The Meaning of Jeremiah 9:6 Explained

Jeremiah 9:6

KJV: Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.

YLT: thy dwelling is in the midst of deceit, Through deceit they refused to know Me, An affirmation of Jehovah.

Darby: Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah.

ASV: Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thine habitation  [is] in the midst  of deceit;  through deceit  they refuse  to know  me, saith  the LORD. 

What does Jeremiah 9:6 Mean?

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 9:6 mean?

Your dwelling place [is] in the midst of deceit Through deceit they refuse to know Me says Yahweh -
שִׁבְתְּךָ֖ בְּת֣וֹךְ מִרְמָ֑ה בְּמִרְמָ֛ה מֵאֲנ֥וּ דַֽעַת־ אוֹתִ֖י נְאֻם־ יְהוָֽה ס

שִׁבְתְּךָ֖  Your  dwelling  place  [is] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, second person masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בְּת֣וֹךְ  in  the  midst 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: תָּוֶךְ  
Sense: midst, middle.
מִרְמָ֑ה  of  deceit 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִרְמָה  
Sense: deceit, treachery.
בְּמִרְמָ֛ה  Through  deceit 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִרְמָה  
Sense: deceit, treachery.
מֵאֲנ֥וּ  they  refuse 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: מָאַן  
Sense: (Piel) to refuse.
דַֽעַת־  to  know 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
אוֹתִ֖י  Me 
Parse: Direct object marker, first person common singular
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָֽה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation