TRV
Study This Verse
Commentary on Jeremiah 15 verses 1–9
We scarcely find any where more pathetic expressions of divine wrath against a provoking people than we have here in these verses. The prophet had prayed earnestly for them, and found some among them to join with him; and yet not so much as a reprieve was gained, nor the least mitigation of the judgment; but this answer is given to the prophet's prayers, that the decree had gone forth, was irreversible, and would shortly be executed. Observe here,
I. What the sin was upon which this severe sentence was grounded. 1. It is in remembrance of a former iniquity; it is because of Manasseh, for that which he did in Jerusalem, Jer 15:4. What that was we are told, and that it was for it that Jerusalem was destroyed, Kg2 24:3, Kg2 24:4. It was for his idolatry, and the innocent blood which he shed, which the Lord would not pardon. He is called the son of Hezekiah because his relation to so good a father was a great aggravation of his sin, so far was it from being an excuse of it. The greatest part of a generation was worn off since Manasseh's time, yet his sin is brought into the account; as in Jerusalem's last ruin God brought upon it all the righteous blood shed on the earth, to show how heavy the guilt of blood will light and lie somewhere, sooner or later, and that reprieves are not pardons. 2. It is in consideration of their present impenitence. See how their sin is described (Jer 15:6): "Thou hast forsaken me, my service and thy duty to me; thou hast gone backward into the ways of contradiction, art become the reverse of what thou shouldst have been and of what God by his law would have led thee forward to." See how the impenitence is described (Jer 15:7): They return not from their ways, the ways of their own hearts, into the ways of God's commandments again. There is mercy for those who have turned aside if they will return; but what favour can those expect that persist in their apostasy?
II. What the sentence is. It is such as denotes no less than an utter ruin.
1.God himself abandons and abhors them: My mind cannot be towards them. How can it be thought that the holy God should have any remaining complacency in those that have such a rooted antipathy to him? It is not in a passion, but with a just and holy indignation, that he says, "Cast them out of my sight, as that which is in the highest degree odious and offensive, and let them go forth, for I will be troubled with them no more."
2.He will not admit any intercession to be made for them (Jer 15:1): "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, by prayer or sacrifice to reconcile me to them, yet I could not be prevailed with to admit them into favour." Moses and Samuel were two as great favourites of Heaven as ever were the blessings of this earth, and were particularly famed for the success of their mediation between God and his offending people; many a time they would have been destroyed if Moses had not stood before him in the breach; and to Samuel's prayers they owed their lives (Sa1 12:19); yet even their intercessions should not prevail, no, not though they were now in a state of perfection, much less Jeremiah's who was now a man subject to like passions as others. The putting of this as a case, Though they should stand before me, supposes that they do not, and is an intimation that saints in heaven are not intercessors for saints on earth. It is the prerogative of the Eternal Word to be the only Mediator in the other world, whatever Moses, and Samuel, and others were in this.
3.He condemns them all to one destroying judgment or other. When God casts them out of his presence, whither shall they go forth? Jer 15:2. Certainly nowhere to be safe or easy, but to be met by one judgment while they are pursued by another, till they find themselves surrounded with mischiefs on all hands, so that they cannot escape; Such as are for death to death. By death here is meant the pestilence (Rev 6:8), for it is death without visible means. Such as are for death to death, or for the sword to the sword; every man shall perish in that way that God has appointed: the law that appoints the malefactor's death determines what death he shall die. Or, He that is by his own choice for this judgment, let him take it, or for that, let him take it, but by the one or the other they shall all fall and none shall escape. It is a choice like that which David was put to, and was thereby put into a great strait, Sa2 24:14. Captivity is mentioned last, some think, because the sorest judgment of all, it being both a complication and continuance of miseries. That of the sword is again repeated (Jer 15:3), and is made the first of another four frightful set of destroyers, which God will appoint over them, as officers over the soldiers, to do what they please with them. As those that escape the sword shall be cut off by pestilence, famine, or captivity, so those that fall by the sword shall be cut off by divine vengeance, which pursues sinners on the other side death; there shall be dogs to tear in the field to devour. And, if there be any that think to outrun justice, they shall be made the most public monuments of it: They shall be removed into all kingdoms of the earth (Jer 15:4), like Cain, who, that he might be made a spectacle of horror to all, became a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth.
