Jeremiah 9:15

15 So now, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and 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 The LORD replies, “This has happened because my people have abandoned my instructions; they have refused to obey what I said.

14 Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them.

15 So now, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink.

16 I will scatter them around the world, in places they and their ancestors never heard of, and even there I will chase them with the sword until I have destroyed them completely.”

17 This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: “Consider all this, and call for the mourners. Send for the women who mourn at funerals.