The Meaning of Jeremiah 9:5 Explained

Jeremiah 9:5

KJV: And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.

YLT: And each at his friend they mock, And truth they do not speak, They taught their tongue to speak falsehood, To commit iniquity they have laboured.

Darby: And they act deceitfully every one with his neighbour, and speak not the truth: they teach their tongue to speak falsehood, they weary themselves with perverse dealing.

ASV: And they will deceive every one his neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they will deceive  every one  his neighbour,  and will not speak  the truth:  they have taught  their tongue  to speak  lies,  [and] weary  themselves to commit iniquity. 

What does Jeremiah 9:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

They intentionally deceived their neighbors, cultivated the skill of lying, and pursued iniquity so strenuously that it wore them out.

Context Summary

Jeremiah 9:1-16 - National Perversity
Jeremiah 9:1-6
Once the voice of joy and thanksgiving had been heard in Jerusalem, but now on every side there was bloodshed, and the patriot-prophet could only weep incessantly over the slain. A lodge in the wilderness seemed preferable to the most luxurious mansion in the city. Solitude would be better than association with the ungodly perpetrators of such crimes. Yet we must not go out of the fray so long as our Captain wants us to remain in it, in dependence upon him.
Jeremiah 9:7-16
What a magnificent description of the effect of God's judgments on the land! No bird, no beast, no lowing of cattle, but jackals gamboling over the ruins of Jerusalem. However fast we shut our doors and windows, death enters our homes. Neither palace nor cottage is exempted. There is no escape for young or old from the judgments of God, except in penitence and faith. The secret of national decay and overthrow is the same in all ages. The tree is rotten at the core before it falls beneath the hurricane. Let us turn to 1 Corinthians 1:18, which belongs to this chapter, and learn how little the wisdom and might of the world can avail us in the dread hour of universal desolation. Stand with the Crucified and glory in His Cross; be content to bear His reproach and shame, that you may become a son of the Resurrection, and be accounted worthy to escape those things that must come to pass, and at last stand, before Him. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 9

1  Jeremiah laments the people for their manifold sins;
9  and for their judgment
12  Disobedience is the cause of their bitter calamity
17  He exhorts to mourn for their destruction;
23  and to trust not in themselves, but in God
25  He threatens both Jews and Gentiles

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 9:5 mean?

And Everyone his neighbor will deceive and the truth not will speak they have taught their tongue to speak lies to commit iniquity they weary themselves
וְאִ֤ישׁ בְּרֵעֵ֙הוּ֙ יְהָתֵ֔לּוּ וֶאֱמֶ֖ת לֹ֣א יְדַבֵּ֑רוּ לִמְּד֧וּ לְשׁוֹנָ֛ם דַּבֶּר־ שֶׁ֖קֶר הַעֲוֵ֥ה נִלְאֽוּ

וְאִ֤ישׁ  And  Everyone 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
בְּרֵעֵ֙הוּ֙  his  neighbor 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: רֵעַ  
Sense: friend, companion, fellow, another person.
יְהָתֵ֔לּוּ  will  deceive 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: הָתַל 
Sense: (Piel) to mock, deceive.
וֶאֱמֶ֖ת  and  the  truth 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֱמֶת  
Sense: firmness, faithfulness, truth.
יְדַבֵּ֑רוּ  will  speak 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
לִמְּד֧וּ  they  have  taught 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: לָמַד  
Sense: to learn. teach, exercise in.
לְשׁוֹנָ֛ם  their  tongue 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: לָשֹׁון  
Sense: tongue.
דַּבֶּר־  to  speak 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
שֶׁ֖קֶר  lies 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֶׁקֶר  
Sense: lie, deception, disappointment, falsehood.
הַעֲוֵ֥ה  to  commit  iniquity 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Infinitive absolute
Root: עָוָה 
Sense: to bend, twist, distort.
נִלְאֽוּ  they  weary  themselves 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: לָאָה  
Sense: to be weary, be impatient, be grieved, be offended.