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Surely deception comes from the hills, and commotion from the mountains. Surely the salvation of Israel is in the LORD our God.
Jeremiah 3:23 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Truly in vain is help from the hills, the tumult on the mountains. Truly the salvation of Israel is in Yahweh our God.
  • KJV Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.
  • NKJV Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, And from the multitude of mountains; Truly, in the Lord our God Is the salvation of Israel.
  • NASB “Certainly the hills are a deception, Commotion on the mountains. Certainly in the Lord our God Is the salvation of Israel.
  • NLT Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion. Only in the Lord our God will Israel ever find salvation.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Joab is told that Abner came and was sent away unharmed. The news sets Joab's vengeful suspicion in motion.

Overview

Upon returning, Joab learns that his rival Abner had visited the king and departed peacefully. Joab's reaction will be driven by both personal vengeance for his brother Asahel and political jealousy over his position as commander. The repeated note that Abner left in peace heightens the contrast with Joab's coming treachery.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • Ps 121:1–2A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
  • Ps 3:8Salvation belongs to the LORD; may Your blessing be on Your people. Selah
  • Isa 12:2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
  • Hos 1:7Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the LORD their God.”
  • John 4:22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
  • Ezek 20:28When I brought them into the land that I swore to give them and they saw any high hill or leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, presented offerings that provoked Me, sent up their fragrant incense, and poured out their drink offerings.
  • Jer 10:14–16Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
  • Isa 43:11I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no Savior but Me.
  • Isa 63:1Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.”
  • Isa 45:15Truly You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.
  • Isa 45:17But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put to shame or humiliated, to ages everlasting.
  • Jer 14:8O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are You like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays but a night?
  • Ps 37:39–40The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
  • Isa 44:9All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
  • Isa 63:16Yet You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.
  • Jer 3:6Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there.
  • Isa 46:7–8They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.
  • Isa 45:20Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
  • Jer 17:14Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved, for You are my praise.
  • Jonah 2:8–9Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 3:23YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.

How Jeremiah 3:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.