Jeremiah 8:17

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For behold, I am sending among you serpents, adders that cannot be charmed, and they shall 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.

Context of Jeremiah 8:17

15We hoped for peace, but nothing good has happened. We hoped for a time of healing, but there’s only terror. 16The snorting of horses can be heard from Dan. The neighing of stallions makes the whole land tremble. They are coming to devour the land and everything in it, the city and its people. “I am going to send snakes among you, vipers that can’t be charmed. They will bite you,” declares the Lord. 18Sorrow has overwhelmed me. I am sick at heart! 19The cry from my dear people comes from a distant land: “Isn’t the Lord in Zion? Isn’t Zion’s king still there?” They make me furious with their idols, with their foreign gods.

Jeremiah 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 will be starved by famines and ravaged by pestilence and deadly epidemics. I will send vicious animals against them along with poisonous animals that crawl on the ground.
• Isaiah 14:29All you Philistines, don’t rejoice that the rod of the one who struck you is broken, because a viper will come from that snake’s root, and his descendant will be a flying, fiery serpent.
• Amos 5:19It is like a person who flees from a lion only to be attacked by a bear. It is like a person who goes home and puts his hand on the wall only to be bitten by a snake.
• Amos 9:3Even if they hide on top of Mount Carmel, I will look for them and take them from there. Even if they hide from me at the bottom of the sea, I will command a sea snake to bite them.
• Revelation 9:19The power of these horses is in their mouths and their tails. (Their tails have heads like snakes which they use to hurt people.)
• Psalms 58:4They have poisonous venom like snakes. They are like a deaf cobra that shuts its ears
• Ecclesiastes 10:11If a snake bites before it has been charmed, then there is no advantage in being a snake 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

• Animals
• Backsliders
• Charmers and Charming
• Church
• Cockatrice
• Impenitence
• Serpent
• War

In the dictionaries

• Adder
• Basilisk
• Charmer
• Cockatrice
• Enchantments
• Repent
• Serpent
• Snorting
• Covenant, the New
• Enchantment

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