For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB “For, behold, I will send serpents, adders among you, which will not be charmed; and they shall bite you,” says Yahweh.
- BSB “For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD.
- NKJV “For behold, I will send serpents among you, Vipers which cannot be charmed, And they shall bite you,” says the Lord.
- NASB “For behold, I am sending serpents among you, Vipers for which there is no charm; And they will bite you,” declares the Lord.
- NLT I will send these enemy troops among you like poisonous snakes you cannot charm. They will bite you, and you will die. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
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
God will send unstoppable, 'uncharmable' serpents that will bite the people. The judgment cannot be averted by human cunning.
Overview
Yahweh likens the coming enemy to venomous snakes immune to any charmer's skill, stressing that no trick or negotiation will turn the disaster aside. The image conveys both the inevitability and the deadliness of the judgment. It recalls the serpents of the wilderness and points ahead to the cross, where the bite of sin's curse was borne by Christ lifted up for the salvation of those who look to Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Eccl 10:11Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.
- Ps 58:4–5Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
- Deut 32:24They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.
- Isa 14:29Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
- Num 21:6And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
- Amos 9:3And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:
- Amos 5:19As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
- Rev 9:19For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 8:17 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.