Jeremiah 3:9 kjv
And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
Jeremiah 3:9 nkjv
So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
Jeremiah 3:9 niv
Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.
Jeremiah 3:9 esv
Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree.
Jeremiah 3:9 nlt
Israel treated it all so lightly ? she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted.
Jeremiah 3 9 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lev 18:25 | "And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomiteth..." | Land defiled by sin; God's judgment |
| Lev 19:31 | "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them..." | Forbidden practices cause defilement |
| Deut 4:28 | "And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear..." | Idolatry involves serving dead gods |
| Deut 28:15-68 | Curses for disobedience, including exile and land's barrenness. | Consequences of breaking covenant/idolatry |
| Judg 2:13 | "And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth." | Abandoning God for false gods |
| 1 Ki 11:5 | "For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination..." | Kings leading Israel into idolatry |
| 2 Ki 17:10 | "And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree..." | Widespread idolatry and pagan worship |
| Psa 106:38 | "And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed..." | Idolatry involving child sacrifice |
| Isa 1:21 | "How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it..." | Jerusalem depicted as a harlot |
| Isa 57:7 | "Upon a high and lofty mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice." | Idolatry on high places (spiritual harlotry) |
| Jer 2:20 | "For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress..." | Israel's unfaithfulness despite liberation |
| Jer 2:27 | "Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have..." | Calling idols father; ultimate folly of idolatry |
| Jer 3:2 | "Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways..." | Visible, widespread harlotry/idolatry |
| Jer 3:6 | "The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding..." | Judah's spiritual harlotry compared to Israel's |
| Jer 7:18 | "The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make..." | Family involvement in idolatry |
| Ezek 16:15-19 | "But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown..." | Extensive metaphor of Israel as a harlot |
| Ezek 23:30 | "I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast played the harlot after the heathen..." | Judgment for harlotry with foreign gods |
| Hos 4:12 | "My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of..." | Seeking counsel from idols |
| Hos 5:4 | "They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst..." | Spirit of whoredom hinders repentance |
| Rom 1:23 | "And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man..." | Suppressing truth, turning to idols |
| 1 Cor 10:14 | "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry." | Call to flee idolatry |
| Col 3:5 | "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate..." | Idolatry linked to greed/earthly desires |
| Jam 4:4 | "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?" | Spiritual adultery by loving the world |
Jeremiah 3 verses
Jeremiah 3 9 Meaning
Jeremiah 3:9 explains that Judah's casual and superficial engagement in spiritual harlotry led to the profound defilement of the very land they inhabited. This unfaithfulness is graphically described as committing adultery by worshipping lifeless idols fashioned from stones and wood, in blatant disregard of their covenant with the living God.
Jeremiah 3 9 Context
Jeremiah chapter 3 continues the Lord's indictment against Judah, portraying her spiritual infidelity using the metaphor of a promiscuous wife. Following the unfaithfulness of the northern kingdom of Israel (called "backsliding Israel"), Judah is presented as even more guilty, for she witnessed Israel's judgment and exile yet did not learn. This particular verse highlights the insidious nature of Judah's idolatry—it was not just an act of unfaithfulness but an pervasive attitude that saturated and polluted the land promised by God. The historical context is pre-exilic Judah, under King Josiah (though the idolatry persisted under his successors), where pagan worship, especially Baal and Asherah cults, had become entrenched in society, despite earlier reforms. This systematic breaking of the Mosaic covenant incurred the promised judgments, specifically defilement and expulsion from the land.
Jeremiah 3 9 Word analysis
- through the lightness: Hebrew: קֹל (qōl). While qōl often means "voice" or "sound," here it's derived from a root meaning "light" or "trifling." It signifies moral frivolity, flippancy, or a casual, insincere approach to her spiritual infidelity. Judah treated serious covenant violations as inconsequential.
