Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous water to drink.
English Standard Version (ESV)
What's easy to miss is that God's judgment isn't just symbolic; He's saying He will actively feed them with these bitter substances. This imagery highlights that their suffering will be a direct, nourishing consequence of their disobedience, profoundly shaping their very existence. It's not simply punishment from afar, but an intimate, all-consuming experience of His justice.
Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous water to drink.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage comes after Jeremiah’s lament over the foolishness and spiritual blindness of his people, who have abandoned God's law for their own stubborn imaginations. God declares that because they have rejected His guidance and refused to walk in His ways, He will now deliver a devastating judgment upon them. This judgment will be experienced as utter desolation and the bitter consequences of their disobedience, symbolized by being fed with what is poisonous and harmful.
God's judgment isn't just abstract punishment; it has a tangible, bitter taste. What does Jeremiah mean by feeding a people with 'bitter food' and 'poisonous water'?
Jeremiah 9:15 uses powerful imagery to describe the consequences of Israel's sin. The "wormwood" (a bitter herb) and "water of gall" (poisonous liquid) aren't just literal substances.
A Bitter Harvest
In a land where wisdom seems absent, Jeremiah points to a higher authority. What happens when our own 'imaginations' clash with God's clear word?
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Calvin highlights a crucial contrast in this passage: the clear voice of God versus the stubborn imaginations of the human heart. Jeremiah emphasizes that even if people and prophets are silent or unresponsive, God's word still stands.
The Unmistakable Law
The bitter judgment of God has a terrifying consequence: being scattered among those you don't know. What does this scattering reveal about God's justice?
Jeremiah 9:16 reveals a chilling outcome of Israel's disobedience: scattering among foreign nations. This wasn't just a physical displacement; it was a profound sign of God's judgment.
The Paradox of Punishment
Understand the original words
Yahweh Seba'ot · Hebrew Noun
A title for God emphasizing His sovereignty and supreme authority as the Commander of the vast celestial armies and all powers in heaven and earth.
rosh · Hebrew Noun
Substances that cause death or severe suffering; often used metaphorically in Scripture to describe the deadly consequences of sin and divine judgment.
This verse speaks directly to the profound suffering and devastation experienced by Judah following the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians. The 'bitter food' and 'poisonous water' are vivid metaphors for the inescapable, bitter consequences of the people's prolonged rebellion against God's law, leading to exile and ruin.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and Assyrian Exile
The northern kingdom of Israel falls to the Assyrian Empire, leading to the exile of many Israelites. This event serves as a stark warning of the consequences of disobedience and idolatry.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Under King Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian Empire conquers Judah, and a portion of the population, including some from the royal family and elite, is deported to Babylon. This marks the beginning of the exile period.
597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Following a Judean revolt, Nebuchadnezzar deports more of Judah's inhabitants, including the prophet Ezekiel, to Babylon. Jerusalem's temple is plundered.
586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
The Babylonians conquer Jerusalem, destroy the city and its sacred Temple, and deport the majority of the remaining population to Babylon. This is the most devastating fulfillment of God's judgment.
c. 580 BC
Jeremiah's Ministry Continues in Egypt
After the destruction of Jerusalem, Jeremiah is taken to Egypt. He continues to prophesy to the remnant of Judeans there, warning them against further disobedience.
This passage warns about the 'poisonous weed' that springs up in a heart that turns away from God, directly paralleling Jeremiah's imagery of bitter food and poisonous water as a consequence of disobedience.
Lamentations 3:15The Book of Lamentations, written by Jeremiah himself, echoes this verse by describing God filling the people with 'bitterness' and making them 'drunk with wormwood,' highlighting the profound sorrow and affliction that comes from God's judgment.
Jeremiah 8:14Just a few verses earlier, Jeremiah describes the people being given 'poison' to drink and 'gall' to eat, underscoring that the bitter judgment described in 9:15 is a consistent theme of God's response to their sin.
Amos 8:10This verse presents a similar prophetic judgment where God promises to turn the people's feasts into mourning and their songs into lamentations, symbolizing the bitter consequences of their actions, much like being fed wormwood.
clarkeJeremiah 9:15: "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."
I will feed them - with wormwood - They shall have the deepest sorrow and heaviest affliction. They shall have poison instead of meat and drink.
calvinJeremiah 9:13-15: "And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;"
- Propterea sic dicit Jehova exercituum, Deus Israel, Ecce ego cibans (cibabo) populum hunc ameritudine, et potabo aquis veneni (vel, venenatis; alii vertunt, aquis fellis; nam r's utrumque significat.)
Jeremiah now confirms what I have stated, and more fully explains it, -- that though no teacher or a disciple was found in the land, yet the…
What's easy to miss is that God's judgment isn't just symbolic; He's saying He will actively feed them with these bitter substances. This imagery highlights that their suffering will be a direct, nourishing consequence of their disobedience, profoundly shaping their very existence. It's not simply punishment from afar, but an intimate, all-consuming experience of His justice.
This passage comes after Jeremiah’s lament over the foolishness and spiritual blindness of his people, who have abandoned God's law for their own stubborn imaginations. God declares that because they have rejected His guidance and refused to walk in His ways, He will now deliver a devastating judgment upon them. This judgment will be experienced as utter desolation and the bitter consequences of their disobedience, symbolized by being fed with what is poisonous and harmful.
This passage comes after Jeremiah’s lament over the foolishness and spiritual blindness of his people, who have abandoned God's law for their own stubborn imaginations. God declares that because they have rejected His guidance and refused to walk in His ways, He will now deliver a devastating judgment upon them. This judgment will be experienced as utter desolation and the bitter consequences of their disobedience, symbolized by being fed with what is poisonous and harmful.
"Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous water to drink." — What's easy to miss is that God's judgment isn't just symbolic; He's saying He will actively feed them with these bitter substances. This imagery highlights that their suffering will be a direct, n…
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Last reviewed October 2026