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 no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.’ 16“The snorting of the enemies’ warhorses can be heard all the way from the land of Dan in the north! The neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble. They are coming to devour the land and everything in it— cities and people alike. 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!” 18My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken. 19Listen to the weeping of my people; it can be heard all across the land. “Has the Lord abandoned Jerusalem?” the people ask. “Is her King no longer there?” “Oh, why have they provoked my anger with their carved idols and their worthless foreign gods?” says the Lord.

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 32:24I will weaken them with famine, burning fever, and deadly disease. I will send the fangs of wild beasts and poisonous snakes that glide in the dust.
• Isaiah 14:29Do not rejoice, you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken— that the king who attacked you is dead. For from that snake a more poisonous snake will be born, a fiery serpent to destroy you!
• Amos 5:19In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion— only to meet a bear. Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house— and he’s bitten by a snake.
• Amos 9:3Even if they hide at the very top of Mount Carmel, I will search them out and capture them. Even if they hide at the bottom of the ocean, I will send the sea serpent after them to bite them.
• Revelation 9:19Their power was in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people.
• Psalms 58:4They spit venom like deadly snakes; they are like cobras that refuse to listen,
• Ecclesiastes 10:11If a snake bites before you charm it, what’s the use of 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