Jeremiah 9:15

15 And this is the consequence. God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so: "I'll feed them with pig slop. "I'll give them poison to drink.

Jeremiah 9:15 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 9:15

Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
&c.] He calls himself "the Lord God of hosts", of armies above and below, in heaven and in earth, in opposition to Baalim, the idols of the Gentiles; which word signifies "lords"; which, though there be many who are called so, there is but one God, and one Lord, who is God over all, and "the God of Israel"; who had chosen them, and distinguished them by the blessings of his goodness; and yet they had forsaken him, and followed after other gods; by which the eyes of his glory were provoked, and he was determined to chastise them for it: behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood;
that is, with straits or difficulties, as the Septuagint version; with bitter afflictions; such are not joyous, but grievous; which are irksome and disagreeable, as bitter things, and particularly wormwood, are to the taste. The Targum is,

``I will bring tribulation upon them, bitter as wormwood:''

and give them water of gall to drink;
meaning either of the entrails of a beast so called, or of the juice of the herb hemlock, as the word is rendered in ( Hosea 10:4 ) , as Kimchi; or of the poison of a serpent, as Jarchi; and so the Targum,

``and I will give them the cup of cursing to drink as the heads of serpents:''

signifying that their punishment would be very severe, though just.

Jeremiah 9:15 In-Context

13 God's answer: "Because they abandoned my plain teaching. They wouldn't listen to anything I said, refused to live the way I told them to.

14 Instead they lived any way they wanted and took up with the Baal gods, who they thought would give them what they wanted - following the example of their parents."

15 And this is the consequence. God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so: "I'll feed them with pig slop. "I'll give them poison to drink.

16 "Then I'll scatter them far and wide among godless peoples that neither they nor their parents have ever heard of, and I'll send Death in pursuit until there's nothing left of them." A Life That Is All Outside but No Inside

17 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: "Look over the trouble we're in and call for help. Send for some singers who can help us mourn our loss.