Jeremiah 9:15 · Bible study
Jeremiah 9:15 Commentary: Divine Judgment through Wormwood and Gall
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does God feed His people wormwood and poisoned water? This study unpacks the metaphor of divine retribution for covenant unfaithfulness in Jeremiah 9:15.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God declares He will judge covenant-breaking Judah by turning their daily provision into bitterness and poison, the direct consequence of idolatry and stubborn rebellion.
- Key words: wormwood (bitter plant, symbol of affliction), poisoned water (gall, venom, or poisonous liquid, the opposite of life-giving water).
- Main debate: Whether this is purely temporal judgment (the coming exile) or also a type of eternal judgment. Most commentators read it as historical-exilic judgment.
- Theological theme: Covenant retribution, God's justice is not arbitrary but corresponds to the covenant blessings that were spurned.
- Best use: To teach the seriousness of sin and the cost of turning from God's law; as a warning that calls for repentance and a return to covenant faithfulness.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will feed this people wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Therefore Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
KJV King James Version 1769
Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Therefore, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am causing them--this people--to eat wormwood, And I have caused them to drink water of gall,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed this people with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink,
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Behold I will feed this people with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Por tanto, así ha dicho Jehová de los ejércitos, Dios de Israel: He aquí que á este pueblo yo les daré á comer ajenjos, y les daré á beber aguas de hiel.
Por isso assim diz o SENHOR dos exércitos, Deus de Israel: Eis que a este povo eu lhes darei de comer absinto, e lhes darei de beber água de fel.
C’ est pourquoi ainsi parle l’Éternel des armées, le Dieu d’Israël:
darum spricht der HERR Zebaoth, der Gott Israels, also: Siehe ich will dies Volk mit Wermut speisen und mit Galle tränken;
Daarom zegt de HEERE der heirscharen, de God Israels, alzo: Ziet, Ik zal dit volk spijzen met alsem, en Ik zal hen drenken met gallewater;
Perciò, così parla l’Eterno degli eserciti, l’Iddio d’Israele: Ecco, io farò mangiar dell’assenzio a questo popolo e gli farò bere dell’acqua avvelenata.
Dlatego tak mówi Pan zastępów, Bóg Izraelski: Oto Ja nakarmię ich, to jest lud ten, piołunem, a napoję ich wodą żółci.
Посему так говорит Господь Саваоф, Бог Израилев: вот, Я накормлю их, этот народ, полынью, и напою их водою с желчью;
所以 萬軍 之耶和華─以色列的 神 如此 說：「看哪，我必將茵蔯 給 這 百姓 吃，又將苦膽 水 給他們喝。
So the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, I will give them, even this people, bitter plants for food and bitter water for drink.
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree this verse depicts God's judgment on Judah as a direct consequence of forsaking His law. Calvin interprets the Hebrew word lone (wormwood) as "bitterness," chosen for its bitter taste rather than any wholesome quality, and sees the poisoned water as a striking reversal: the same food and drink that once testified to God's care become instruments of vengeance. Clarke calls wormwood "the deepest sorrow and heaviest affliction." Gill extends this, noting that the Targum reads wormwood as "bitter afflictions" and the water of gall as "the cup of cursing." Keil and Delitzsch set the verse within Jeremiah's broader lament: the land laid waste and the people scattered. Across these sources, the core meaning is clear, God responds to persistent idolatry and stubbornness by turning the blessings of daily provision into agents of pain. The judgment is severe, but it is also just, matching the seriousness of the covenant breach.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: God will judge covenant unfaithfulness with severe, just consequences, using the imagery of bitterness and poison to depict that judgment.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the judgment | The judgment is a direct consequence of Judah's covenant infidelity, expressed through bitter affliction and exile. All traditions affirm God's justice in response to sin. | Some traditions (e.g., certain Reformed readings) see this as primarily a national, temporal punishment, while others (e.g., some Catholic and Evangelical interpreters) find a typological warning of final judgment, though both agree the immediate context is Israel's historical exile. |
| Interpretation of wormwood and gall | Both terms are symbolic of severe affliction, not literal food poisoning. The metaphors underscore the reversal of God's good gifts becoming bitter. | Calvin argued that wormwood (lone) simply means bitterness, not necessarily the plant. Later commentators (Clarke, Gill) accept the plant imagery while applying it to sorrow. The debate is minor: the symbol is the point, not the botany. |
| Place of this verse in Christian theology | The verse demonstrates the seriousness of sin and God's holy response. Christians across traditions read it as part of the Old Testament's witness to God's just character. | Catholic and Orthodox traditions may incorporate this into a penitential framework (e.g., Lenten readings), while Protestant traditions often emphasize it as a warning against apostasy. Pentecostal and charismatic groups might apply it to the danger of drifting from God's presence. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jeremiah prophesied in the final decades of the Kingdom of Judah, before the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The nation had long been warned through the covenant curses (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) that disobedience would bring famine, sword, and exile. This verse sits within a passage (Jeremiah 9:12-16) where God answers the question, "Why has the land perished?" The answer: they "forsook my law" and "walked after the stubbornness of their own heart."
