The Meaning of Jeremiah 9:16 Explained

Jeremiah 9:16

KJV: I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.

YLT: And I have scattered them among nations Which they knew not, they and their fathers, And have sent after them the sword, Till I have consumed them.

Darby: and will scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them.

ASV: I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I will scatter  them also among the heathen,  whom neither they nor their fathers  have known:  and I will send  a sword  after  them, till I have consumed  them. 

What does Jeremiah 9:16 Mean?

Verse Meaning

He would also scatter them among nations that would be unfamiliar to them and their forefathers. Violence would follow them until the Lord had annihilated them. This would be the fate of many ungodly Judahites, not the whole nation (cf. Jeremiah 4:27; Jeremiah 5:18; Jeremiah 30:11).

Context Summary

Jeremiah 9:1-16 - National Perversity
Jeremiah 9:1-6
Once the voice of joy and thanksgiving had been heard in Jerusalem, but now on every side there was bloodshed, and the patriot-prophet could only weep incessantly over the slain. A lodge in the wilderness seemed preferable to the most luxurious mansion in the city. Solitude would be better than association with the ungodly perpetrators of such crimes. Yet we must not go out of the fray so long as our Captain wants us to remain in it, in dependence upon him.
Jeremiah 9:7-16
What a magnificent description of the effect of God's judgments on the land! No bird, no beast, no lowing of cattle, but jackals gamboling over the ruins of Jerusalem. However fast we shut our doors and windows, death enters our homes. Neither palace nor cottage is exempted. There is no escape for young or old from the judgments of God, except in penitence and faith. The secret of national decay and overthrow is the same in all ages. The tree is rotten at the core before it falls beneath the hurricane. Let us turn to 1 Corinthians 1:18, which belongs to this chapter, and learn how little the wisdom and might of the world can avail us in the dread hour of universal desolation. Stand with the Crucified and glory in His Cross; be content to bear His reproach and shame, that you may become a son of the Resurrection, and be accounted worthy to escape those things that must come to pass, and at last stand, before Him. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 9

1  Jeremiah laments the people for their manifold sins;
9  and for their judgment
12  Disobedience is the cause of their bitter calamity
17  He exhorts to mourn for their destruction;
23  and to trust not in themselves, but in God
25  He threatens both Jews and Gentiles

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 9:16 mean?

And I will scatter them among the Gentiles whom neither have known they nor their fathers and I will send after them - a sword until I have consumed them -
וַהֲפִֽצוֹתִים֙ בַּגּוֹיִ֔ם אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א יָֽדְע֔וּ הֵ֖מָּה וַֽאֲבוֹתָ֑ם וְשִׁלַּחְתִּ֤י אַֽחֲרֵיהֶם֙ אֶת־ הַחֶ֔רֶב עַ֥ד כַּלּוֹתִ֖י אוֹתָֽם פ

וַהֲפִֽצוֹתִים֙  And  I  will  scatter  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular, third person masculine plural
Root: פּוּץ 
Sense: to scatter, be dispersed, be scattered.
בַּגּוֹיִ֔ם  among  the  Gentiles 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
אֲשֶׁר֙  whom 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
לֹ֣א  neither 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יָֽדְע֔וּ  have  known 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
וַֽאֲבוֹתָ֑ם  nor  their  fathers 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
וְשִׁלַּחְתִּ֤י  and  I  will  send 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
אַֽחֲרֵיהֶם֙  after  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אַחַר 
Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַחֶ֔רֶב  a  sword 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.
עַ֥ד  until 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
כַּלּוֹתִ֖י  I  have  consumed 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct, first person common singular
Root: כָּלָה  
Sense: to accomplish, cease, consume, determine, end, fail, finish, be complete, be accomplished, be ended, be at an end, be finished, be spent.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation