What Does Jeremiah 9:5 Mean in the King James?
And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Falsehood here is not a slip; it is a tongue deliberately schooled against what is firm.
THE MEANING
This verse reveals how practiced speech can erode trust between neighbors: the tongue is taught to lie, and the speaker wears themselves down in wrongdoing. Deception takes effort because it works against the firmness of truth.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that harmful lying is merely a careless slip: here it is taught, practiced, and costly.
THE ROOT
לִמְּדוּ
limmedu
GROWS FROM
למד
Learn or become trained; in the intensive form, teach or instruct.
“taught” in this verse is limmedu. The root is about learning and instruction, so the tongue is presented as a pupil trained to produce lies. Deception is practiced speech, not just an accidental failure to find the right words.
ALSO GROWS
lamad: Learn or become instructed.
לָמַד
The basic sense of the root makes the tongue’s training visible.
limmed: Teach or instruct.
לִמֵּד
This teaching form shows that the false speech has been cultivated.
talmid: Learner or student.
תַּלְמִיד
The related word for a learner reinforces the image of a tongue being schooled.
אֱמֶת
emet
GROWS FROM
אמן
Be firm, steady, or reliable.
The word for truth carries the sense of firmness and reliability. The verse sets speech that can be leaned on against words deliberately trained to deceive.
ALSO GROWS
amen: Firmly; truly; so be it.
אָמֵן
Amen affirms what is reliable and can be trusted.
emunah: Steadiness or trust.
אֱמוּנָה
This branch links truth’s firmness with trust that can bear weight.
ne'eman: Reliable or steady.
נֶאֱמָן
A person described this way is dependable, carrying the root’s sense of firmness.
שֶׁקֶר
sheqer
GROWS FROM
שקר
Deal falsely or deceive.
“lies” in this verse is sheqer. The word names falsehood as the tongue’s learned content. Paired with the root of teaching, it shows deception as an enacted practice rather than a stray sentence.
ALSO GROWS
shaqar: Lie or deal falsely.
שָׁקַר
The verb form makes the falsehood an action carried out through speech.
shoquer: One who lies or deals falsely.
שֹׁקֵר
This form describes a person by the practiced deception named in the verse.
THE PATTERN
Speech trained away from truth turns relationships into places of deception, while truthful speech recognizes the bond between neighbors.
They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.THE THREAD
He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.Both verses use אֱמֶת (emet, truth), the word rooted in firmness and reliability. Jeremiah shows the tongue being trained away from that firmness; this verse locates the same truth in the heart before it is spoken.
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