Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 9:15
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.
15. The coming troubles are likened to wormwood and water of gall.
wormwood ] a generic word for the species Artemisia, found chiefly in desert places. Cp. Jer 23:15; Lam 3:15; Lam 3:19.
water of gall ] See on ch. Jer 8:14.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 15. I will feed them – with wormwood] They shall have the deepest sorrow and heaviest affliction. They shall have poison instead of meat and drink.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Even this people: this supplement even shows that it is spoken emphatically, though they be a people that presume to be my peculiar. Wormwood; worms, Dutch Annotations. A plant to purify and cleanse them, say some; but this doth not seem to be spoken in favour to them; therefore rather some poisonous plant, which may agree to any other destructive herb as well as wormwood, and this the Hebrew word doth intimate, to which purpose the
water of gall is mentioned in the next words; both joined together Deu 29:18; possibly the one pointing at their drink, the other at their bread; both metaphorically to be understood, of which see on Jer 8:14.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. feed (Jer 8:14;Jer 23:15; Psa 80:5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,…. He calls himself “the Lord God of hosts”, of armies above and below, in heaven and in earth, in opposition to Baalim, the idols of the Gentiles; which word signifies “lords”; which, though there be many who are called so, there is but one God, and one Lord, who is God over all, and “the God of Israel”; who had chosen them, and distinguished them by the blessings of his goodness; and yet they had forsaken him, and followed after other gods; by which the eyes of his glory were provoked, and he was determined to chastise them for it:
behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood; that is, with straits or difficulties, as the Septuagint version; with bitter afflictions; such are not joyous, but grievous; which are irksome and disagreeable, as bitter things, and particularly wormwood, are to the taste. The Targum is,
“I will bring tribulation upon them, bitter as wormwood:”
and give them water of gall to drink; meaning either of the entrails of a beast so called, or of the juice of the herb hemlock, as the word is rendered in Ho 10:4, as Kimchi; or of the poison of a serpent, as Jarchi; and so the Targum,
“and I will give them the cup of cursing to drink as the heads of serpents:”
signifying that their punishment would be very severe, though just.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He at length concludes that God would take vengeance, but speaks in a figurativle language, I will feed them with bitterness The word לענה lone, is rendered “wormwood;” but as this is a wholesome herb, I prefer to render it “bitterness.” (249) It is never found in a good sense, and therefore unsuitable to the nature of wormwood, which is often mentioned by Moses: and the other prophets (Deu 19:18; Deu 32:32; Heb 2:15.) Hence I am inclined to adopt a general term, “bitterness.” He then adds, I will give them poisonous waters to drink; (250) as though God had said that he would execute a dreadful vengeance, so that it would appear in the meat and drink given them, which yet were remarkable testimonies of his paternal kindness towards them: for we cannot eat a crumb of bread nor drink a drop of water, except God’s goodness, and the care which he takes for our safety, shines upon us. Hence is that awful imprecation in Psa 69:22,
“
Turned let their table be into an offense.”
David also complained, when describing the barbarous cruelty of his enemies, that they gave him gall to drink: and we shall hereafter see what Jeremiah says; for in speaking. of his enemies, he says that they had conspired to put him to death, and said,
“
Let us set wood for his bread.” (Jer 11:19)
By these words then Jeremiah intended to express the dreadful vengeance of God; for he would not onty deprive the Jews of his benefits, but also turn their bread into poison, and their water into bitterness.
We now then perceive the Prophet’s meaning; and at the same time we must observe the expression, the God of Israel The foolish boasting, that they were the descendants of Abraham, and that they were a holy people, chosen by God, always deluded the Jews. In order then to check their glorying, the Prophet says, float the God who spoke to them was the God whose name they falsely professed, and that he was the God who had chosen the children of Abraham as his peculiar people. It follows —
(249) But the reason why this herb is mentioned is its bitterness, — and not its wholesome effects. It was hence chosen to designate what is afflictive and distressing. This appears from. Pro 5:4, “bitter as wormwood.” — Ed.
