Jeremiah 6:1-21

Destruction of Jerusalem Impending

1 "Flee for safety, O sons of ¹Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem! Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa And raise a signal over ²Beth-haccerem; For evil looks down from the ³north, And a great destruction.

2 "The comely and ⁴dainty one, ⁵the daughter of Zion, I will cut off.

3 "⁶Shepherds and their flocks will come to her, They will ⁷pitch their tents around her, They will pasture each in his place.

4 "⁸Prepare war against her; Arise, and let us attack at ⁹noon. Woe to us, for the day declines, For the shadows of the evening lengthen!

5 "Arise, and let us attack by night And ¹⁰destroy her palaces!"

6 For thus says the LORD of hosts, "¹¹Cut down her trees And cast up a ¹²siege against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, In whose midst there is only ¹³oppression.

7 "¹⁴As a well keeps its waters fresh, So she keeps fresh her wickedness. ¹⁵Violence and destruction are heard in her; ¹⁶Sickness and wounds are ever before * Me.

8 "¹⁷Be warned, O Jerusalem, Or ¹⁸I shall be alienated from you, And make you a desolation, A land not inhabited."

9 Thus says the LORD of hosts, "They will ¹⁹thoroughly glean as the vine the ²⁰remnant of Israel; Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer Over the branches."

10 To whom shall I speak and give warning That they may hear? Behold, their ²¹ears are closed And they cannot * listen. Behold, ²²the word of the LORD has become a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.

11 But I am ²³full of the wrath of the LORD; I am ²⁴weary with holding it in. "²⁵Pour it out on the children in the street And on the gathering of young men together; For both husband and wife shall be taken, The aged and the very * old *.

12 "Their ²⁶houses shall be turned over to others, Their fields and their wives together; For I will ²⁷stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land," declares the LORD.

13 "For ²⁸from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is ²⁹greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely.

14 "They have ³⁰healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace.

15 "Were they ³¹ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down," says the LORD.

16 Thus says the LORD, "Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ³²ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And ³³you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'

17 "And I set ³⁴watchmen over you, saying, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not listen.'

18 "Therefore hear, O nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them.

19 "³⁵Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, The ³⁶fruit of their plans, Because * they have not listened to My words, And as for My law, they have ³⁷rejected it also.

20 "³⁸For what purpose does ³⁹frankincense come to Me from Sheba And the ⁴⁰sweet cane from a distant land? ⁴¹Your burnt offerings are not acceptable And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me."

21 Therefore, thus says the LORD, "Behold, ⁴²I am laying stumbling blocks before this people. And they will stumble against them, ⁴³Fathers and sons together; Neighbor and friend will perish."

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Jeremiah 6:1-21 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.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 43

1. Joshua 18:28
2. Nehemiah 3:14
3. Jeremiah 1:14; Jeremiah 4:6; Jeremiah 6:22
4. Deuteronomy 28:56
5. Isaiah 1:8; Jeremiah 4:31
6. Jeremiah 12:10
7. 2 Kings 25:1; Jeremiah 4:17; Luke 19:43
8. Jeremiah 6:23; Joel 3:9
9. Jeremiah 15:8; Zephaniah 2:4
10. Isaiah 32:14; Jeremiah 52:13
11. Deuteronomy 20:19, 20
12. Jeremiah 32:24; Jeremiah 33:4
13. Jeremiah 22:17
14. James 3:11
15. Jeremiah 20:8; Ezekiel 7:11, 23
16. Jeremiah 30:12, 13
17. Jeremiah 7:28; Jeremiah 17:23
18. Ezekiel 23:18; Hosea 9:12
19. Jeremiah 16:16; Jeremiah 49:9; Obad 5, 6
20. Jeremiah 8:3; Jeremiah 11:23
21. Jeremiah 5:21; Jeremiah 7:26; Acts 7:51
22. Jeremiah 20:8
23. Job 32:18, 19; Micah 3:8
24. Jeremiah 15:6; Jeremiah 20:9
25. Jeremiah 7:20; Jeremiah 9:21
26. Deuteronomy 28:30; Jeremiah 8:10; Jeremiah 38:22, 23
27. Jeremiah 15:6
28. Jeremiah 8:10
29. Isaiah 56:11; Isaiah 57:17; Jeremiah 8:10; Jeremiah 22:17
30. Jeremiah 8:11; Ezekiel 13:10
31. Jeremiah 3:3; Jeremiah 8:12
32. Isaiah 8:20; Jeremiah 12:16; Jeremiah 18:15; Jeremiah 31:21; Malachi 4:4; Luke 16:29
33. Matthew 11:29
34. Isaiah 21:11; Isaiah 58:1; Jeremiah 25:4; Ezekiel 3:17; Habakkuk 2:1
35. Isaiah 1:2; Jeremiah 19:3, 15; Jeremiah 22:29
36. Proverbs 1:31
37. Jeremiah 8:9
38. Psalms 50:7-9; Isaiah 1:11; Isaiah 66:3; Micah 6:6
39. Isaiah 60:6
40. Exodus 30:23
41. Psalms 40:6; Amos 5:22
42. Isaiah 8:14; Jeremiah 13:16
43. Isaiah 9:14-17; Jeremiah 9:21, 22

Footnotes 18

[a]. I.e. house of the vineyard
[b]. Lit "against her round about"
[c]. Lit "hand"
[d]. Lit "Sanctify"
[e]. Lit "go up"
[f]. Lit "go up"
[g]. Or "fortified towers"
[h]. Lit "keeps cold"
[i]. Lit "keeps cold"
[j]. Lit "my soul"
[k]. Lit "uncircumcised"
[l]. Lit "council"
[m]. Lit "with fullness of days"
[n]. Or "makes lies"
[o]. Or "devices"
[p]. Lit "good"
[q]. Lit "giving"
[r]. Lit "his friend"