Jeremiah 6
6
Threatened Siege of Jerusalem
1“Run for cover#Ex 9:19; Is 10:31; Jr 4:6
out of Jerusalem, Benjaminites.
Sound the ram’s horn#Jr 4:5; 51:27; Am 3:6 in Tekoa;#2Sm 14:2; 2Ch 11:6; 20:20
raise a smoke signal#Jdg 20:38,40; Neh 3:14 over Beth-haccherem,#6:1 = House of the Vineyard
for disaster threatens from the north,#Jr 1:13; 4:6,20; 6:22; 15:12; 47:2; 50:3,9,41; 51:48
even a crushing blow.
2Though she is beautiful and delicate,
I will destroy#6:2 Or silence Daughter Zion.
3Shepherds and their flocks will come against her;
they will pitch their tents all around her.#Jr 4:17
Each will pasture his own portion.
4Set them apart for war#Jr 51:27; Mc 3:5 against her;
rise up, let’s attack at noon.
Woe to us, for the day is passing;
the evening shadows grow long.
5Rise up, let’s attack by night.
Let’s destroy her fortresses.”
6For this is what the Lord of Armies says:
Cut down the trees;#Dt 20:19–20
raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished.
There is nothing but oppression within her.#Is 30:12; 59:9–15; Jr 22:17; Ezk 22:7,12,29; Am 3:9; Hab 1:3
7As a well gushes out its water,
so she pours out her evil.#6:7 Or well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps her evil fresh
Violence and destruction#Jr 20:8; Am 3:10; Hab 1:3 resound in her.
Sickness and wounds keep coming to my attention.
8Be warned, Jerusalem,
or I will turn away from you;#Ezk 23:18; Hs 9:12
I will make you a desolation,
a land without inhabitants.#Jr 9:11; 25:9; 29:18; 34:22; Ezk 30:12
Wrath on Israel
9This is what the Lord of Armies says:
Glean the remnant of Israel#Is 10:20; Jr 31:7; Ezk 9:8; 11:13; Mc 2:12; Zph 3:13
as thoroughly as a vine.
Pass your hand once more like a grape gatherer
over the branches.
10Who can I speak to and give such a warning#6:10 Or and bear witness
that they will listen?
Look, their ear is uncircumcised,#6:10 They are unresponsive to God.#Lv 26:41; Jr 9:26; Ezk 44:7,9
so they cannot pay attention.
See, the word of the Lord has become contemptible to them —
they find no pleasure in it.#1Sm 15:23; Jr 8:9
11But I am full of the Lord’s wrath;
I am tired of holding it back.#Jr 20:9; Hs 5:10
Pour it out on the children in the street,#Jr 9:21
on the gathering of young men as well.
For both husband and wife will be captured,
the old with the very old.#6:11 Lit with fullness of days
12Their houses will be turned over to others,#Jr 8:10–12
their fields and wives as well,
for I will stretch out my hand#Ex 3:20; Jr 15:6; Ezk 6:14; 14:13; 25:7; Zph 1:4
against the inhabitants of the land.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
13For from the least to the greatest of them,#Est 1:20; Jr 8:10; 31:34; 42:1,8; 44:12
everyone is making profit dishonestly.#Pr 1:19; 15:27; Hab 2:9
From prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.#Jr 5:31; 8:10; 14:14; 20:6; 23:14,25–26,32; 27:10,14–16; 28:15; 29:9,21,31; Lm 2:14; Zch 13:3
14They have treated my people’s brokenness superficially,
claiming, “Peace, peace,”#1Ch 12:18; Is 57:19
when there is no peace.
15Were they ashamed when they acted so detestably?
They weren’t at all ashamed.
They can no longer feel humiliation.#Jr 3:3; 8:12
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.
When I punish them, they will collapse,#Jr 8:10–12
says the Lord.
Disaster because of Disobedience
16This is what the Lord says:
Stand by the roadways and look.
Ask about the ancient paths,#Is 59:8; Jr 18:15; Jb 24:13; Pr 8:20; 12:28
“Which is the way to what is good?”
Then take it
and find rest for yourselves.#Mt 11:29
But they protested, “We won’t!”
17I appointed watchmen over you#Is 21:11; 58:1; Hs 9:8
and said, “Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.”
But they protested, “We won’t listen!”
18Therefore listen, you nations
and you witnesses,
learn what the charge is against them.
19Listen, earth!
I am about to bring disaster on these people,
the fruit of their own plotting,#Pr 1:31
for they have paid no attention to my words.
They have rejected my instruction.#Is 5:24; Jr 23:17
20What use to me is frankincense from Sheba#1Kg 10:1; Is 60:6
or sweet cane#Ex 30:23; Is 43:24; Ezk 27:19 from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
your sacrifices do not please me.#Ps 40:6; Is 1:11; 43:23; 66:3; Hs 9:4; Am 5:21; Mc 6:6; Mal 1:10
21Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
I am going to place stumbling blocks before these people;
fathers and sons together will stumble over them;#Is 8:15; Jr 31:9; Ezk 7:19
friends and neighbors will also perish.
A Cruel Nation from the North
22This is what the Lord says:
Look,#Jr 50:41–43 an army is coming from a northern land;#Jr 50:41–43
a great nation will be stirred up
from the remote regions of the earth.#Jr 25:32; 31:8
23They grasp bow and javelin.
They are cruel and show no mercy.#Is 13:18; Jr 50:42; Hab 1:6–17
Their voice roars like the sea,#Is 5:30; 17:12
and they ride on horses,
lined up like men in battle formation
against you, Daughter Zion.
24We have heard about it,
and our hands have become weak.
