Jeremiah 6:21-30

21 Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I will put obstacles before this people. Parents and children alike will stumble over them; neighbors and friends will perish.”
22 This is what the LORD says: “Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth.
23 They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter Zion.”
24 We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.
25 Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side.
26 Put on sackcloth, my people, and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
27 “I have made you a tester of metals and my people the ore, that you may observe and test their ways.
28 They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they all act corruptly.
29 The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out.
30 They are called rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them.”

Jeremiah 6:21-30 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 23

  • 1. S Leviticus 26:37; S Isaiah 8:14
  • 2. S Jeremiah 4:6; Jeremiah 1:15; Jeremiah 10:22
  • 3. S Deuteronomy 28:49
  • 4. S Isaiah 13:18
  • 5. S Psalms 18:4; S Psalms 93:3
  • 6. S Jeremiah 4:29
  • 7. S Isaiah 10:32
  • 8. Isaiah 13:7
  • 9. S Jeremiah 4:19
  • 10. S Jeremiah 4:31; Jeremiah 50:41-43
  • 11. S Job 15:21; S Psalms 31:13; Jeremiah 49:29
  • 12. S Jeremiah 4:8
  • 13. S Job 2:8; Jeremiah 25:34; Ezekiel 27:30; John 3:6; Micah 1:10
  • 14. Jeremiah 9:1; Jeremiah 18:22; Jeremiah 20:16; Jeremiah 25:36
  • 15. S Genesis 21:16; Zechariah 12:10
  • 16. S Exodus 12:23; S Jeremiah 4:7
  • 17. Jeremiah 9:7; Zechariah 13:9
  • 18. Jeremiah 5:23
  • 19. S Leviticus 19:16; Jeremiah 9:4
  • 20. Ezekiel 22:18
  • 21. Malachi 3:3
  • 22. Proverbs 17:3; Ezekiel 22:18
  • 23. Psalms 53:5; Psalms 119:119; Jeremiah 7:29; Lamentations 5:22; Hosea 9:17
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