4.They shall fall without being relieved. Who can do any thing to help them? for (1.) God, even their own God (so he had been) appears against them: I will stretch out my hand against thee, which denotes a deliberate determined stroke, which will reach far and wound deeply. I am weary with repenting (Jer 15:6); it is a strange expression; they had behaved so provokingly, especially by their treacherous professions of repentance, that they had put even infinite patience itself to the stretch. God had often turned away his wrath when it was ready to break forth against them; but now he will grant no more reprieves. Miserable is the case of those who have sinned so long against God's mercy that at length they have sinned it away. (2.) Their own country expels them, and is ready to spue them out, as it had done the Canaanites that were before them; for so it was threatened (Lev 18:28): I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land, in their own gates, through which they shall be scattered, or into the gates of the earth, into the cities of all the nations about them, Jer 15:7. (3.) Their own children, that should assist them when they speak with the enemy in the gate, shall be cut off from them: I will bereave them of children, so that they shall have little hopes that the next generation will retrieve their affairs, for I will destroy my people; and, when the inhabitants are slain, the land will soon be desolate. This melancholy article is enlarged upon, Jer 15:8, Jer 15:9, where we have, [1.] The destroyer brought upon them. When God has bloody work to do he will find out bloody instruments to do it with. Nebuchadnezzar is here called a spoiler at noon-day, not a thief in the night, that is afraid of being discovered, but one that without fear shall break through and destroy all the fences of rights and properties, and this in the face of the sun and in defiance of its light: I have brought against the mother a young man, a spoiler (so some read it); for Nebuchadnezzar, when he first invaded Judah, was but a young man, in the first year of his reign. We read it, I have brought upon them, even against the mother of the young men, a spoiler, that is, against Jerusalem, a mother city, that had a very numerous family of young men: or that invasion was in a particular manner terrible to those mothers who had many sons fit for war, who must now hazard their lives in the high places of the field, and, being an unequal match for the enemy, would be likely to fall there, to the inexpressible grief of their poor mothers, who had nursed them up with a great deal of tenderness. The same God that brought the spoiler upon them caused him to fall upon it, that is, upon the spoil delivered to him, suddenly and by surprise; and then terrors came upon the city. the original is very abrupt - the city and terrors. O the city! what a consternation will it then be in! O the terrors that shall then seize it! Then the city and terrors shall be brought together, that seemed at a distance from each other. I will cause to fall suddenly upon her (upon Jerusalem) a watcher and terrors; so Mr. Gataker reads it, for the word is used for a watcher (Dan 4:13, Dan 4:23), and the Chaldean soldiers were called watchers, Jer 4:16. [2.] The destruction made by this destroyer. A dreadful slaughter is here described. First, The wives are deprived of their husbands: Their widows are increased above the sand of the seas, so numerous have they now grown. It was promised that the men of Israel (for those only were numbered) should be as the sand of the sea for multitude; but now they shall be all cut off, and their widows shall be so. But observe, God says, They are increased to me. Though the husbands were cut off by the sword of his justice, their poor widows were gathered in the arms of his mercy, who has taken it among the titles of his honour to be the God of the widows. Widows are said to be taken into the number, the number of those whom God has a particular compassion and concern for. Secondly, The parents are deprived of their children: She that has borne seven sons, whom she expected to be the support and joy of her age, now languishes, when she has seen them all cut off by the sword in one day, who had been many years her burden and care. She that had many children has waxed feeble, Sa1 2:5. See what uncertain comforts children are; and let us therefore rejoice in them as though we rejoiced not. When the children are slain the mother gives up the ghost, for her life was bound up in theirs: Her sun has gone down while it was yet day; she is bereaved of all her comforts just when she thought herself in the midst of the enjoyment of them. She is now ashamed and confounded to think how proud she was of her sons, how fond of them, and how much she promised herself from them. Some understand, by this languishing mother, Jerusalem lamenting the death of her inhabitants as passionately as ever poor mother bewailed her children. Many are cut off already, and the residue of them, who have yet escaped, and, as was hoped, were reserved to be the seed of another generation, even these will I deliver to the sword before their enemies (as the condemned malefactor is delivered to the sheriff to be executed), saith the Lord, the Judge of heaven and earth, who, we are sure, herein judges according to truth, though the judgment seem severe.
5.They shall fall without being pitied (Jer 15:5): "For who shall have pity on thee, O Jerusalem? When thy God has cast thee out of his sight, and his compassions fail and are shut up from thee, neither thy enemies nor thy friends shall have any compassion for thee. They shall have no sympathy with thee; they shall not bemoan thee nor be sorry for thee; they shall have no concern for thee, shall not go a step out of their way to ask how thou dost." For, (1.) Their friends, who were expected to do these friendly offices, were all involved with them in the calamities, and had enough to do to bemoan themselves. (2.) It was plain to all their neighbours that they had brought all this misery upon themselves by their obstinacy in sin, and that they might easily have prevented it by repentance and reformation, which they were often in vain called to; and therefore who can pity them? O Israel! thou hast destroyed thyself. Those will perish for ever unpitied that might have been saved upon such easy terms and would not. (3.) God will thus complete their misery. He will set their acquaintance, as he did Job's at a distance from them; and his hand, his righteous hand, is to be acknowledged in all the unkindnesses of our friends, as well as in all the injuries done us by our foes.
