Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 9:4

Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders.

4. Cp. Mic 7:5 f. “The mutual distrust, which had already in the time of Hezekiah broken up families and divided the nearest friends, and made a man’s worst enemies those of his own household, had now reached the highest degree of intensity” (Stanley, J. Ch. II. 437).

will utterly supplant ] The Hebrew verb emphasizes the allusion to Gen 27:36. We might render, “ Every brother is a thorough Jacob.”

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Take ye heed every one of his neighbour; better rendered friend, or companion, as 2Sa 16:17, and in the next verse; showing the general corruption will be so malignant, that one friend will betray another; no faith in friends.

Will utterly supplant; wholly given to it; Heb. supplanting will supplant; or, treading down treadeth down; trampling them under their feet, noting their oppression, which they exercise all manner of ways, as in the next verse, both by fraud and force. Like the interpretation that Esau puts upon Jacob, Gen 27:36; not only such as are near in habitation, pretending neighbourhood and friendship; but near in relation, even a

brother will circumvent; no respect to blood, arguing them to be monstrous in nature, putting off humanity. The word is here in allusion to Jacob, who had his name from supplanting; a metaphor taken from the sole of the foot, Gen 25:26.

Walk with slanders; carrying tales and reports up and down, whether true or false, to the disturbance of the peace of neighbourhood, Jer 6:28, and against the law of God, Lev 19:16.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

4. supplantliterally, “tripup by the heel” (Ho 12:3).

walk with slanders(Jer 6:28).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Take ye heed everyone of his neighbour,…. Take care of being imposed upon by them, since they are so given to lying and deceit; be not too credulous, or too easily believe what is said; or keep yourselves from them; have no company or conversation with them, since evil communications corrupt good manners:

and trust ye not in any brother; whether by blood or by marriage, or by religion, believe not his words; trust him not, neither with your money, nor with your mind; commit not your secrets to him, place no confidence in him; a people must be very corrupt indeed when this is the case: or, “trust ye not in every brother” r; some may be trusted, but not all though the following clause seems to contradict this,

for every brother will utterly supplant; or, in supplanting supplant s; play the Jacob, do as he did by his brother, who supplanted him twice; first got the birthright from him, and then the blessing; which was presignified by taking his brother by the heel in the womb, from whence he had his name; and the same word is here used, which signifies a secret, clandestine, and insidious way of circumventing another;

and every neighbour will walk with slanders; go about spreading lies and calumnies, as worshippers, backbiters, and tale bearers do. The word is used for a “merchant”; and because such persons went from place to place with their goods, and made use often times of fraudulent practices to deceive people, it is applied to one that is guilty of slander and calumny; So 3:8.

r “et omni fratri ne fidatis”, Paganinus. s “supplantanto supplantat”, Schmidt.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

In this verse the Prophet describes the extreme wickedness of the people. For though sometimes thefts, robberies, frauds, slaughters, perjuries, sorceries prevail, yet some regard for near relations remains; but it is monstrous when all relative affections are destroyed. As then, even in the most wicked, there remain some natural affections, called storgoe by philosophers, it follows, that men depart wholly from nature and become wild beasts, when these no longer exist. This is the import of what is here said.

There is a similar passage in Mic 7:5. The idea is there indeed more fully expanded; for the Prophet adds,

“

From her who sleeps in thy bosom guard the doors of thy mouth; for the son lies in wait for his father, and the daughter delivers up her mother to death; and the chief enemies of man are his own domestics.”

The prophets then mainly agree in shewing, that there was no humanity left among flmm; for the son, forgetful of his duty, rose up against his father, and every one was perfidious towards his own friend, and a brother spared not his own brother.

Let a man then guard himself This is not an admonition, as though the Prophet exhorted men to be wary; but he only shews that there was no fidelity; for every one was perfidious and unfaithful towards his own friend, and even a brother acted unjustly towards his own brother. It hence follows, that the Jews are charged with being natural monsters; for they were deservedly objects of detestation, when they cast aside every care for their own blood, and as far as they could, destroyed everything like humanity. He says that brothers by supplanting supplanted, that is, craftily deceived and circumvented their own brothers. The verb עקב okob, is to be taken mttaphorically; it is derived from the heel of the foot, and means to oppress the simple by secret arts. He says also, that all friends acted fraudulently. Of this kind of speaking we have spoken on Jer 6:28; for we found there the same complaint; and the Prophet then said the Jews were like iron and brass, because they had hardened themselves so as to be capable of any cruelty. This sort of speaking often occurs, when the word רכיל, rekil, is connected with the verb הלך elak; and they who are the most learned in the language say, that this word is never found in Scripture but in connection with the verb to go or to walk. They hence conclude that some particular person is meant, that is, one who goes about veiled or deceitfully, and rambles and runs here and there, that he may find some opportunity of deceiving and cheating. It cannot be taken here for slandering, as we have also stated on chapter the sixth: it is too unmeaning. It is found indeed in this sense in Lev 19:16,

“

Go not about a slanderer among thy people;”

where some render it a whisperer. But the Prophet no doubt condemns here the frauds and deceitful crafts, by which they deceived and cheated one another: for רכל, recal signifies a merchant; and as it is often the case that traders act cunningly and practice crafty artifices, the Hebrews call that man רכיל racal, fraudulent and wickedly crafty, whose object is to deceive and cheat. And we see that this is the meaning in this place, as it designates those who circumvented one another: for the Prophet says, that they were foolish who trusted in brothers or friends; and he gives the reason, because brothers supplanted one another, and friends went about fraudulently. It follows —

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(4) Take ye heed . . .The extreme bitterness of the prophets words is explained in part by what we read afterwards of his personal history (Jer. 12:6; Jer. 18:18). Then, as at other times, a mans foes were those of his own household (Mat. 10:36).

Every brother will utterly supplant.The word is that which gave the patriarch his significant name of Jacob, the supplanter (Gen. 25:26; Gen. 27:36). Jeremiah seems to say that the people have forfeited their claims to the name of the true Israel. Every brother Israelite is found to be a thorough-paced Jacob. The adverb utterly expresses the force of the Hebrew reduplication of the verb.

Will walk with slanders.Better, walketh a slanderer.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

4-6. Every brother will utterly supplant, etc. A terrible indictment! Just in the ratio in which truth is put down must the bonds of mutual confidence be relaxed. Such a state of things brought forward to its full result and made permanent, would be hell! No material flames would be needed. The fires of universal enmity and distrust would burn to the very core of the soul.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Jer 9:4. Take ye heed, &c. See Mic 7:5. Mat 10:35.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Jer 9:4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.

Ver. 4. Take ye heed every one of his neighbour. ] Since there is scarce any to be trusted. The poets tell us, that when Pallas had taught people to build a house, Momus found this fault with it, that it was fixed to a place and not set upon wheels; to the end that if men liked not their neighbourhood, they might remove at pleasure. A good neighbour is a rare bird. a

And trust ye not in any brother. ] See Mic 7:5-6 , with the notes.

For every brother will utterly supplant. ] b Singula verba hic habent pondus et pathos ingens. Here each word hath its weight, each syllable its substance.

a Non hospes ab hospite tutus. No guest is entertained by a host. – Ovid.

b Fratrum quoque gratia rata est. – Ovid.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)