Jeremiah 9:5

5 Neighbors gyp neighbors, never telling the truth. They've trained their tongues to tell lies, and now they can't tell the truth.

Jeremiah 9:5 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 9:5

And they will deceive everyone his neighbour
In conversation, with lying words; and in trade and commerce, by art and tricking: and will not speak the truth;
with respect to facts they report, or goods they sell: they have taught their tongue to speak lies;
and become so accustomed to lying that they cannot do otherwise; it is as it were natural to them: and weary themselves to commit iniquity;
spared no pains to come at it, nor any in it, and go on even to weariness; are more laborious and indefatigable in committing sin than good men are in doing good; which shows great folly and stupidity. The Targum is,

``they are become foolish, they have erred.''

Jeremiah 9:5 In-Context

3 "Their tongues shoot out lies like a bow shoots arrows - A mighty army of liars, the sworn enemies of truth. They advance from one evil to the next, ignorant of me." God's Decree.

4 "Be wary of even longtime neighbors. Don't even trust your grandmother! Brother schemes against brother, like old cheating Jacob. Friend against friend spreads malicious gossip.

5 Neighbors gyp neighbors, never telling the truth. They've trained their tongues to tell lies, and now they can't tell the truth.

6 They pile wrong upon wrong, stack lie upon lie, and refuse to know me." God's Decree.

7 Therefore, God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: "Watch this! I'll melt them down and see what they're made of. What else can I do with a people this wicked?