Jeremiah 9:22 - Exposition

Speak, Thus saith the Lord . These words are in three important respects contrary to the style of Jeremiah:

They are omitted by the Septuagint translator, who presumably did not find them in his copy of the Hebrew, and the text gains greatly by their removal. The following words are mistranslated in the Authorized Version, and should run, not even , but and , the carcasses of men shall fall ; etc. It is most improbable, however, that a fresh Divine revelation should begin with "and." With other points, the word rendered "speak" would mean "pestilence." Possibly the word fell out of verse 21, where it would find an excellent place in the second clause (as an explanatory parallel to "death," as in Psalms 78:50 ), which would thus obtain greater roundness and symmetry. As the handful ; i . e . as thickly as one heap of corn succeeds another under the deft hand of the leaper.