8 His tongue is an arrow causing death; the words of his mouth are deceit: he says words of peace to his neighbour, but in his heart he is waiting secretly for him.
Do not take me away with the sinners and the workers of evil, who say words of peace to their neighbours, but evil is in their hearts.
Their tongues are bent like a bow to send out false words: they have become strong in the land, but not for good faith: they go on from evil to evil, and they have no knowledge of me, says the Lord.
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, but they were sharp swords.
My soul is among lions; I am stretched out among those who are on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and whose tongue is a sharp sword.
What punishment will he give you? what more will he do to you, you false tongue?
And when Abner was back in Hebron, Joab took him on one side by the doorway of the town to have a word with him quietly, and there he gave him a wound in the stomach, causing his death in payment for the death of his brother Asahel.
And Joab said to Amasa, Is it well, my brother? And with his right hand he took him by the hair of his chin to give him a kiss. But Amasa did not see danger from the sword which was now in Joab's left hand, and Joab put it through his stomach so that his inside came out on to the earth, and he did not give him another blow. So Joab and his brother Abishai went on after Sheba, the son of Bichri.
The evil of their tongues is the cause of their fall; all those who see them are shaking their heads at them.
With his lips the hater makes things seem what they are not, but deceit is stored up inside him; When he says fair words, have no belief in him; for in his heart are seven evils: Though his hate is covered with deceit, his sin will be seen openly before the meeting of the people.
Everyone will make sport of his neighbour with deceit, not saying what is true: their tongues have been trained to say false words; they are twisted, hating to come back.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 9
Commentary on Jeremiah 9 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 9
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.
Jer 9:1-11
The prophet, being commissioned both to foretel the destruction coming upon Judah and Jerusalem and to point out the sin for which that destruction was brought upon them, here, as elsewhere, speaks of both very feelingly: what he said of both came from the heart, and therefore one would have thought it would reach to the heart.
Jer 9:12-22
Two things the prophet designs, in these verses, with reference to the approaching destruction of Judah and Jerusalem:-
Jer 9:23-26
The prophet had been endeavouring to possess this people with a holy fear of God and his judgments, to convince them both of sin and wrath; but still they had recourse to some sorry subterfuge or other, under which to shelter themselves from the conviction and with which to excuse themselves in the obstinacy and carelessness. He therefore sets himself here to drive them from these refuges of lies and to show them the insufficiency of them.