Jeremiah 9 15

Jeremiah 9:15 kjv

Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

Jeremiah 9:15 nkjv

therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

Jeremiah 9:15 niv

Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water.

Jeremiah 9:15 esv

Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous water to drink.

Jeremiah 9:15 nlt

So now, this is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink.

Jeremiah 9 verses

Jeremiah 9 15 Meaning

Jeremiah 9:15 is a pronouncement of divine judgment from the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, upon His covenant people, Judah. Due to their persistent disobedience, unfaithfulness, and rebellion against His laws and ways, God declares He will personally afflict them with severe and bitter suffering. The imagery of "wormwood" signifies extreme bitterness, sorrow, and affliction, while "poisoned water" represents deadly judgment, utter devastation, and a corrupting, lethal outcome for their sins. It conveys the certainty and comprehensive nature of their impending calamity, demonstrating that their rejection of the "fountain of living waters" would lead to their consumption of spiritual and physical death.

Jeremiah 9 15 Context

Jeremiah chapter 9 vividly portrays the prophet's deep lament and sorrow over the profound spiritual decay and pervasive deceit within Judah. Jeremiah grieves over their unfaithfulness, their practice of idolatry, their rejection of God's law, and their stubborn hearts that refuse to truly know the LORD. The chapter repeatedly highlights Judah's widespread corruption, with deceit running rampant, and even warns against trusting in human wisdom over God's. Verses 12-14 explain why such desolation is coming: they abandoned God's law, did not obey Him, and followed their own stubborn hearts and false gods (Baals). Verse 15, therefore, is a direct divine response, a grim declaration of the specific punishment God will enact upon "this people" for their egregious sins, detailing the nature of the bitter and destructive judgment that awaits them before the impending Babylonian exile.

Jeremiah 9 15 Word analysis

• Therefore (לָכֵן - lakhēn): This word functions as a consequential link, indicating that the divine judgment to follow is a direct and certain outcome of the actions described in the preceding verses (specifically Jeremiah 9:13-14), where Judah is charged with abandoning God's law and following idols.
• thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: This is a potent and foundational prophetic formula, immediately establishing the absolute authority, unchangeable will, and covenant relationship of the speaker.
  • LORD (יְהוָה - Yahweh): The personal, covenant name of God, emphasizing His faithfulness and specific relationship with Israel, which makes their rebellion all the more grievous.
  • of hosts (צְבָאוֹת - Tseba'ot): Implies God's supreme power and command over all heavenly and earthly armies, indicating that the impending judgment is executed with irresistible might.
  • the God of Israel: Reinforces that this judgment comes from the very God whom Judah claimed to serve and with whom they had a covenant, emphasizing the betrayal of their unique relationship.
• Behold (הִנְנִי - hiněnī): This interjection serves as a rhetorical device to draw immediate attention, signifying that the declaration is not merely a statement but a serious and imminent action initiated by God Himself. It implies direct and intentional involvement.
• I will feed them (מַאֲכִילָם - ma'akīlam): This Hiphil participle signifies a causative action; God actively will cause them to eat or give them to eat. It implies divine intentionality in bringing this experience upon them, highlighting His active role in dispensing justice.
• even this people (אֶת־הָעָם הַזֶּה - et-ha'am hazzeh): A specific, yet somewhat detached, designation. While previously referred to as "My people," the use of "this people" here reflects their moral distance from God due to their unfaithfulness, emphasizing the irony that those who should receive blessings will now receive judgment.
• with wormwood (לַעֲנָה - la'anah): A literal and symbolic plant known for its extreme bitterness and intoxicating properties. It represents intense sorrow, suffering, affliction, spiritual desolation, and physical pain, highlighting the quality of the judgment—deeply unpleasant and profoundly affecting.
• and give them poisoned water to drink (וְהִשְׁקִיתִים מֵי־רֹאשׁ - wəhisqhītīm mē'-rō'š):
  • give them... to drink: Parallel to "feed them," God is again the active agent in providing this destructive beverage.
  • poisoned water (מֵי־רֹאשׁ - mē'-rō'š): Literally "water of gall" or "water of poison/hemlock." The term ro'sh signifies something toxic, lethal, or corrupting. In conjunction with wormwood, it speaks of a deadly, utterly destructive, and defiling judgment that brings about a fatal outcome, representing the ultimate consequence of their sin.

• "Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel": This phrase establishes the divine origin and certainty of the message, leaving no doubt about who is speaking and the irresistible authority behind the impending judgment. It underscores God's holiness and His right to judge those who betray their covenant.
• "Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood": This grouping highlights the personal and active nature of God's judgment against His own covenant community. The "feeding" metaphor emphasizes an enforced consumption of suffering, as if bitterness and affliction are their appointed diet from God's own hand.
• "and give them poisoned water to drink": Paired with the wormwood imagery, this phrase completes a picture of total affliction. It’s an act of divine irony: they rejected God, the "fountain of living waters," and in return, they will be made to consume a deadly substance. It signifies the corrupting and lethal consequence of spiritual idolatry and disobedience, resulting in both internal and external decay unto destruction.

Jeremiah 9 15 Bonus section

• Polemics against False Security: This declaration directly counters any misplaced trust the people might have had in their covenant status as automatically securing them from judgment. It challenges the assumption that God, being their God, would always bless them regardless of their behavior, thereby undermining any false sense of security derived from their temple or national identity.
• Reversal of Blessing: Food and drink are essential for life and symbolize divine provision and blessing (e.g., manna, water from the rock, the communion meal). Here, these symbols are tragically reversed, becoming agents of death and intense suffering, demonstrating God's withdrawal of blessing and active dispensing of curse due to broken covenant.
• Eschatological Foreshadowing: The powerful and distinct imagery of "wormwood" (λávhn, la'anah) resonates centuries later in the Book of Revelation (Rev 8:10-11). The fall of a star named Wormwood turns a third of the earth's waters bitter, causing many to die. This highlights a persistent biblical motif: profound judgment and widespread suffering are consistent outcomes when humanity or a segment thereof turns from divine truth and righteous paths. It speaks to an eternal principle of divine justice against spiritual corruption.
• Confronting Internal Corruption: The judgment described is an internal consumption ("feed them," "give them... to drink"). This signifies that the corruption they engaged in (lying, idolatry, injustice) has now permeated their very being and experience, becoming their reality. It reflects an inherent consequence of their choices, now divinely enforced.

Jeremiah 9 15 Commentary

Jeremiah 9:15 serves as a stark reminder of God's righteous judgment against persistent sin within His covenant people. It is not merely a threat but a resolute declaration by the "LORD of hosts, the God of Israel" that their generations of idolatry, deceit, and forsaking His law will be met with severe retribution. The imagery of being "fed with wormwood" and given "poisoned water to drink" symbolizes a deep, pervasive, and deadly suffering that will afflict them comprehensively. This is a bitter spiritual nourishment that results from their unfaithfulness, contrasting sharply with the life-giving nourishment God intended for them. The judgment is fittingly reciprocal; because they embraced spiritual poison and walked away from the source of life, they would physically consume its consequences, culminating in national devastation and exile. The verse underscores that turning from God leads inevitably to a bitter and toxic experience of life, culminating in a form of spiritual and physical death.

• Example 1: Ignoring wise counsel might feel freeing, but like bitter wormwood, its consequences lead to sorrow.
• Example 2: Consuming deceit and falsehood (poisoned water) can corrupt one's spiritual and moral health unto ruin.