← All Chapters The Book of Jeremiah · Chapter 9

Jeremiah 9: Boast in Knowing the Lord

Jeremiah weeps over a deceitful people, and God redirects all boasting away from wisdom, might, and riches to the knowledge of himself.

Coming soon

Jeremiah 9 (WEB)

1 Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a spring of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.

3 They bend their tongue, as their bow, for falsehood; and they are grown strong in the land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they don’t know me, says Yahweh.

4 Take heed everyone of his neighbor, and don’t trust in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders.

5 They will deceive everyone his neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity.

6 Your habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, says Yahweh.

7 Therefore thus says Yahweh of Armies, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how should I deal with the daughter of my people?

8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceit: one speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he lays wait for him.

9 Shall I not visit them for these things? says Yahweh; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that no one passes through; neither can men hear the voice of the livestock; both the birds of the sky and the animals are fled, they are gone.

11 I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.

12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? Who is he to whom the mouth of Yahweh has spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land perished and burned up like a wilderness, so that no one passes through?

13 Yahweh says, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein,

14 but have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them;

15 therefore thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

16 I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.

17 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, Consider, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skillful women, that they may come:

18 and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.

19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we ruined! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.

20 Yet hear Yahweh’s word, you women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and everyone her neighbor lamentation.

21 For death has come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from outside, and the young men from the streets.

22 Speak, Thus says Yahweh, The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung on the open field, and as the handful after the harvester; and no one shall gather them.

23 Thus says Yahweh, Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, don’t let the rich man glory in his riches;

24 but let him who glories glory in this, that he has understanding, and knows me, that I am Yahweh who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, says Yahweh.

25 Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will punish all those who are circumcised in uncircumcision:

26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, who dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.

Summary

Jeremiah wishes his head were waters and his eyes a spring of tears so he could weep day and night over the slain of his people, and even longs for a lodging in the wilderness to escape a society of adulterers and traitors. Their tongues are bent like bows for falsehood; brother supplants brother, neighbor slanders neighbor, and through deceit they refuse to know God. So God will melt and test them, for what else can he do with such a people. He takes up weeping over the burned pastures and promises to make Jerusalem heaps and a haunt of jackals. He asks who is wise enough to understand why the land is ruined, then answers that it is because they forsook his law and followed the stubbornness of their hearts and the Baals, so he will feed them wormwood and scatter them among the nations. He summons the mourning women to teach their daughters wailing, for death has climbed into the windows. Then comes the chapter's great turn: let not the wise boast in wisdom, the mighty in might, or the rich in riches, but let the one who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows the Lord, who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things God delights. He closes by warning that he will punish all who are circumcised only outwardly, for all Israel is uncircumcised in heart.

Voices

  • Jeremiah — The weeping prophet who longs for tears and even for escape, overwhelmed by grief at the deceit and coming ruin of his people.
  • Yahweh (the LORD) — The God who tests his deceitful people, summons mourning over the land, and redirects all human boasting to the knowledge of himself, who delights in loving kindness, justice, and righteousness.
  • The mourning women — The skilled wailing women summoned to take up a lament and teach their daughters, marking the depth of sorrow as death enters the city's windows.

Key Verse

Jeremiah 9:24 (WEB)

but let him who glories glory in this, that he has understanding, and knows me, that I am Yahweh who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, says Yahweh.

Lessons Learned

  • A heart in tune with God grieves over sin and its destruction.
  • Deceit destroys the bonds of trust between neighbors and even within families.
  • Wisdom, strength, and wealth are empty boasts compared with knowing God.
  • God delights in loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, and calls us to know him in these.
  • Sin moves God's people to tears. Jeremiah longs that his eyes were “a spring of tears, that I might weep day and night” (Jeremiah 9:1, WEB). A loving heart grieves over what grieves God.
  • Deceit corrupts community. “Every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders” (Jeremiah 9:4, WEB). Falsehood unravels the trust that binds people together.
  • Human boasts are hollow. “Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom… nor the rich man glory in his riches” (Jeremiah 9:23, WEB). Achievement and possession cannot bear the weight we place on them.
  • Knowing God is the highest treasure. Boast only “that he has understanding, and knows me” (Jeremiah 9:24, WEB). To know the God of loving kindness and justice is life's true glory; Paul echoes it in 1 Corinthians 1:31.
  1. Why does Jeremiah long to weep, and what does his grief reveal about his heart?
  2. How does deceit damage relationships in this chapter?
  3. What three things does God forbid us to boast in, and why are they inadequate?
  4. What does it mean to boast in knowing the Lord, and which of his attributes does God highlight?
  5. Where are you tempted to find your identity in wisdom, strength, or wealth instead of in knowing God?
  1. Jeremiah longs to weep day and night over the slain of his people (9:1). His grief shows a heart aligned with God's own sorrow over sin; he does not gloat over judgment but mourns it, a model of compassionate ministry.
  2. Tongues are bent like bows for lies, brothers supplant one another, and neighbors slander each other (9:3-5). Deceit destroys the trust that holds families and communities together, leaving a society where no one can be believed.
  3. God forbids boasting in wisdom, might, and riches (9:23). These are the things people most prize, yet they cannot save, satisfy, or last; placing ultimate confidence in them leaves us empty when judgment comes.
  4. To boast in knowing God is to find our deepest glory in understanding and relating to him, specifically as the God who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in which he delights (9:24). True knowledge of God shapes us to love what he loves.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to examine where they quietly boast, and to redirect that confidence toward knowing God. As leader, hold up the surpassing worth of knowing the Lord, who delights in steadfast love and justice.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.