thinking bible.

You asked

how does this prophetic critique of national pride relate to proverbs' warnings about individual arrogance?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Yahweh says, “Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom. Don’t let the mighty man glory in his might. Don’t let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he has understanding, and knows me, that I am Yahweh who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for I delight in these things,” says Yahweh.

Jeremiah, a prophet in Judah during the late 7th and early 6th centuries BCE, delivered messages of warning and judgment to a nation facing imminent destruction. This passage comes amidst a series of laments and pronouncements against the people's misplaced trust in their own achievements rather than in God.

What does it mean to know Yahweh in a way that involves practicing loving kindness, justice, and righteousness?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Proverbs 16:18

    Warns that 'pride goes before destruction,' linking individual arrogance to downfall.

  • Isaiah 2:12-17

    Prophesies a day when human pride, in all its forms, will be brought low.

  • 1 Corinthians 1:31

    Echoes Jeremiah's sentiment, instructing believers to 'boast in the Lord' rather than themselves.

Ask your own follow-up