“In that day, says the Lord, the sun shall go down at noon, and there shall be darkness over the earth in the clear day. I will turn your feast days into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation,” plainly announced that obscuration of the sun that at the time of his crucifixion took place from the sixth hour onwards, and that after this event, those days that were their festivals according to the law, and their songs, should be changed into grief and lamentation when they were handed over to the Gentiles. Jeremiah too makes this point still clearer when he thus speaks concerning Jerusalem: “She that has borne seven languishes. Her soul has become weary. Her sun has gone down while it was yet noon. She has been confounded and suffered reproach. The remainder of them will I give to the sword in the sight of their enemies.” Those of them, again, who spoke of God’s having slumbered and taken sleep, and of his having risen again because the Lord sustained him, and who enjoined the principalities of heaven to set open the everlasting doors, that the King of glory might go in, proclaimed beforehand his resurrection from the dead through the Father’s power and his reception into heaven.
The Scriptures prophesied that at noon in Christ’s passion there should be darkness. In Amos it says, “And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, the sun shall set at noon, and the day of light shall be darkened. I will turn your feast days into grief and all your songs into lamentation.” Also in Jeremiah: “She is frightened that has borne children, and her soul has grown weary. Her sun has gone down while as yet it was noon. She has been confounded and accursed. I will give the rest of them to the sword in the sight of their enemies.” Also in the Gospel: “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the earth even to the ninth hour.”
What more can now be said respecting the crime of the Jews, than that they were then blinded and seized with incurable madness, who read these things daily and yet neither understood them nor were able to be on their guard so as not to do them? Therefore, being lifted up and nailed to the cross, Jesus cried to the Lord with a loud voice and of his own accord gave up his spirit. At the same hour there was an earthquake. The veil of the temple, which separated the two tabernacles, was torn into two parts. The sun suddenly withdrew its light, and there was darkness from the sixth even to the ninth hour. Of this event the prophet Amos testifies, “And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord that the sun shall go down at noon, and the daylight shall be darkened. I will turn your feasts into mourning and your songs into lamentation.” Also Jeremiah: “She who brings forth is afraid and vexed in spirit. Her sun is gone down while it was yet noon. She has been ashamed and confounded. The residue of them will I give to the sword in the sight of their enemies.”
(Verse 9) She has been weakened (or cast aside, or made empty) who gave birth to seven (or many); her soul has failed: the sun has set upon her while it was still day (or midday). She is confused and ashamed: and I will give her remaining ones into the sword in the sight of their enemies, says the Lord. We have often said that the Hebrew word Saba () can mean either seven, or oath, or many. Therefore, there is also a different interpretation: Aquila, the Seventy, and Theodotion translate as seven; Symmachus, as many. Therefore, she who was once wealthy and had children became suddenly bereft and perished in clear light, and she was confused in the solitude of herself. But the remainder, he said, I will deliver to the sword, so that no one may escape the death and wrath of God. Others attribute it to the Synagogue, which was weakened, so that the multitude of the Church might grow; according to what is written: The barren woman has borne seven, or more: and she who had many children was weakened (1 Samuel 2:5). And the sun of justice sets upon him, in whose wings is health (Malachi 4); and therefore it is covered with eternal confusion, destroying its people with a spiritual sword.
