Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will feed this people wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
Parallel translations
- WEB therefore Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
- KJV Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
- NKJV therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
- NASB therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I will feed this people wormwood; and I will give them poisoned water to drink.
- NLT 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.
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 feed this people bitter wormwood and poisoned water as judgment. They will taste the bitterness their sin deserves.
Overview
Yahweh announces a sentence of bitter affliction, using wormwood and 'water of gall' as images of suffering imposed on the rebellious nation. The bitterness fits the gravity of forsaking God. The verse portrays judgment as the just harvest of sin, while in the gospel Christ drinks the bitter cup of wrath in the place of His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Jer 8:14Why are we just sitting here? Gather together, let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has doomed us. He has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
- Lam 3:15He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.
- Ps 80:5You fed them with the bread of tears and made them drink the full measure of their tears.
- Jer 23:15Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets: “I will feed them wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”
- Isa 2:17So the pride of man will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,
- Ps 75:8For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.
- Deut 29:18Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Make sure there is no root among you that bears such poisonous and bitter fruit,
- Ps 69:21They poisoned my food with gall and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst.
- Lam 3:19Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.
- Jer 25:15This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it.
- Rev 8:11The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter like wormwood oil, and many people died from the bitter waters.
- Ps 60:3You have shown Your people hardship; we are staggered from the wine You made us drink.
- Isa 2:22Put no more trust in man, who has only the breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?
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 9:15 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.