What Does Jeremiah 9:23 Mean?
Thus says the LORD, Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor let the mighty man boast in his strength, let not the rich man boast in his riches.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:THE KEY
The same verb appears three times: the verse exposes the moment you turn what you have into what you praise.
THE MEANING
Your wisdom, strength, and wealth are real capacities, yet none can carry your worth. The verse exposes the turn where what you possess becomes the source of your praise.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie that wisdom, power, or wealth can make a person worthy of praise.
THE ROOT
יִתְהַלֵּל
yithallel
GROWS FROM
הלל
Praise or celebrate; in this verb form, boast or glory.
“boast” in this verse is yithallel. The verb translated as glory comes from the root for praise, the same root used to praise Yah. The verse reveals self-boasting as praise turned inward: wisdom, might, and wealth can be present without becoming the source of a person’s praise.
ALSO GROWS
hallel: praise
הַלֵּל
It shows the shared root between the verse’s glory and the language of praise.
tehillah: praise; a song of praise
תְּהִלָּה
It carries the same praise-root into a word for praise itself.
hallelu-yah: Praise Yah
הַלְלוּ־יָהּ
The root used for boasting here also forms a familiar call to praise Yah.
הַגִּבּוֹר
haggibbor
GROWS FROM
גבר
Be strong or prevail.
“mighty man / might” in this verse is haggibbor. The same consonants form both the mighty man and his might, binding the person’s identity to the power he possesses. The verse removes that whole bundle from the place of self-praise.
ALSO GROWS
gibbor: mighty one; hero
גִּבּוֹר
This is the word for the mighty man in the verse, formed from the same root as might.
gevurah: might; strength
גְּבוּרָה
This is the word for might in the verse, the power attached to the gibbor.
gever: man; male
גֶּבֶר
This related form carries the root into a word for a man, echoing the verse’s link between identity and strength.
THE PATTERN
Boasting is relocated from what a person possesses to knowing the LORD.
But let the one who boasts boast in this, that he discerns and perceives me, that I am the LORD who does faithful love, judgment, and alignment in the earth. For in these things I delight, says the LORD.In God we praise all the day long, and we extend our hands to your name for the ages. Selah.So that, just as it is written, "The one who boasts, let him boast in the LORD."THE THREAD
But let the one who boasts boast in this, that he discerns and perceives me, that I am the LORD who does faithful love, judgment, and alignment in the earth. For in these things I delight, says the LORD.The next verse names what can receive the praise withheld from wisdom, might, and wealth: understanding and knowing the LORD. It shifts the ground of boasting from a capacity the self possesses to the LORD’s nature, faithful love, judgment, and alignment.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.
A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us