Jeremiah 6
6
1Flee for safety, O people of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,
and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem;
for evil looms out of the north,
and great destruction.
2The comely and delicately bred I will destroy,
the daughter of Zion.
3Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her;
they shall pitch their tents around her,
they shall pasture, each in his place.
4“Prepare war against her;
up, and let us attack at noon!”
“Woe to us, for the day declines,
for the shadows of evening lengthen!”
5“Up, and let us attack by night,
and destroy her palaces!”
6For thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Hew down her trees;
cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city which must be punished;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
7As a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her wickedness;
violence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8Be warned, O Jerusalem,
lest I be alienated from you;
lest I make you a desolation,
an uninhabited land.”
9Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Glean#6.9 Cn: Heb they shall glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape-gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches.”
10To whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
Behold, their ears are closed,#6.10 Heb uncircumcised
they cannot listen;
behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn,
they take no pleasure in it.
11Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
I am weary of holding it in.
“Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
both husband and wife shall be taken,
the old folk and the very aged.
12Their houses shall be turned over to others,
their fields and wives together;
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,”
says the Lord.
13“For from the least to the greatest of them,
every one is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
every one deals falsely.
14They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
15Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”
says the Lord.
16 #
Mt 11.29. Thus says the Lord:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Give heed to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not give heed.’
18Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
19Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing evil upon this people,
the fruit of their devices,
because they have not given heed to my words;
and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20To what purpose does frankincense come to me from Sheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21Therefore thus says the Lord:
‘Behold, I will lay before this people
stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;
fathers and sons together,
neighbor and friend shall perish.’ ”
22Thus says the Lord:
“Behold, a people is coming from the north country,
a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
23They lay hold on bow and spear,
they are cruel and have no mercy,
the sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride upon horses,
set in array as a man for battle,
against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24We have heard the report of it,
our hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
pain as of a woman in travail.
25 #
Jer 20.3,10; 46.5; 49.29; Ps 31.13. Go not forth into the field,
nor walk on the road;
for the enemy has a sword,
terror is on every side.
26O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth,
and roll in ashes;
make mourning as for an only son,
most bitter lamentation;
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
27“I have made you an assayer and tester among my people,
that you may know and assay their ways.
28They are all stubbornly rebellious,
going about with slanders;
they are bronze and iron,
all of them act corruptly.
29The bellows blow fiercely,
the lead is consumed by the fire;
in vain the refining goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
30Refuse silver they are called,
for the Lord has rejected them.”
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Jeremiah 6
6
The Enemy at the Gates
1Seek refuge, Benjaminites,
from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,
raise a signal over Beth-haccherem;
For disaster threatens from the north,
and mighty destruction.#Jer 1:14–15.
2Lovely and delicate
daughter Zion, you are ruined!
3Against her, shepherds come with their flocks;#Shepherds come with their flocks: foreign invaders with their armies.
all around, they pitch their tents against her;
each one grazes his portion.#Jer 4:17.
4“Prepare for war against her,
Up! let us rush upon her at midday!”
“Woe to us! the day is waning,
evening shadows lengthen!”
5“Up! let us rush upon her by night,
destroy her palaces!”#2 Chr 36:19.
6For thus says the Lord of hosts:
Hew down her trees,
throw up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
Woe to the city marked for punishment;
there is nothing but oppression within her!#Jer 32:24; Zep 3:1–4.
7As a well keeps its waters fresh,
so she keeps fresh her wickedness.
Violence and destruction resound in her;
ever before me are wounds and blows.#Is 57:20.
8Be warned, Jerusalem,
or I will be estranged from you,
And I will turn you into a wilderness,
a land where no one dwells.
9Thus says the Lord of hosts:
Glean, glean like a vine
the remnant of Israel;
Pass your hand, like a vintager,
repeatedly over the tendrils.
10To whom shall I speak?
whom shall I warn, and be heard?
See! their ears are uncircumcised,
they cannot pay attention;
See, the word of the Lord has become for them
an object of scorn, for which they have no taste.#Jer 7:26; 20:8.
11But the wrath of the Lord brims up within me,
I am weary of holding it in.
I will pour it out upon the child in the street,
upon the young men gathered together.
Yes, husband and wife will be taken,
elder with ancient.#Ez 9:6.
12Their houses will fall to others,
their fields and their wives as well;
For I will stretch forth my hand
against those who dwell in the land—oracle of the Lord.#Jer 8:10; Dt 28:30–32.
13Small and great alike, all are greedy for gain;
prophet and priest, all practice fraud.#Jer 8:10; 23:11.
14They have treated lightly
the injury to my people:
“Peace, peace!” they say,
though there is no peace.#Jer 8:11.
15They have acted shamefully, committing abominations,
yet they are not at all ashamed,
they do not know how to blush.
Therefore they will fall among the fallen;
in the time of their punishment they shall stumble,
says the Lord.#Jer 3:3; 8:12.
16Thus says the Lord:
Stand by the earliest roads,
ask the pathways of old,#Pathways of old: history and the lessons to be learned from it.
“Which is the way to good?” and walk it;
thus you will find rest for yourselves.
But they said, “We will not walk it.”#Jer 7:23–24; 18:15.
17I raised up watchmen#Watchmen: the prophets who, like Jeremiah, had upheld God’s moral law. for them:
“Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!”
But they said, “We will not pay attention!”
18Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O earth,
what I will do with them:
19See, I bring evil upon this people,
the fruit of their own schemes,
Because they did not pay attention to my words,
because they rejected my law.#Prv 1:31.
20Of what use to me is incense that comes from Sheba,
or sweet cane from far-off lands?
Your burnt offerings find no favor with me,
your sacrifices do not please me.#Is 1:11; 43:24.
21Therefore, thus says the Lord:
See, I will place before this people
obstacles to trip them up;
Parents and children alike,
neighbors and friends shall perish.#Is 8:14–15.
22Thus says the Lord:
See, a people comes from the land of the north,
a great nation, rising from the very ends of the earth.#Jer 1:15; 5:15.
23Bow and javelin they wield;
cruel and pitiless are they.
They sound like the roaring sea
as they ride forth on horses,
Each in his place for battle
against you, daughter Zion.
24We hear news of them;
our hands hang helpless,
Anguish takes hold of us,
pangs like a woman in childbirth.#Jer 4:31.
25Do not go out into the field,
do not step into the street,
For the enemy has a sword;
terror on every side!
26Daughter of my people, dress in sackcloth,
roll in the ashes.
Mourn as for an only child
with bitter wailing:
“How suddenly the destroyer
comes upon us!”#Jer 25:34; Am 8:10.
27#God appoints Jeremiah to be a “tester” of his people. The passage uses the metaphor of the refining of silver: the silver was extracted from lead ore, but the process in ancient times was inexact, so that sometimes all that was left was a scummy mess, to be thrown out. A tester for my people I have appointed you,
to search and test their way.#Jer 1:18.
28Arch-rebels are they all,
dealers in slander,
bronze and iron, all of them,
destroyers they are.
29The bellows are scorched,
the lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain has the refiner refined,
the wicked are not drawn off.
30“Silver rejected” they shall be called,
for the Lord has rejected them.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc