3 "They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph[1] in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me," declares the Lord.

Other Translations of Jeremiah 9:3

King James Version

3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.

English Standard Version

3 They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strongSeptuagint; Hebrew and not for truth they have grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord.

The Message

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.

New King James Version

3 "And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me," says the Lord.

New Living Translation

3 "My people bend their tongues like bows to shoot out lies. They refuse to stand up for the truth. They only go from bad to worse. They do not know me," says the Lord .

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 9:3

Commentary on Jeremiah 9:1-11

(Read Jeremiah 9:1-11)

Jeremiah wept much, yet wished he could weep more, that he might rouse the people to a due sense of the hand of God. But even the desert, without communion with God, through Christ Jesus, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, must be a place for temptation and evil; while, with these blessings, we may live in holiness in crowded cities. The people accustomed their tongues to lies. So false were they, that a brother could not be trusted. In trading and bargaining they said any thing for their own advantage, though they knew it to be false. But God marked their sin. Where no knowledge of God is, what good can be expected? He has many ways of turning a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of those that dwell therein.