Jeremiah6
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1Flee for safety, ye children of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise up a signal on Beth-haccherem; for evil looketh forth from the north, and a great destruction.
2The comely and delicate one, the daughter of Zion, will I cut off.
3Shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
4Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day declineth, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
5Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
6For thus hath Jehovah of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast up a mound against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.
7As a well casteth forth its waters, so she casteth forth her wickedness: violence and destruction is heard in her; before me continually is sickness and wounds.
8Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from thee; lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited.
9Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn again thy hand as a grape-gatherer into the baskets.
10To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of Jehovah is become unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
11Therefore I am full of the wrath of Jehovah; I am weary with holding in: pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
12And their houses shall be turned unto others, their fields and their wives together; for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah.
13For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
14They have healed also the hurt of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
15Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith Jehovah.
16Thus saith Jehovah, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk therein.
17And I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet; but they said, We will not hearken.
18Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.
19Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20To what purpose cometh there to me frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing unto me.
21Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people; and the fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them; the neighbor and his friend shall perish.
22Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, a people cometh from the north country; and a great nation shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
23They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses, every one set in array, as a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Zion.
24We have heard the report thereof; our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
25Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy, and terror, are on every side.
26O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us.
27I have made thee a trier and a fortress among my people; that thou mayest know and try their way.
28They are all grievous revolters, going about with slanders; they are brass and iron: they all of them deal corruptly.
29The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed of the fire: in vain do they go on refining; for the wicked are not plucked away.
30Refuse silver shall men call them, because Jehovah hath rejected them.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Jeremiah 6.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The invasion of Judea. (1-8). The justice of God's proceedings. (9-17). All methods used to amend them had been without success. (18-30).
vv1-8
Whatever methods are used, it is vain to contend with God's judgments. The more we indulge in the pleasures of this life, the more we unfit ourselves for the troubles of this life. The Chaldean army shall break in upon the land of Judah, and in a little time devour all. The day is coming, when those careless and secure in sinful ways will be visited. It is folly to trifle when we have eternal salvation to work out, and the enemies of that salvation to fight against. But they were thus eager, not that they might fulfil God's counsels, but that they might fill their own treasures; yet God thereby served his own purposes. The corrupt heart of man, in its natural state, casts out evil thoughts, just as a fountain casts out her waters. It is always flowing, yet always full. The God of mercy is loth to depart even from a provoking people, and is earnest with them, that by repentance and reformation, they may prevent things from coming to extremity.
vv9-17
When the Lord arises to take vengeance, no sinners of any age or rank, or of either sex escape. They were set upon the world, and wholly carried away by the love of it. If we judge of this sin by God's word, we find multitudes in every station and rank given up to it. Those are to be reckoned our worst and most dangerous enemies, who flatter us in a sinful way. Oh that men would be wise for their souls! Ask for the old paths; the way of godliness and righteousness has always been the way God has owned and blessed. Ask for the old paths set forth by the written word of God. When you have found the good way, go on in it, you will find abundant recompence at your journey's end. But if men will not obey the voice of God and flee to his appointed Refuge, it will plainly appear at the day of judgment, that they are ruined because they reject God's word.
vv18-30
God rejects their outward services, as worthless to atone for their sins. Sacrifice and incense were to direct them to a Mediator; but when offered to purchase a license to go on in sin, they provoke God. The sins of God's professing people make them an easy prey to their enemies. They dare not show themselves. Saints may rejoice in hope of God's mercies, though they see them only in the promise: sinners must mourn for fear of God's judgments, though they see them only in the threatenings. They are the worst of revolters, and are all corrupters. Sinners soon become tempters. They are compared to ore supposed to have good metal in it, but which proves all dross. Nothing will prevail to part between them and their sins. Reprobate silver shall they be called, useless and worthless. When warnings, corrections, rebukes, and all means of grace, leave men unrenewed, they will be left, as rejected of God, to everlasting misery. Let us pray, then, that we may be refined by the Lord, as silver is refined.
Key Words
עוּז: to be strong; causatively, to stregthen, i.e. (figuratively) to save (by flight)
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
בִּנְיָמִין: Binjamin, youngest son of Jacob; also the tribe descended from him, and its territory
מִן: properly, a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses
קֶרֶב: properly, the nearest part, i.e. the center, whether literal, figurative or adverbial (especially with preposition)
יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם: Jerushalaim or Jerushalem, the capital city of Palestine
תָּקַע: to clatter, i.e. slap (the hands together), clang (an instrument); by analogy, to drive (a nail or tent-pin, a dart, etc.); by implication, to become bondsman by handclasping)
שׁוֹפָר: a cornet (as giving a clear sound) or curved horn
תְּקוֹעַ: Tekoa, a place in Palestine
נָשָׂא: to lift, in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, absolute and relative
Cross References
Jeremiah 6Jesus directly adapts the phrase 'find rest for your souls' from this verse.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Textual link: the Pentateuchal warning of an 'uncircumcised heart' (or ear).
Supported by JFB
Jeremiah repeats this exact verbal formula of false peace later in his own temple discourse.
Supported by JFB
Direct realization of the covenant curses warned of in Deuteronomy.
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Verbal echo: the identical description of a cruel nation coming from the north.
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Ezekiel employs the same metallurgical metaphor of dross, brass, and iron.
Supported by JFB
Connects the warning of evil from the north back to Jeremiah's call.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The tragic departure of God's soul from His people.
Supported by JFB
The historical fulfillment of the repeated 'gleaning' of Judean captives.
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The word of the Lord is made a 'reproach' in both texts.
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Stephen's speech echoes the indictment of 'uncircumcised ears'.
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Jeremiah expresses the same burning inability to hold in God's fury.
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Repeats Jeremiah's designation as a fortified tower and fortress.
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Parallels the metaphor of wickedness continuously casting up evil like waters.
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The loss of a 'whore's forehead' matches the inability to blush.
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