(250) See note on Jer 8:14.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(15) Wormwood.As a plant, probably a species of Artemisia, four species of which are found in Palestine. In Deu. 29:18 it appears as the symbol of moral evil, here of the bitterness of calamity.
Water of gall.See Note on Jer. 8:14.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 9:15. Behold, I will feed, &c. See Deu 29:18.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 9:15 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.
Ver. 15. Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, ] i.e., With bitter afflictions. Et haec poena inobedientiae fidei respondet. And this penalty answers to disobiedent faith. The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways; Pro 14:14 he shall have his belly full of them, as we use to say. See Jer 8:14 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel. See note on Jer 7:3.
wormwood . . . gall. Reference to Pentateuch (Deu 29:18). Repeated in Jer 23:15. Occurs also in Lam 3:19.
water of gall. Compare Jer 8:14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I will: Jer 8:14, Jer 23:15, Jer 25:15, Psa 60:3, Psa 69:21, Psa 75:8, Psa 80:5, Isa 2:17, Isa 2:22, Lam 3:15, Lam 3:19, Rev 8:11
Reciprocal: Deu 29:18 – among you a root Lam 3:5 – gall Eze 34:16 – I will feed Act 8:23 – the gall
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 9:15. Wormwood and gall are used figuratively to represent the awful experiences the people of Judah were to have in Babylon. Of the first word Smith’s Bible Dictionary says the following: “The word occurs frequently in the Bible, and generally in a metaphorical [figurative] sense. In Jer 9:15; Jer 23:15; Lam 3:15; Lam 3:19, wormwood is symbolical of bitter calamity and sorrow; unrighteous judges are said to ‘turn judgment to wormwood. Amo 5:7, The Orientals [people of the East] typified sorrow, cruelties and calamities of any kind by plants of a poisonous or bitter nature.” Gall is from rowsh, which Strong defines, “A poisonous plant, probably the poppy (from its conspicuous head); generally poison (even of serpents). In the King James version the word has been rendered by gall, hemlock, poison and venom. Tile sorrowful existence which the people of God went through while in captivity was certainly very bitter and might well be likened to poison for it just about killed their morale. (See Psalms 137 and Eze 37:11 for a description of their suffering.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 9:15-16. I will feed them, &c., with wormwood See on Deu 29:18. The word rendered wormwood here, it seems, had better be rendered wolfsbane, as signifying an herb which is not only bitter and nauseous, but also noxious. And give them water of gall to drink Or juice of hemlock, as some read it; some other herb that is poisonous as well as distasteful. By these expressions is signified not only a scarcity of meat and drink, but the most grievous calamities. I will scatter them also among the heathen They have been corrupted by their intimacy with heathen idolaters, with whom they mingled themselves, and whose works they learned, and now they shall lose themselves among those through whom they lost their virtue. Whom neither they nor their fathers have known They set up gods to worship, which they had not known, strange gods, new gods, Deu 32:17; and now God will scatter them among those people whom they had not known, those with whom they can claim no acquaintance, and from whom therefore they can expect no favour. The nations to the east, beyond the Euphrates and Tigris, seem to be chiefly meant here, whom the Jews knew little or nothing of before they were carried into captivity among them. And from that time to this the Jews have been scattered among those people. They are now also scattered through almost all the nations of the earth; so that this prophecy has received its full accomplishment in the most literal sense; for they have indeed been scattered among those whom neither they nor their fathers had known. And what deserves highly to be remarked is, that among none of these nations have they attained to any share of supreme power, but have always lived among them upon courtesy or sufferance. And I will send a sword after them, &c. A judgment threatened by Moses in case of their disobedience, Lev 26:23, and fulfilled upon several of the Jewish captives in Egypt and elsewhere.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
9:15 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 {m} to drink.
(m) Read Jer 8:14 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Because the people were stubborn, the Lord promised to feed them with wormwood (instead of honey), and to give them poisoned water ("gall" AV, instead of milk) to drink (cf. Jer 8:14; Jer 23:15; Deu 29:18; Mat 27:34). "Wormwood" was a plant with a very bitter taste.