Jeremiah 9:15
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Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will feed this people wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
In this chapter the prophet goes on faithfully to reprove sin and to threaten God's judgments for it, and yet bitterly to lament both, as one that neither rejoiced at iniquity nor was glad at calamities. I. He here expresses his great grief for the miseries of Judah and Jerusalem, and his detestation of their sins, which brought those miseries upon them (Jer 9:1-11). II. He justifies God in the greatness of the destruction brought upon them (Jer 9:9-16). III. He calls upon others to bewail the woeful case of Judah and Jerusalem (Jer 9:17-22). IV. He shows them the folly and vanity of trusting in their own strength or wisdom, or the privileges of their circumcision, or any thing but God only (Jer 9:23-26).
Open source ↗9:15-16 The Lord . . . the God of Israel then issued another decree. The Lord would provide bitterness and poison in the form of exile and widespread death in unknown countries.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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Why are we just sitting here? Gather together, let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has doomed us. He has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.
You fed them with the bread of tears and made them drink the full measure of their tears.
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets: “I will feed them wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”
They poisoned my food with gall and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst.
For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.
This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it.
So the pride of man will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,
Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter like wormwood oil, and many people died from the bitter waters.