Jeremiah 6:4-14

4 1"Prepare war against her; arise, and let us attack 2at noon! Woe to us, for the day declines, for the shadows of evening lengthen!
5 Arise, and let us attack by night and destroy her palaces!"
6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: 3"Cut down her trees; 4cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem. This is the city that must be 5punished; there is nothing but oppression within her.
7 6As a well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps fresh her evil; 7violence and destruction are heard within her; sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem, 8lest I turn from you in disgust, lest I make you 9a desolation, an uninhabited land."
9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: 10"They shall glean thoroughly as a vine the remnant of Israel; like a grape-gatherer pass your hand again over its branches."
10 11To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? 12Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, 13they cannot listen; behold, 14the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of the LORD; 15I am weary of holding it in. 16"Pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the gatherings of young men, also; 17both husband and wife 18shall be taken, the elderly and the very aged.
12 19Their 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," declares the LORD.
13 20"For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone 21is greedy for unjust gain; and from 22prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 23'Peace, peace,' 24when there is no peace.

Jeremiah 6:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 6

This chapter is of the same argument with the former; and contains two things in it, the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and the causes of it, which are intermixedly handled in it; a lively description is made of the notice of the approach of the enemy by blowing of trumpets and firing of beacons, Jer 6:1, and of the siege of the city, by pitching tents around it, casting up a mount against it, and scaling its walls at noon and by night, Jer 6:2-6, and this destruction is illustrated by the simile of gleaning of grapes, Jer 6:9, and amplified by the universality of it, with respect to persons and things; it reaching to persons of every age, and in every state, as old men, young men, and children, husbands and wives, and to all sorts of possessions, houses and fields, Jer 6:11,12,21, a description is given of the instruments of it, the Chaldeans, Jer 6:22,23 and it is aggravated by the anxiety, distress, and sorrow, the Jews would be in on account of it, Jer 6:24-26, the causes of it are in general the great aboundings of sin and wickedness in the midst of them, illustrated by a fountain casting out its waters, Jer 6:6,7, in particular, their neglect and contempt of the word of the Lord, Jer 6:10, the sin of covetousness, which prevailed among all sorts of people, high and low, in civil or religious life, Jer 6:13, the unfaithfulness of the prophets to the people, declaring peace, when there was none, Jer 6:14, their impenitence and hardness, Jer 6:15, their disregard to all instructions and warnings, Jer 6:16,17, their rejection of the law, and the precepts of it, Jer 6:18,19, their hypocritical sacrifices, Jer 6:20, and the chapter is concluded with an address to the prophet, setting forth his character and office, and the end of it, Jer 6:27 and his testimony concerning the people, showing their obstinacy and stubbornness, illustrated by a simile of refining metal in a furnace without success, Jer 6:28-30.

Cross References 24

  • 1. Jeremiah 22:7; Joel 3:9; [Jeremiah 51:27]
  • 2. Jeremiah 15:8
  • 3. [Deuteronomy 20:20]
  • 4. 2 Kings 19:32; Isaiah 37:33; Ezekiel 26:8; Luke 19:43
  • 5. Luke 19:44
  • 6. Isaiah 57:20
  • 7. Psalms 55:9; Ezekiel 7:11, 23
  • 8. Ezekiel 23:18; [Hosea 9:12]
  • 9. See Jeremiah 4:7
  • 10. [Deuteronomy 24:21]
  • 11. Isaiah 28:9; Isaiah 53:1
  • 12. [Exodus 6:12; Acts 7:51]
  • 13. Jeremiah 7:26
  • 14. Jeremiah 20:8
  • 15. Jeremiah 20:9
  • 16. Jeremiah 9:21
  • 17. [Lamentations 2:21]
  • 18. Jeremiah 8:9
  • 19. For ver. 12-15, see Jeremiah 8:10-12
  • 20. [Jeremiah 31:34; Jeremiah 44:12; Jonah 3:5]
  • 21. Isaiah 56:11
  • 22. Jeremiah 14:18; Jeremiah 23:11; Micah 3:11; See Jeremiah 5:31
  • 23. Jeremiah 4:10; Jeremiah 14:13; Jeremiah 23:17; Ezekiel 13:10; Micah 3:5; [John 14:27]
  • 24. Isaiah 48:22; Isaiah 57:21; Ezekiel 7:25
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.