CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Jeremiah 6
Chapter 6 of 52
Chapter Overview
What happens in Jeremiah 6
Jeremiah warns the people of Benjamin to flee Jerusalem because an army is coming from the north to besiege the city. God is like a refiner testing metal, but the people are like worthless impurities that cannot be purified.
Scripture
Jeremiah 6
Warning to Flee Jerusalem
Study note
Jeremiah calls the people of Benjamin, his own tribe, to run from Jerusalem because disaster is coming from the north. The attackers prepare for battle day and night, eager to destroy the city. God warns Jerusalem to listen and be corrected, or he will turn away from the city completely.
1 "People of Benjamin, run for your lives! Get out of Jerusalem now! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa! Light a signal fire at Beth Hakkerem! Disaster is rolling in from the north, bringing terrible destruction." O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.
2 "The beautiful, delicate city of Zion — I am about to destroy her." I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.
3 "Enemy generals will march against her with their troops. They will pitch their tents all around her. Each commander will claim his own section of land to plunder." The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
4 "Get ready to attack her! Let's charge in at noon!" "No — the daylight is already fading and the shadows are getting long." Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
5 "Then let's attack at night instead and tear down her strongest buildings!" Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
6 The Lord of Heaven's Armies gives this command: "Chop down her trees and pile up dirt ramps against Jerusalem's walls. This city has to be punished. From top to bottom, it is filled with people hurting each other." For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.
7 "Just like a well that keeps pumping out fresh water, Jerusalem keeps pumping out wickedness. You can hear violence and destruction all through the city. Suffering and wounds are always before me." As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds.
8 "Take this warning seriously, Jerusalem, or I will completely turn my back on you. I will turn your land into an empty place where nobody lives." Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.
No One Will Listen
Study note
God will search through his people thoroughly, like someone picking grapes from a vine. But who can Jeremiah warn? Their ears are closed, and they find God's word offensive. From the smallest to the greatest, everyone is greedy. Both prophets and priests are dishonest. They treat the people's deep wounds lightly, saying 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace.
9 The Lord of Heaven's Armies says, "Go over the survivors of Israel one more time. Be as careful as someone picking every last grape off a vine. Check the branches again, like a grape picker who doesn't miss a single one." Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.
10 But who can I talk to? Who will listen when I warn them? Their ears are completely shut. The Lord's message disgusts them. They want nothing to do with it. To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
11 I am so full of the Lord's anger that I'm exhausted from trying to hold it back. "Pour it out on the children playing in the streets and on the groups of young people. Husbands and wives will be swept up in it, and so will the elderly and the very old." Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
12 "Their houses will be handed over to strangers, along with their farms and their wives. Because I am reaching out my hand to punish everyone living in this land," says the Lord. And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD.
13 "Every one of them, from the least important to the most powerful, is hungry for money. Every one of them, from prophets to priests, tells lies." For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
14 "They patch up my people's deep wounds as though they were just scratches. They keep saying, 'Everything is fine! Everything is fine!' when nothing is fine at all." They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
15 "Did they feel any shame when they did such awful things? Not even a little! They couldn't even blush. So when the time of punishment comes, they will collapse along with everyone else," says the Lord. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
Ask for the Old Paths
Study note
In one of the most beloved verses in Jeremiah, God tells the people to stop at the crossroads and look for the ancient paths, asking which is the good way, and then walk in it. They will find rest for their souls. But the people refused. God says their expensive religious offerings are meaningless because they have rejected his word.
16 The Lord says, "Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask about the ancient paths — ask which way leads to what is truly good — and walk that way. If you do, your souls will finally find rest." But the people replied, "No! We won't walk that way." Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
17 "I also put watchmen in place and said, 'Listen for the trumpet blast!'" But they answered, "We won't listen." Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
18 "So pay attention, nations! Watch closely, everyone, and see what is about to happen to them." Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.
19 "Listen up, earth! I am bringing disaster on these people. It's the result of their own evil scheming, because they ignored my words and threw out my law." Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.
20 "What good is the expensive incense you import from Sheba? What good is the sweet-smelling spice from a distant country? I don't accept your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices don't make me happy." To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.
21 So the Lord says, "I am going to place stumbling blocks in front of these people. Fathers and sons will trip over them together. Neighbors and friends will die." Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
A Cruel Army from the North
Study note
God describes the coming army from the north as cruel and without mercy. They carry bows and spears, and their war cry roars like the sea. The news of their approach makes the people's hands go weak with fear. Jeremiah calls the people to put on mourning clothes as if grieving for an only child.
22 The Lord says, "Look! A massive army is coming from a country far to the north. A powerful nation is rising up from the farthest corners of the earth." Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.
23 "They are armed with bows and spears. They are vicious and show no kindness to anyone. Their war cry thunders like the ocean. They ride horses, lined up and ready for battle against you, city of Zion." They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
24 We have heard the reports about them, and our hands go limp with terror. Fear has grabbed us — pain like a woman in labor. We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
25 Don't go into the fields! Stay off the roads! The enemy carries swords, and danger lurks everywhere. Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
26 My dear people, put on rough clothes and sit in ashes. Mourn like you would for your only child. Weep bitter tears, because the one who will destroy us is coming fast. O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
Testing the People Like Metal
Study note
God made Jeremiah like a tester of metals to examine his people. But the refining process has failed. Like impure silver that cannot be purified no matter how long it is heated, the wicked cannot be separated from the people. God has rejected them because they are like worthless metal that has failed the test.
27 "I have made you someone who tests metals among my people, so you can test and examine the way they live." I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
28 "Every one of them is a stubborn rebel who spreads lies everywhere. They are as hard as bronze and iron. All of them are rotten to the core." They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.
29 "The fire in the furnace blazes away, trying to burn out the impurities. But the effort is useless. The wicked refuse to be separated out." The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
30 "People will call them 'rejected silver,' because the Lord himself has rejected them." Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.
Key Themes
Themes in Jeremiah 6
Warning of imminent invasionRefusal to listen to God's warningsThe ancient paths of faithfulnessFailed purification of a corrupt peopleThe cost of ignoring correction
Apply This Today
Living Jeremiah 6
God invites His people to walk in the ancient paths where the good way is found. When we refuse to listen to repeated warnings and corrections, we risk being counted as rejected. Returning to time-tested spiritual disciplines is not old-fashioned but life-giving.
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