Jeremiah 9:4

"Take ye heed everyone of his neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders. And they will deceive everyone his neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity. Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah."

"Trust ye not in any brother ..." (Jeremiah 9:4). Some have been critical of advice such as this, pointing out such passages as 1 Corinthians 13:7, where the true man of God is represented as one who "believeth all things!" However, as Haley pointed out, There is no `command' here regarding the trust of a brother, but `advice,' equivalent to saying, "Such is the state of public morals that if you trust any man you shall be deceived and betrayed."[6] The explanation of this advice is given in Jeremiah 9:6, where the whole society is referred to as "a habitation in the midst of deceit."

"Every brother will utterly supplant ..." (Jeremiah 9:4). "The Hebrew here is a punning reference to Jacob (Genesis 27:36). God had transformed Jacob into Israel; but his descendants insisted on living the life of the unregenerate."[7] Cheyne did not accept this interpretation, affirming that, "There is nothing in the context so suggest an allusion to Genesis 27:36, or to Jacob";[8] but, in our view, the only thing needed to suggest that connection is the word "supplanter."

"They weary themselves to commit iniquity ..." (Jeremiah 9:5). "Lying, deceit, treachery, adultery, and idolatry were everyday sins in Judah, and the people had literally worn themselves out with perversions."[9] The gross indulgence of physical passions can and does result in the debilitation and weakening of the body.