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images and with their foreign idols?"
Read all of Jeremiah 8Jeremiah 8:17 word by word
כִּי֩ הִנְנִ֨י מְשַׁלֵּ֜חַ בָּכֶ֗ם נְחָשִׁים֙ צִפְעֹנִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵין־לָהֶ֖ם לָ֑חַשׁ וְנִשְּׁכ֥וּ אֶתְכֶ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For, behold, I will sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- serpentsנָחָשׁnâchâsh · serpentH5175
- cockatricesצִפְעוֹנִיtsepha‛ tsiph‛ônîy · serpentH6848
- charmedלַ֫חַשׁlachash · charmH3908
- and they shall biteנָשַׁךְnâshak · to biteH5391
- you, saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
Cross-references for Jeremiah 8:17
- Deuteronomy 32:24they shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured by plague and poisonous pestilence; I will send the teeth of beasts against them, with the venom of things that crawl in the dust.
- Isaiah 14:29Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.
- Amos 5:19as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him.
- Amos 9:3If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them; and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
- Revelation 9:19For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.
- Psalms 58:4They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
- Ecclesiastes 10:11If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 8:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17I will send serpents - These were symbols of the enemies that were coming against them; a foe that would rather slay them and destroy the land than get booty and ransom.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17I will send - Or, am sending. No prophet changes his metaphors so suddenly as Jeremiah. The invading army is now compared to snakes, whom no charming can soothe, and whose bite is fatal. Compare Numbers 21:5-6. Cockatrices - “Vipers.” See Isaiah 11:8 note.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-22Verses 14-22 At length they begin to see the hand of God lifted up. And when God appears against us, every thing that is against us appears formidable. As salvation only can be found in the Lord, so the present moment should be seized. Is there no medicine proper for a sick and dying kingdom? Is there no skilful, faithful hand to apply the medicine? Yes, God is able to help and to heal them. If sinners die of their wounds, their blood is upon their own…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-17These three short poems were likely shared during the reign of Jehoiakim.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. I--Jehovah. cockatrices--basilisks (Is 11:8), that is, enemies whose destructive power no means, by persuasion or otherwise, can counteract. Serpent-charmers in the East entice serpents by music, and by a particular pressure on the neck render them incapable of darting (Psa 58:4, 5).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 8:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 8
- 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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Commentaries