English Standard Version
Jeremiah 9:4
4Let everyone beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother is a deceiver, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.
Jeremiah 9:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.
- New International Version (NIV)“Beware of your friends; do not trust anyone in your clan. For every one of them is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Everyone take heed to his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; For every brother will utterly supplant, And every neighbor will walk with slanderers.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Beware of your neighbor! Don’t even trust your brother! For brother takes advantage of brother, and friend slanders friend.
Context of Jeremiah 9:4
2Oh that I had in the desert a travelers' lodging place, that I might leave my people and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, a company of treacherous men. 3They 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. Let everyone beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother is a deceiver, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. 5Everyone deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity. 6Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit, they refuse to know me, declares the Lord.
Read all of Jeremiah 9Jeremiah 9:4 word by word
אִ֤ישׁ מֵרֵעֵ֙הוּ֙ הִשָּׁמֵ֔רוּ וְעַל־כָּל־אָ֖ח אַל־תִּבְטָ֑חוּ כִּ֤י כָל־אָח֙ עָק֣וֹב יַעְקֹ֔ב וְכָל־רֵ֖עַ רָכִ֥יל יַהֲלֹֽךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Take ye heedשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: carefulH8104
- every oneאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- of his neighbourרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
- and trustבָּטַחbâţach · to trustH982
- ye not in any brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
- will utterlyעָקַב‛âqab · to assailH6117
- will walkהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
- with slandersרָכִילrâkîyl · slanderH7400
Cross-references for Jeremiah 9:4
- Jeremiah 12:6For even your brothers and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; they are in full cry after you; do not believe them, though they speak friendly words to you."
- Psalms 12:2Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
- Psalms 55:11ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.
- Proverbs 26:24Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart;
- Micah 7:5Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms;
- Matthew 10:17Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues,
- Luke 21:16You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.
- Genesis 27:35But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing."
- Genesis 32:28Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."
- 1 Thessalonians 4:6that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.
- Jeremiah 6:28They are all stubbornly rebellious, going about with slanders; they are bronze and iron; all of them act corruptly.
- Leviticus 19:16You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
- Psalms 15:3who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
- Proverbs 6:16There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
- Proverbs 10:18The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.
- Proverbs 25:18A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 9:4
- 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. 4-6Idolatry was the foundation of a culture built on lies. The word brother, used as a synonym for neighbor, shows that even close relationships were tainted by deceit.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. supplant--literally, "trip up by the heel" (Ho 12:3). walk with slanders--(Jr 6:28).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 9:4
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries