# Jeremiah 09 š: Weeping for the People
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#š Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#š Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#š¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#š§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#āļø Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#š Key Principles / š Life Application]]
> [[#š¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#āļø Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#š Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#š Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#š Internal Notes]]
## š Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
[[#Verse 01.]] (8:23)Ā I wish that my head were a well full of water
and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!
If they were, I could cry day and night
for those of my dear peopleĀ who have been killed.
[[#Verse 02.]]Ā (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the wilderness
where I could spend some time like a weary traveler.
Then I would desert my people
and walk away from them
because they are all unfaithful to God,
a congregationĀ of people that has been disloyal to him.ā
### The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them
[[#Verse 03.]]Ā TheĀ LordĀ says,
āThese people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.
Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies.
They have become powerful in the land,
but they have not done so by honest means.
Indeed, they do one evil thing after another
and do not pay attention to me.
[[#Verse 04.]]Ā Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.
He must not even trust any of his relatives.
For every one of them will find some way to cheat him.
And all his friends will tell lies about him.
[[#Verse 05.]]Ā One friend deceives another
and no one tells the truth.
These people have trained themselvesĀ to tell lies.
They do wrong and are unable to repent.
[[#Verse 06.]]Ā They do one act of violence after another,
and one deceitful thing after another.
They refuse to pay attention to me,ā
says theĀ Lord.
[[#Verse 07.]]Ā Therefore theĀ LordĀ of Heavenās Armies says:
āI will now purify them in the fires of afflictionĀ and test them.
The wickedness of my dear peopleĀ has left me no choice.
What else can I do?
[[#Verse 08.]]Ā Their tongues are like deadly arrows.
They are always telling lies.
Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths,
but their minds are thinking up ways to trap them.
[[#Verse 09.]]Ā I will certainly punish them for doing such things!ā says theĀ Lord.
āI will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!ā
### The Coming Destruction Calls For Mourning
[[#Verse 10.]]Ā I said,
āI will weep and mournĀ for the grasslands on the mountains;
I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness
because they are so scorched no one travels through them.
The sound of livestock is no longer heard there.
Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields
have fled and are gone.ā
[[#Verse 11.]]Ā TheĀ LordĀ said,
āI will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
Jackals will make their home there.
I will destroy the towns of Judah
so that no one will be able to live in them.ā
[[#Verse 12.]]Ā I said,
āWho is wise enough to understand why this has happened?
Who has a word from theĀ LordĀ that can explain it?
Why does the land lie in ruins?
Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?ā
[[#Verse 13.]]Ā TheĀ LordĀ answered, āThis has happened because these people have rejected my laws that I gave them. They have not obeyed me or followed those laws.Ā
[[#Verse 14.]]Ā Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance toĀ the gods called Baal,Ā as their fathersĀ taught them to do.Ā
[[#Verse 15.]]Ā So then, listen to what I, theĀ LordĀ of Heavenās Armies, the God of Israel,Ā say,Ā āI will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment.Ā
[[#Verse 16.]]Ā I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestorsĀ have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swordsĀ until I have destroyed them.āā
[[#Verse 17.]]Ā TheĀ LordĀ of Heavenās ArmiesĀ told me to say to this people:
āTake note of what I say.
Call for the women who mourn for the dead!
Summon those who are the most skilled at it!ā
[[#Verse 18.]]Ā I said, āIndeed,Ā let them come quickly and sing a song of mourning for us. Let them wail loudly until tears stream from our own eyes and our eyelids overflow with water.
[[#Verse 19.]]Ā For the sound of wailing is soon to be heard in Zion,
āWe are utterly ruined!Ā We are completely disgraced!
For we have left our land,
for our houses have been torn down!āā
[[#Verse 20.]]Ā I said,
āSo now,Ā you wailing women, listen to theĀ Lordās message.
Open your ears to the message from his mouth.
Teach your daughters this mournful song,
and let every woman teach her neighbor this lament.