Wormwood (Hebrew lone) is a bitter plant, often used in ancient Near Eastern contexts as a symbol for bitterness and pain (Proverbs 5:4; Deuteronomy 29:18). The "water of gall" (KJV, ASV) or "poisoned water" (WEB, BSB) likely refers to a toxic, bitter liquid, possibly the juice of a poisonous plant or the venom of serpents (Gill mentions Jarchi's view). The pairing of food and drink, God's most basic gifts, being turned into instruments of judgment intensifies the horror. In Israel's worship, the altar had always received the first produce; now the very sustenance became a curse.
Culturally, the imagery would evoke the "cup of God's wrath" found in prophetic literature (Psalm 75:8; Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15). Jeremiah himself had already used the phrase in 8:14, where the people confess they are given "poisoned water to drink because we have sinned." The metaphor is not new; it reaches back to the covenant warnings. What makes this verse stark is that God speaks it in first person: "I will feed them... I will give them." The judgment is not impersonal fate but the direct action of the covenant Lord, whose benefits had been despised.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources mention no significant textual variants for Jeremiah 9:15. The few differences between English translations (e.g., "water of gall" in KJV/ASV vs "poisoned water" in WEB/BSB) reflect translation choices for the same Hebrew term (רֹאשׁ, rosh) rather than manuscript variation. The Cambridge Bible notes that some scholars (Du., Gi.) question the dating and meter of the surrounding passage, but no textual corruption is claimed.
Reception History
Jeremiah 9:15 has been read throughout church history as a sobering image of divine judgment. Early Christian writers, such as Origen, saw the wormwood as symbolic of the bitterness that follows sin. Medieval exegetes often placed the verse within the context of Lamentations, highlighting the emotional cost of Israel's fall. The reformers (Calvin, Luther) used it to warn against self-righteousness and idolatry. In Puritan England, the verse was cited in sermons on national sin and the need for repentance. Liturgically, the verse appears in some penitential services for Lent, where the bitterness of wormwood represents the sorrow that leads to true contrition. Hymns that speak of the "cup of wrath" (e.g., "Man of Sorrows") echo the same imagery.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Cause: Covenant unfaithfulness. Verse 13-14 names the root: forsaking God's law, refusing His voice, following the stubbornness of their own hearts and the Baals.
- The Cup: God's judgment pictured as wormwood and poisoned water. The very gifts of food and drink become bitter and deadly. Judgment is not an abstract decree but a concrete reversal of blessing.
- The Call: To recognize the seriousness of sin. The surrounding verses (v10-11, 16-22) describe wailing, desolation, and scattering, a full picture of exile. The question in v12, "Who is wise enough to understand this?", presses the congregation to seek understanding.
Five-point outline
- Where judgment comes from: Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, His covenant identity demands covenant response.
- What judgment looks like: wormwood (bitterness) and poisoned water (deadly), the staples of life turned into agents of pain.
- Why judgment happens: they forsook the law, followed Baals, walked in stubbornness. Sin is not an accident; it is a willful departure from God's ways.
- How judgment feels: the land becomes a desolation (v11), the people scattered (v16), the mourning women called (v17-19). The emotional and physical toll is total.
- So what now: the text is a warning, but also an invitation to consider (v12). The wise will hear and turn back before the cup is drunk.
Illustration hooks
- A trusted meal: imagine biting into a favorite dish only to find it laced with poison. Something that was meant to sustain becomes deadly. This is the shock of judgment.
