Bible Strands
Jeremiah 8:9
The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Jeremiah addresses the people of Judah immediately after exposing the scribes’ deception regarding the Law of the LORD. He speaks at a moment of national crisis when religious leaders claim divine authority while practicing greed and deceit.
The words — חֲכָמִ֔ים (chakhamim) literally means “wise [people],” and מָאָ֔סוּ (ma'asu) means “they have rejected.” The text states that those claiming wisdom are put to shame and trapped because they have rejected the word of Yahweh.
The thread — This tension between human expertise and divine instruction appears in Psalms 119:98, where God’s commandments produce true wisdom, and Job 5:12, where God thwarts the schemes of the crafty. Jeremiah 6:15 further echoes the theme by contrasting the rejection of shame with the reality of abomination.
Why it lands — The passage demands that readers measure their understanding against God’s explicit word rather than human expertise. It requires a practical shift from relying on self-derived wisdom to submitting to divine instruction.
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
The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?
Cross-references
- Psalms 119:98 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are always with me.
- Job 5:12 He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
- Jeremiah 6:15 Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse,” says the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 4:6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
- Psalms 19:7 The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Isaiah 19:11 The princes of Zoan are mere fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise, a son of eastern kings”?
- Jeremiah 6:19 Hear, O earth! I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their own schemes, because they have paid no attention to My word and have rejected My instruction.
- 1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
- Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
- Jeremiah 49:7 Concerning Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?