Verse 3

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them The LORD says,“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows. Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. They have become powerful in the land, but they have not done so by honest means. Indeed, they do one evil thing after another and do not pay attention to me.

Referenced Verses

  • Jer 9:8 : 8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows. They are always telling lies. Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths. But their minds are thinking up ways to trap them.
  • Judg 2:10 : 10 That entire generation passed away; a new generation grew up that had not personally experienced the LORD’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel.
  • Jer 4:22 : 22 The LORD answered,“This will happen because my people are foolish. They do not know me. They are like children who have no sense. They have no understanding. They are skilled at doing evil. They do not know how to do good.”
  • Isa 59:13-15 : 13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the LORD; we turned back from following our God. We stir up oppression and rebellion; we tell lies we concocted in our minds. 14 Justice is driven back; godliness stands far off. Indeed, honesty stumbles in the city square and morality is not even able to enter. 15 Honesty has disappeared; the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed. The LORD watches and is displeased, for there is no justice.
  • 1 Sam 2:12 : 12 But the sons of Eli were wicked men. They did not acknowledge the LORD’s authority.
  • Rom 3:13 : 13 “Their throats are open graves, they deceive with their tongues, the poison of asps is under their lips.”
  • 2 Cor 4:4-6 : 4 among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said“Let light shine out of darkness,” is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ.
  • Phil 1:28 : 28 and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of their destruction, but of your salvation– a sign which is from God.
  • 2 Tim 3:13 : 13 But evil people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves.
  • Jude 1:3 : 3 Condemnation of the False Teachers Dear friends, although I have been eager to write to you about our common salvation, I now feel compelled instead to write to encourage you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
  • Rev 12:11 : 11 But they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
  • Ps 52:2-4 : 2 Your tongue carries out your destructive plans; it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver. 3 You love evil more than good, lies more than speaking the truth.(Selah) 4 You love to use all the words that destroy, and the tongue that deceives.
  • Ps 64:3-4 : 3 They sharpen their tongues like a sword; they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge, 4 in order to shoot down the innocent in secluded places. They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation.
  • Ps 120:2-4 : 2 I said,“O LORD, rescue me from those who lie with their lips and those who deceive with their tongue. 3 How will he severely punish you, you deceptive talker? 4 Here’s how! With the sharp arrows of warriors, with arrowheads forged over the hot coals.
  • Isa 59:3-5 : 3 For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with sin; your lips speak lies, your tongue utters malicious words. 4 No one is concerned about justice; no one sets forth his case truthfully. They depend on false words and tell lies; they conceive of oppression and give birth to sin. 5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, a poisonous snake is hatched.
  • Jer 22:16 : 16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy. So things went well for Judah.’ The LORD says,‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’
  • Jer 31:34 : 34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” says the LORD.“For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”
  • Hos 4:1-3 : 1 The Lord’s Covenant Lawsuit against the Nation Israel Listen to the LORD’s message, you Israelites! For the LORD has a covenant lawsuit against the people of Israel. For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land, nor do they acknowledge God. 2 There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. They resort to violence and bloodshed. 3 Therefore the land will mourn, and all its inhabitants will perish. The wild animals, the birds of the sky, and even the fish in the sea will perish.
  • Mic 7:3-5 : 3 They are experts at doing evil; government officials and judges take bribes, prominent men announce what they wish and then they plan it out. 4 The best of them is like a thorn; their godly are like a thorn bush. Woe to your watchmen; your appointed punishment is on the way. The time of their confusion is now. 5 Do not rely on a friend; do not trust a companion! Even with the one who lies in your arms, do not share secrets!
  • Matt 10:31-33 : 31 So do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows. 32 “Whoever, then, acknowledges me before people, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven.
  • Mark 8:38 : 38 For if anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
  • John 8:54-55 : 54 Jesus replied,“If I glorify myself, my glory is worthless. The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you people say,‘He is our God.’ 55 Yet you do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey his teaching.
  • John 17:3 : 3 Now this is eternal life– that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
  • Rom 1:16 : 16 The Power of the Gospel For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
  • Rom 1:28 : 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.
  • Jer 7:26 : 26 But your ancestors did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”
  • Jer 9:5 : 5 One friend deceives another and no one tells the truth. These people have trained themselves to tell lies. They do wrong and are unable to repent.