Yirmiyahu 9-10

Perek 9 opens with Yirmiyahu's painful wish to abandon the immoral and corrupt nation (1-8). In the pesukim that follow, Yirmiyahu laments the land's destruction which will take place as a result of the nation's abandonment of God and His Torah.

Perek 10 focuses on the comparison between the futility of idol worship and the eternal nature of God. It has been suggested that these prophecies addressed the inhabitants of Yehuda who had been displaced by the first wave of the Babylonian exile during the reign of Yehoyachin. Living in a completely pagan society, the exiles find themselves seduced by the surrounding culture. Yirmiyahu tried to strengthen their resolve and their belief in God. The second section of the prophecy (17-25), discusses the coming destruction and concludes with Yirmiyahu's request for God to have mercy on His nation.