Jeremiah 6:22-30

The Enemy from the North

22 Thus says the LORD, "Behold, 1a people is coming from the north land, And a great nation will be aroused from the 2remote parts of the earth.
23 "They seize 3bow and spear; They are 4cruel and have no mercy; Their voice 5roars like the sea, And they ride on horses, Arrayed as a man for the battle Against you, O daughter of Zion!"
24 We have 6heard the report of it; Our hands are limp. 7Anguish has seized us, Pain as of a woman in childbirth.
25 8Do not go out into the field And 9do not walk on the road, For the enemy has a sword, 10Terror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, 11put on sackcloth And 12roll in ashes; 13Mourn as for an only son, A lamentation most bitter. For suddenly the destroyer Will come upon us.
27 "I have 14made you an assayer and a tester among My people, That you may know and assay their way."
28 All of them are stubbornly rebellious, 15Going about as a talebearer. They are 16bronze and iron; They, all of them, are corrupt.
29 The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; In vain the refining goes on, But the 17wicked are not separated.
30 18They call them rejected silver, Because the 19LORD has rejected them.

Jeremiah 6:22-30 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 19

  • 1. Jeremiah 1:15; Jeremiah 10:22; Jeremiah 50:41-43
  • 2. Nehemiah 1:9
  • 3. Isaiah 13:18; Jeremiah 4:29
  • 4. Jeremiah 50:42
  • 5. Isaiah 5:30
  • 6. Isaiah 28:19; Jeremiah 4:19-21
  • 7. Isaiah 21:3; Jeremiah 4:31; Jeremiah 13:21; Jeremiah 30:6; Jeremiah 49:24; Jeremiah 50:43
  • 8. Jeremiah 14:18
  • 9. Judges 5:6
  • 10. Jeremiah 20:10; Jeremiah 46:5; Jeremiah 49:29
  • 11. Jeremiah 4:8
  • 12. Jeremiah 25:34; Micah 1:10
  • 13. Amos 8:10; Zechariah 12:10
  • 14. Jeremiah 1:18; Jeremiah 15:20
  • 15. Jeremiah 9:4
  • 16. Ezekiel 22:18
  • 17. Jeremiah 15:19
  • 18. Psalms 119:119; Isaiah 1:22
  • 19. Jeremiah 7:29; Hosea 9:17; Zechariah 11:8

Footnotes 2

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