New International Version
Jeremiah 9:4
4“Beware of your friends; do not trust anyone in your clan. For every one of them is a deceiver, and every friend 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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 lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people. 3“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. “Beware of your friends; do not trust anyone in your clan. For every one of them is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. 5Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning. 6You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge 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 12:6Your relatives, members of your own family— even they have betrayed you; they have raised a loud cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you.
- Psalms 12:2Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts.
- Psalms 55:11Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets.
- Proverbs 26:24Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit.
- Micah 7:5Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Even with the woman who lies in your embrace guard the words of your lips.
- Matthew 10:17Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.
- Luke 21:16You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.
- Genesis 27:35But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
- Genesis 32:28Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:6and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before.
- Jeremiah 6:28They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they all act corruptly.
- Leviticus 19:16“ ‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. “ ‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.
- Psalms 15:3whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others;
- Proverbs 6:16There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
- Proverbs 10:18Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.
- Proverbs 25:18Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.
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
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