- of her whoredom: Hebrew: זְנוּת (zᵉnût). This term consistently refers to spiritual harlotry or prostitution, signifying unfaithfulness to God, who is seen as the husband (covenant partner) of Israel. It denotes the betrayal of the exclusive devotion required by the Mosaic covenant, leading to worship of other gods.
- that she defiled: Hebrew: חָנֵף (ḥānēf). To profane, to pollute, to corrupt, to make unclean. This word indicates a spiritual contamination that not only impacts the perpetrator but also the land itself. The land, a gift from God and the place of His dwelling among His people, becomes ritually and morally unclean through such actions.
- the land: Hebrew: אֶרֶץ (’ereṣ). Refers to the promised land of Canaan, given by God to Israel as part of the covenant. The land itself is depicted as sacred, and defiling it necessitates its "vomiting out" its inhabitants, as seen in the warnings in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
- and committed adultery: Hebrew: נָאַף (nā’af). While literally "to commit adultery" in a marital sense, in prophetic books, it frequently represents breaking the covenant with Yahweh through idolatry. It emphasizes the profound betrayal of the relationship. God's people were uniquely "married" to Him (Isa 54:5, Jer 3:14), and worshipping other gods was a breach of this exclusive bond.
- with stones: Hebrew: אֶבֶן (’even). Refers to cultic stones or altars, often associated with Baal worship (e.g., massebot, sacred pillars) or local nature deities. They symbolize pagan shrines and objects of veneration, representing gods that are lifeless and powerless.
- and with stocks: Hebrew: עֵץ (‘ēṣ). Refers to wooden idols or Asherah poles, which were sacred cultic trees or carved wooden images used in the worship of the Canaanite fertility goddess Asherah, consort of Baal. Like "stones," they represent inanimate, man-made objects mistakenly worshipped as divine.
- Words-group analysis:
- "through the lightness of her whoredom": This phrase captures the attitude behind Judah's apostasy. It wasn't just ignorance or a momentary lapse, but a casual, trivializing approach to her covenant with God, treating sacred faithfulness with moral carelessness.
- "she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks": This demonstrates the direct consequence of the "lightness of her whoredom." The spiritual prostitution directly resulted in the pollution of the land, an action of grave theological significance. The choice of "stones and stocks" powerfully emphasizes the absolute worthlessness and deadness of the objects of Judah's "adultery" in stark contrast to the living and active God. It's a clear polemic against paganism.
Jeremiah 3 9 Bonus section
The depiction of the land itself as "defiled" and ultimately "vomiting out" its inhabitants (Lev 18:25-28) underscores the inherent holiness expected of the covenant land. The land was not merely property but part of the spiritual equation. God’s presence within the land meant a specific standard of purity was required, and rampant idolatry directly violated this sanctity, prompting the land to respond as a living entity. The emphasis on "stones and stocks" is a classic prophetic tactic to belittle the supposed "gods" that Israel exchanged for Yahweh, highlighting the folly and moral blindness of worshipping creation instead of the Creator. This concept also subtly reinforces God’s absolute jealousy (Exo 20:5; Deut 4:24), as He will not share His glory or His people’s affection with worthless rivals.
Jeremiah 3 9 Commentary
Jeremiah 3:9 acts as a devastating theological explanation for Judah's impending doom. It portrays spiritual adultery as the root cause of the defilement of the land itself. The "lightness" of Judah's approach indicates not only deliberate sin but also a profound lack of respect or seriousness regarding her covenant with God. She did not stumble into idolatry; she flippantly embraced it. This casual attitude intensified the profanation, extending beyond personal guilt to contaminate the very sacred space God had set aside for His people. By "committing adultery with stones and stocks," Jeremiah uses sharp irony to mock the impotent nature of the idols. These are lifeless objects of wood and rock, unable to see, hear, or save, yet Judah offered them the devotion due only to the Almighty Creator. This spiritual betrayal necessitated God's righteous judgment, where the land, having been defiled by its inhabitants' sin, would ultimately expel them as promised in the covenant warnings.