Distress has seized us —
pain, like a woman in labor.#Ps 48:6; Is 13:8; 21:3; 42:14; Jr 4:31; 13:21; 22:23; 30:6; 50:43; Mc 4:9–10; 1Th 5:3
25Don’t go out to the fields;
don’t walk on the road.
For the enemy has a sword;
terror is on every side.#Ps 31:13; Jr 20:3,10; 49:29
26My dear#6:26 Lit Daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth
and roll in the dust.#Jr 25:34; Ezk 27:30; Mc 1:10
Mourn as you would for an only son,#Am 8:10
a bitter lament,
for suddenly the destroyer#Ex 12:23; Is 21:2; 54:16; Jr 48:8,15,18,32; 1Co 10:10; Heb 11:28 will come on us.#Is 47:11; Jr 4:20; 15:8
Jeremiah Appointed as an Examiner
27I have appointed you to be an assayer among my people —
a refiner#6:27 Text emended; MT reads fortress —
so you may know and assay their way of life.#1Ch 29:17; Ps 7:9; Pr 17:3
28All are stubborn rebels
spreading slander.#Lv 19:16; Pr 11:13; 20:19; Is 1:23
They are bronze and iron;
all of them are corrupt.#2Ch 27:2; Is 1:4
29The bellows blow,
blasting the lead with fire.
The refining is completely in vain;
the evil ones are not separated out.
30They are called rejected silver,
for the Lord has rejected them.#1Sm 15:23,26; Jr 2:37; 7:29
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Jeremiah 6: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Jeremiah 6
6
1Run and hide, descendants of Benjamin,#6:1. Jerusalem was part of the original territory of Benjamin. get out of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa; light a signal fire in Beth-haccherem, for disaster and terrible destruction is arriving from the north. 2Even though she is pretty and delightful, I will destroy#6:2. The word used here usually means to “resemble,” but is used in the sense of “destroy” in Hosea 4:5. the Daughter of Zion.
3“Shepherds” and their “flocks”#6:3. Clearly an allusion to the invading armies with their generals. will come to attack her; they will set up their tents all around her, each one looking after his own. 4They get ready for battle against her, saying, “Come on, we'll attack at noon! Oh no, the day is almost over, the evening shadows are growing long. 5Come on, we'll attack at night instead and destroy her fortresses!”
6This is what the Lord Almighty says: Cut down the trees and make a siege ramp to use against Jerusalem. This city needs to be punished because it's full of people mistreating one another. 7Like a spring gushing out#6:7. “Gushing out”: or “keeping cool.” water, so she pours out her evil. The sounds of violence and abuse echo inside her. I see people sick and wounded everywhere. 8I'm warning you, people of Jerusalem, I'm going to give up on you in disgust. I will destroy you and leave your country uninhabited.
9This is what the Lord Almighty says: Even those left in Israel will be taken, just as grapes left on a vine are taken by the one harvesting the grapes who checks the branches again.
10Who can I give this warning to? Who's going to listen to me? Can't you see that they refuse to listen?#6:10. “They refuse to listen”: literally, “They have uncircumcised ears.” They can't hear what I'm saying. See how offensive the Lord's message is to them. They don't like it at all.
11But as for me, I'm full of the Lord's anger; I have a hard time keeping it in.
The Lord replies,#6:11. “The Lord replies”: supplied for clarity. Pour it out on children in the street, and on groups of young people, because both husband and wife are going to be captured—it's everyone, and it doesn't matter how old they are. 12Their houses will be given to others, their fields and wives too, because I'm going to punish everyone living in this country, declares the Lord.
13Everyone cheats because they're greedy, poor and rich alike. Even prophets and priests—they are all dishonest liars! 14They give my wounded people first aid, but they don't really care about them. They tell them, “Don't worry! We have peace!” even as war approaches.
15Were they ashamed of the disgusting things they did? No, they weren't ashamed at all, they couldn't even blush. So they will fall just like the others, when I punish them; they will drop down dead, says the Lord.
16This is what the Lord says: Go and stand where the roads divide, and look. Find out which are the old paths. Ask, “What's the right way?” Then follow it and you'll be content.#6:16. “You'll be content:” literally, “you'll find rest for your souls.” But you refused, saying, “We won't go that way!” 17I put watchmen in charge of you and told you, Make sure you listen for the trumpet call warning you of danger. But you answered, “We won't listen!”
18So now you other nations can listen and find out what's going to happen to them.
19Earth, you listen too! I am bringing disaster down on this people, the end result of what they themselves planned. It's because they paid no attention to what I said, and rejected my instructions.
20What's the point of offering me frankincense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a faraway land? I don't accept your burnt offerings; I'm not pleased with your sacrifices.
21So this is what the Lord says: I'm going to put blocks in front of these people to trip them up. Fathers and sons will fall down dead, friends and neighbors too.
22This is what the Lord says: Look! An army is invading from the north; a powerful nation is getting ready to attack all the way from the ends of the earth. 23They pick up their bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. Their war cries are like the sea roaring, and they ride horses lined up ready to attack you, Daughter of Zion.
24The people reply,#6:24. “The people reply”: supplied for clarity. “We've heard the news, and our hands are limp with shock! We're overcome with agony, suffering pain like a woman in labor. 25Don't go to the field! Don't walk down the road! The enemy is armed with swords! Terror is everywhere!”
26Oh my people, put on sackcloth and roll around in ashes. Mourn and cry bitterly like you would for an only son, because the destroyer will come down on you suddenly.
27Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of metals so you can test my people as if they were metal, so you can know what they're made of and how they act. 28They're all stubborn rebels going around talking slander. They are hard as bronze and iron; they are all corrupt. 29The bellows in the refiner's furnace blow powerfully, burning away the lead. But this refining is pointless, because the wicked are not purified. 30They are identified as impure silver to be rejected, because the Lord has rejected them.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com