Jeremiah 8:10

Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Yahweh speaks through Jeremiah to Judah during a period of national collapse and spiritual decay. The oracle is delivered immediately after the condemnation of rejected wisdom and directly precedes the exposure of false peace assurances.

The words — The Hebrew לָ/כֵן֩ (la./Khen) means "therefore," marking the coming judgment as the direct result of the preceding rebellion. אֶתֵּ֨ן ('e.Ten) translates literally as "I will give," establishing divine agency in the forced transfer of their wives and fields.

The thread — This pattern of forfeited property and broken household covenants runs through Deuteronomy 28:30 and Jeremiah 6:12, where conquered lands and families pass to outsiders. It aligns with Ezekiel 33:31, which records the people's habit of listening to prophetic words without implementing them.

Why it lands — The text states that universal greed and clerical deception will result in the literal loss of family and property. It requires the reader to abandon self-deception and acknowledge that divine warnings execute their consequences without mitigation.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 6:12 Their houses will be turned over to others, their fields and wives as well, for I will stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD.
Ezekiel 33:31 So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.
Deuteronomy 28:30 You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not enjoy its fruit.
Isaiah 28:7 These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.
Isaiah 56:10 Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.
Jeremiah 23:11 “For both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the LORD.
Ezekiel 22:27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
Amos 5:11 Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted.
Zephaniah 1:13 Their wealth will be plundered and their houses laid waste. They will build houses but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards but never drink their wine.
Titus 1:11 who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.