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 shalom, but it is no good, for a time of healing —and suddenly, terror!” 16From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses. At the sound of his stallions neighing, the whole land quakes. For they come and devour the land and everything in it— the city and all who live there. “For I am about to send serpents on you, vipers for which there is no charm, and they will bite you.” It is a declaration of Adonai. 18My joy is overcome by grief, my heart is faint within me. 19Listen, the sound of the cry of the daughter of my people —a voice from a distant land— “Is Adonai no longer in Zion? Is her King no longer in her?” “Why have they provoked Me with their graven images, with foreign idols?”

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 32:24Wasted by famine, ravaged by plague and pestilence so bitter, fangs of beasts I’ll let loose on them, with venom of creepers in the dust.
• Isaiah 14:29Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, that the rod that struck you is broken. For from the serpent’s root comes a viper and its fruit will be a flying serpent.
• Amos 5:19It will be as when a man is fleeing from a lion—and meets a bear! Or he comes home, leans his hand on the wall, and a snake bites him!
• Amos 9:3If they should hide themselves at the top of Carmel, I will search them out and take them from there. If they hide themselves from My eyes at the bottom of the sea, from there I will command the sea serpent to bite them.
• Revelation 9:19For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads by which they inflict injuries.
• Psalms 58:4The wicked are strangers from the womb. Speaking lies, they go astray from birth.
• Ecclesiastes 10:11If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no profit for 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

• 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