Jeremiah-Chap-9

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Remember the following truth from our beloved Torah!

Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM IT, that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloleichem, which I command you”. Davarim - Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).

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Jeremiah Chapter 9

With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.

Foreword:
Jeremiah Chapter 9 showcases the profound emotional distress of the prophet as he laments the severe moral decay and pervasive dishonesty among his people. The text emphasizes that the societal collapse stems from a loss of ‘truth’ and ‘mutual trust’, ultimately warning that true strength lies not in wealth or power, but in understanding and embodying Divine justice, loving-kindness, and righteousness.

Introduction
Jeremiah Chapter 9, often called the “Lament of the Weeping Prophet”, shifts focus to the internal decay of society, where ‘lies’ and ‘deception’ have replaced ‘truth’ and ‘communal trust’. This chapter serves as a dire warning that the downfall of a nation begins with the erosion of ethical behaviour and social responsibility.

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Let us read Jeremiah Chapter 9, verses 1 to 25: (JPS-1917 version of the Torah). Below this chapter you will find my commentary on same.

1 “Oh, that I were in the wilderness, in 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. 2 And they bend their tongue, their bow of falsehood; and they are grown mighty in the land, but not for truth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and Me they know not, saith יְהוָה - the LORD. 3 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother; for every brother acteth subtly, and every neighbour goeth about with slanders. 4 And they deceive every one his neighbour, and truth they speak not; they have taught their tongue to speak lies, they weary themselves to commit iniquity. 5 Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know Me, saith יְהוָה - the LORD. 6 Therefore thus saith יְהוִה הַצְּבָאוֹת - the LORD of Ha’tz’va’ot (Hosts): behold, I will smelt them, and try them; for how else should I do, because of the daughter of My people? 7 Their tongue is a sharpened arrow, it speaketh deceit; one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth wait for him. 8 Shall I not punish them for these things? saith יְהוָה - the LORD; shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this? 9 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 none passeth through. And they hear not the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled, and gone. 10 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, a lair of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without an inhabitant. 11 Who is the wise man, that he may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of יְהוָה - the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it? Wherefore is the land perished and laid waste like a wilderness, so that none passeth through? 12 And יְהוָה - the LORD saith: Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not hearkened to My voice, neither walked therein; 13 But have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baalim, which their fathers taught them. 14 Therefore thus saith יְהוִה הַצְּבָאוֹת - the LORD of Ha’tz’va’ot, the אֱלֹהִים - Elohim (God) of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. 15 I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them. 16 Thus saith יְהוִה הַצְּבָאוֹת - the LORD of Ha’tz’va’ot: Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the wise women, that they may come; 17 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. 18 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion: 'How are we undone! We are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.' 19 Yea, hear the word of יְהוָה - the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of His mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation: 20 'For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from the street, and the young men from the broad places.-- 21 Speak: Thus saith יְהוָה - the LORD. And the carcasses of men fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, which none gathereth.' 22 Thus saith יְהוָה - the LORD: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; 23 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth, and knoweth Me, that I am יְהוָה - the LORD who exercise mercy, justice, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith יְהוָה - the LORD. 24 Behold, the days come, saith יְהוָה - the LORD, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in their uncircumcision25 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair polled, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, but all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart”.

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Let us now look at a brief Commentary of Jeremiah 9:1-25:
I have decided to provide a brief commentary for this very tragic chapter, as it is such a painful situation!

The prophet expresses a profound desire to escape the treacherous society that has “taught their tongue to speak lies” and “weary themselves to commit iniquity”, highlighting that words have become weapons. Consequently, the land suffers environmental and national ruin, as the inhabitants have abandoned the Law to follow their own stubborn hearts. Amidst this impending destruction, the chapter concludes with a call to abandon pride in ‘wisdom’, ‘power’, or ‘riches’, and instead of taking pride in understanding and knowing our beloved אֱלֹהִים - Elohim (God), who delights in ‘justice’ and ‘righteousness’, which was missing at that time!

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My Closing Message
This chapter emphasizes that the survival of society depends on the sanctity of ‘speech’ and ‘adherence to the Covenant’. It offers a powerful reminder to base our lives not on ‘fleeting pursuits of power’, but on the enduring values of Chesed (loving-kindness), Mishpat (justice), and Tzedakah (righteousness)!

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שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם Shalom Aleichem - Peace be with you!

Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.

 

 

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