Jeremiah 15:9

Judgment

⁷ I will scatter them with a winnowing fork at the gates of the land. I will bereave and destroy My people who have not turned from their ways.

⁸ I will make their widows more numerous than the sand of the sea. I will bring a destroyer at noon against the mothers of young men. I will suddenly bring upon them anguish and dismay.

The mother of seven will grow faint; she will breathe her last breath. Her sun will set while it is still day; she will be disgraced and humiliated. And the rest I will put to the sword in the presence of their enemies,” declares the LORD.

¹⁰ Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me, a man of strife and conflict in all the land. I have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me.

¹¹ The LORD said: “Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose; surely I will intercede with your enemy in your time of trouble, in your time of distress.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: The mother of seven will grow faint; she will breathe her last breath. Her sun will set while it is still day; she will be disgraced and humiliated. And the rest I will put to the sword in the presence of their enemies,” declares the LORD.
KJV: She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD.
WEB: She who has borne seven languishes. She has given up the spirit. Her sun has gone down while it was yet day. She has been disappointed and confounded. I will deliver their residue to the sword before their enemies,” says the LORD.
ASV: She that hath borne seven languisheth; she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day; she hath been put to shame and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith Jehovah.
DARBY: She that hath borne seven languisheth, she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it is yet day; she is put to shame and confounded. And the residue of them will I give up to the sword before their enemies, saith Jehovah.
BLB: She languishes who has borne seven; she has breathed her last, her sun has gone down while yet day; she has been ashamed and disgraved. And the remnant of them I will give to the sword, before the face of their enemies, a declaration of YHWH.

ÅB: Selv den mor som har født syv sønner, vansmekter og utånder sin sjel; hennes sol går ned mens det enda er dag; hun blir til spott og skam. Og resten av dem vil jeg overgi til deres fienders sverd, sier Herren.
OTB: Moren til syv vil bli svak og gi opp ånden. Hennes sol vil gå ned mens det ennå er dag; hun vil bli vanæret og ydmyket. Jeg vil gi deres overlevende til sverdet foran deres fiender,” erklærer Herren.
B1930: Selv den mor som har født syv sønner, vansmekter og utånder sin sjel; hennes sol går ned mens det ennu er dag; hun blir til spott og skam. Og resten av dem vil jeg overgi til deres fienders sverd, sier Herren.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

1 Samuel 2:5
The well-fed hire themselves out for food, but the starving hunger no more. The barren woman gives birth to seven, but she who has many sons pines away.
Read in context
Isaiah 47:9
These two things will overtake you in a moment, in a single day: loss of children, and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the potency of your spells.
Read in context
Lamentations 1:1
How lonely lies the city, once so full of people! She who was great among the nations has become a widow. The princess of the provinces has become a slave.
Read in context
Amos 8:9–10
And in that day, declares the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the daytime.
Read in context
Jeremiah 21:7
‘After that,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and the people in this city who survive the plague and sword and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who seek their lives. He will put them to the sword; he will not spare them or show pity or compassion.’
Read in context
Lamentations 4:10
The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Read in context
Jeremiah 15:2–3
If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword; those destined for famine, to famine; and those destined for captivity, to captivity.’
Read in context
Ezekiel 5:12
A third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine within you, a third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and a third I will scatter to every wind and unleash a sword behind them.
Read in context