[[#Verse 21.]]Ā āDeath has climbed inĀ through our windows.
It has entered into our fortified houses.
It has taken away our children who play in the streets.
It has taken away our young men who gather in the city squares.ā
[[#Verse 22.]]Ā Tell your daughters and neighbors, āTheĀ LordĀ says:
āThe dead bodies of people will lie scattered everywhere
like manure scattered on a field.
They will lie scattered on the ground
like grain that has been cut down but has not been gathered.āāā
[[#Verse 23.]]Ā TheĀ LordĀ says,
āWise people should not boast that they are wise.
Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful.
Rich people should not boast that they are rich.
[[#Verse 24.]]Ā If people want to boast, they should boast about this:
They should boast that they understand and know me.
They should boast that they know and understand
that I, theĀ Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth
and that I desire people to do these things,ā
says theĀ Lord.
[[#Verse 25.]]Ā TheĀ LordĀ says, āWatch out!Ā The time is soon coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh.Ā
[[#Verse 26.]]Ā That is, I will punish the Egyptians, the Judeans, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples.Ā I will do so because none of the people of those nations are really circumcised in theĀ Lordās sight.Ā Moreover, none of the people of IsraelĀ are circumcised when it comes to their hearts.ā
## š Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
## š¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. In the Hebrew Bible, 9:1 is numbered as 8:23, so the verse numbers in this chapter are one off from English Bibles.
2. Jeremiah is often called "the weeping prophet" because of passages like 9:1.
3. In 9:4 "every brother is a deceiver" uses the Hebrew phrase *aqob ya'qob*, a play on Jacob's name, which is connected with the heel and deceiving (Genesis 27:36).
4. Wormwood (9:15) is a bitter plant used in Scripture as a picture of suffering.
5. Professional mourning women (9:17) were hired to lead public lament at funerals.
6. Death is pictured climbing through the windows (9:21), a picture of how disaster would enter every home.
7. Paul quotes 9:24 in 1 Corinthians 1:31 and 2 Corinthians 10:17.
8. God says He delights in faithful love, justice, and righteousness (9:24).
9. Egypt, Edom, Ammon, and Moab practiced circumcision, so God says physical circumcision alone means nothing (9:25-26).
10. Jeremiah wishes for a traveler's lodging place in the wilderness so he could get away from his people (9:2).
## š§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## āļø Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the wisdom of God in whom we boast. Jeremiah says to boast only in knowing the Lord (9:23-24), and Paul says Christ became our wisdom, so let the one who boasts boast in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).
## š Key Principles / š Life Application
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## š¬ Discussion Questions
1. Jeremiah wished his eyes were a fountain of tears for his people (9:1). When was the last time you grieved over sin and its consequences?
2. Every brother was a deceiver and every neighbor a slanderer (9:4-5). How does dishonesty destroy a community?
3. God says not to boast in wisdom, strength, or riches, but in knowing Him (9:23-24). What are you most tempted to boast in?
## āļø Key Verses to Remember
- š verse 1: Jeremiah longs for his eyes to be a fountain of tears for his people.
- š verse 6: Through their deceit they refuse to know Me, declares the Lord.
- š verses 23-24: Let the one who boasts boast in this: that he understands and knows the Lord.
## š Related Passages/Cross Reference
- š [[1 Corinthians 01#Verse 30.|1 Corinthians 1:30-31]] - Christ became our wisdom, so boast in the Lord.
- š [[2 Corinthians 10#Verse 17.|2 Corinthians 10:17]] - Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.
- š [[Luke 19#Verse 41.|Luke 19:41]] - Jesus wept over Jerusalem.
- š [[Romans 12#Verse 15.|Romans 12:15]] - Weep with those who weep.
- š [[Philippians 03#Verse 03.|Philippians 3:3-8]] - Paul counts everything loss compared to knowing Christ.
## š Devotional Reflection
š SOAP: [[Jeremiah 09 - SOAP|Brag on Jesus]]
## š Internal Notes