Continue studying Jeremiah 15:9 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Jeremiah 15:9 graphically portrays Judah's impending and irreversible judgment, personifying the nation as a once-blessed mother who has suffered a catastrophic loss. Having borne a full complement of seven children, symbolizing abundant prosperity and divine favor, she now languishes in a state of deathly despair, her vitality extinguished prematurely. This sudden and humiliating downfall, orchestrated by divine decree, signifies the complete desolation and profound shame that will befall the nation of Judah, with even the surviving remnant facing inevitable destruction by the sword at the hands of their enemies.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 15:9 is rich with literary devices that amplify its message of severe judgment. Personification is central, as Judah is depicted as a "she" who "hath borne seven," allowing the audience to emotionally connect with the nation's suffering as if it were a grieving, dying mother. The phrase "her sun is gone down while it was yet day" employs a potent metaphor for a sudden, premature, and tragic end to prosperity and national life, contrasting sharply with the expected duration of a day or a nation's existence. The number "seven" functions as symbolism, representing completeness and abundant blessing, which then highlights the profound irony and tragedy of the mother's subsequent desolation and death. The entire verse is infused with pathos, evoking a deep sense of sorrow and pity for the once-blessed nation now facing utter ruin. Finally, the concluding "saith the LORD" serves as a divine oracle, lending absolute authority, certainty, and solemnity to the pronouncement of judgment, emphasizing that this is not merely Jeremiah's lament but God's unalterable decree.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 15:9 profoundly illustrates the biblical principle that persistent rebellion against God's covenant leads to severe and inescapable consequences. It reveals God's righteous judgment as a necessary response to deep-seated sin, demonstrating that His patience, though vast and long-suffering, is not infinite. The desolation described is not arbitrary but a just outworking of divine holiness against a people who have repeatedly rejected His warnings and pursued idolatry. This passage underscores God's sovereignty over nations, His ability to use external forces (like enemies) as instruments of His will, and the ultimate futility of relying on anything other than faithful obedience to Him. It serves as a stark reminder that true security and blessing come only through adherence to God's ways, and that a nation's spiritual health directly impacts its temporal well-being and ultimate destiny.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 15:9 offers a sobering call to introspection, both individually and corporately. It compels us to consider the gravity of sin and the profound consequences of persistent disobedience to God's revealed will. The imagery of a once-blessed entity "languishing" and experiencing a premature "sunset" should prompt us to examine the spiritual vitality of our own lives, our families, and our communities. Are there areas where we are stubbornly resisting God's warnings, allowing spiritual decay to set in? This verse reminds us that God's justice is an inherent part of His character, and while He is rich in mercy and slow to anger, He will not indefinitely tolerate unrepentant sin. For believers, it's a powerful reminder to walk in humble obedience, to heed the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and to earnestly seek repentance when we stray. It also encourages us to pray for our nations and societies, that they might turn from paths of unrighteousness and seek the Lord, recognizing that national well-being is often intricately tied to national faithfulness and adherence to divine principles.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Who is "she" in Jeremiah 15:9?
Answer: In Jeremiah 15:9, "she" is a powerful personification of the nation of Judah, specifically representing Jerusalem and its inhabitants. The prophet Jeremiah often employs such vivid, anthropomorphic imagery to convey the spiritual and physical state of the people. By depicting Judah as a mother who once bore "seven" children—a symbol of abundant blessing, fruitfulness, and divine favor in ancient Israelite culture—the verse dramatically emphasizes the tragic and complete reversal of fortunes that will befall the nation due to its unfaithfulness and persistent sin. This personification makes the impending judgment more relatable and emotionally impactful, highlighting the profound loss, humiliation, and desolation Judah is about to experience.
What does "her sun is gone down while it was yet day" mean?
Answer: This phrase is a potent and poignant metaphor signifying a sudden, premature, and tragic end to Judah's prosperity, glory, and national existence. In ancient cultures, the sun was often associated with life, vitality, power, and the duration of a prosperous era. For the sun to set "while it was yet day" implies that Judah's flourishing period, its national vibrancy and security, would be cut short unexpectedly, before its natural course or expected lifespan. It speaks to a rapid decline and collapse, indicating that the nation's downfall would be swift, devastating, and untimely, leaving no opportunity for recovery or a natural conclusion. This is a direct consequence of God's judgment against their unrepentant sin, a theme echoed throughout the book of Jeremiah.
Does God truly delight in such severe judgment?
Answer: No, the Bible consistently teaches that God does not delight in the destruction of the wicked, but rather desires their repentance and life. Passages like Ezekiel 18:23 and Ezekiel 33:11 clearly articulate God's profound desire for people to turn from their wicked ways so that they might live. However, God is also perfectly just, holy, and righteous. When His warnings are repeatedly ignored, His covenant is persistently violated, and His people stubbornly refuse to repent, His justice demands a response. The severe judgment described in Jeremiah 15:9 is not an act of arbitrary cruelty but a righteous and necessary consequence of Judah's deep-seated rebellion and idolatry, demonstrating that God's character encompasses both boundless love and unwavering justice.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Jeremiah 15:9 vividly portrays the devastating judgment upon unfaithful Judah, its ultimate fulfillment and profound reversal are found in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. The "languishing" and "giving up the ghost" of the personified Judah foreshadow the ultimate death and humiliation that Christ willingly embraced on the cross. He became the one who "gave up the ghost" (e.g., Matthew 27:50) not for His own sin, but for the sins of humanity, absorbing the full wrath and righteous judgment that a rebellious people deserved. His "sun went down while it was yet day" as He died prematurely, in the prime of His life, enduring the profound "shame and confounded" experience of crucifixion (e.g., Hebrews 12:2) so that those who believe in Him might never face such eternal desolation. Through His sacrificial death, Christ bore the "sword" of divine justice (e.g., Zechariah 13:7), becoming a curse for us (e.g., Galatians 3:13), thereby delivering us from the sword of God's judgment that hung over humanity. In Him, the promise of life and blessing, once lost through Israel's unfaithfulness, is perfectly restored and offered to all, transforming shame into glory and death into eternal life (e.g., Romans 5:8).