- A relationship broken by betrayal: gifts exchanged between friends turn into reminders of pain. God's gifts of bread and water became symbols of His absence and anger.
- The bitterness of regret: the taste of wormwood in the mouth lingers. So does the memory of turning away from God, a bitterness that only confession and grace can sweeten.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does this mean every bad thing that happens is punishment from God? (No, the text is specifically about covenant-national consequences, not personal tragedy. But it does call us to examine our faithfulness.)
- How can I tell if I'm walking in "stubbornness of heart"? (Pay attention to where your trust lies, in God's law or in your own devices. The Baals of today are the things we rely on instead of the Lord.)
- What hope is there for someone who has already experienced bitterness in life? (The verse ends with judgment, but the broader book of Jeremiah holds out restoration, a new covenant, a return from exile. God's last word is not wormwood.)
Leading a Discussion
This passage confronts us with a hard truth: our choices have consequences, and God takes covenant unfaithfulness seriously. But the purpose of the warning is not to crush, it is to call us to wisdom (v12). As your group works through these questions, remember that the Bible never exposes sin without also pointing to grace, even if that grace is further ahead in the story.
Discussion questions
- Read Jeremiah 9:12-15. According to the text, why is the land destroyed? What specific sins are listed?
- The imagery of wormwood and poisoned water would have been shocking to the original audience. Why do you think God chose this language?
- In verses 13-14, "the Baals" are mentioned. What are the modern equivalents of "Baals", things we trust in instead of God? How do they compete with His law?
- God says "I will feed them" and "I will give them." What does it mean that God is personally behind the judgment? How does that both trouble and comfort you?
- How does this passage connect to the wider biblical theme of the "cup of God's wrath" (Psalm 75:8; Isaiah 51:17)? What does Jesus do with that cup in the New Testament (Matthew 26:39)?
- If someone came to you feeling that God had given them wormwood to eat, how would you respond? What parts of Scripture would you share?
- What is one step you can take this week to avoid the stubbornness of heart described here? How can your small group help you stay faithful?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 29:18 | lest there should be among you man, woman, family, or tribe whose heart turns away today from Yahweh our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there should be among you a root that produces bitter poison; |
| Psalms 60:3 | You have shown your people hard things. You have made us drink the wine that makes us stagger. |
| Psalms 69:21 | They also gave me poison for my food. In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink. |
| Psalms 75:8 | For in Yahweh’s hand there is a cup, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours it out. Indeed the wicked of the earth drink and drink it to its very dregs. |
| Psalms 80:5 | You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in large measure. |
| Isaiah 2:17 | The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the arrogance of men shall be brought low; and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day. |
| Isaiah 2:22 | Stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he? |
| Jeremiah 8:14 | “Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves! Let’s enter into the fortified cities, and let’s be silent there; for Yahweh our God has put us to silence, and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against Yahweh. |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke reads wormwood as a vivid image of divine judgment: God gives bitter sorrow and deadly poison in place of nourishment. The point is severity — a curse that replaces life-giving food with its opposite, bringing the deepest affliction.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin emphasizes the shocking reversal in God's judgment: the same bread and water that normally testify to His fatherly care become instruments of terrible vengeance. By turning their food into bitterness and drink into poison, God demonstrates that He can make even daily provisions serve as punishment.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Du. and Gi. consider this passage to be condemned by prosaic wording and the vagueness or absence of metre. Co. thinks it to contain Jeremianic elements, worked up later. It certainly forms a remarkable contrast to the poetical sub-section which follows.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Therefore thus sayth the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feede this people with wormewood, and giue them waters of gall to drinke:
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill highlights that God identifies Himself as both Lord of hosts and God of Israel in direct opposition to the false lords, Baalim. This contrast underscores Israel's ingratitude in forsaking such a God, and the punishment of wormwood and gall is portrayed as severe yet fully deserved for their betrayal.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB links the word "feed" in this verse to Old Testament passages where God gives his people bitter or sorrowful portions, such as wormwood or tears. The cross-references suggest the commentator sees the verb as describing a forceful provision of something harmful or grievous, not literal nourishment.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch notes that the devastation is not total annihilation of the people but the destruction of the godless. Any truly wise person enlightened by God would recognise that judgment follows such apostasy, yet the people lacked that insight. The "consumed" refers only to the wicked within Israel, not to every last person.