Jeremiah 6
Expanded Bible
Jerusalem Is Surrounded
6 “·Run for your lives [Take refuge/shelter], ·people [L sons] of Benjamin!
·Run away [Take refuge/shelter] from Jerusalem!
Blow the ·war trumpet [ram’s horn] in the town of Tekoa [C about ten miles southeast of Jerusalem]!
Raise the warning flag over the town of Beth Hakkerem [C “House of Vineyards,” of uncertain location]!
·Disaster [Evil] is coming from the north [C Babylon];
terrible destruction is coming to you.
2 ·Jerusalem [L Daughter of Zion; C the location of the Temple], I ·will destroy you,
you who are fragile and gentle [or compare you to a delightful pasture].
3 Shepherds [C leaders of the attacking army] with their flocks will come against it [C Jerusalem].
They will set up their tents all around her,
each shepherd taking care of his own section.”
4 They say, “·Get ready to fight [L Consecrate yourselves for war; C against Jerusalem; ancient Near Eastern peoples performed religious rituals before battle]!
Get up! We will attack at noon!
·But it is already getting late [L Woe to us, for the day declines];
the evening shadows are growing long.
5 So get up! We will attack at night.
We will destroy ·the strong towers [L its palaces]!”
6 This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:
“Cut down the trees [C around Jerusalem],
and ·build an attack ramp to the top of its walls [throw up a siege ramp].
This city must be punished.
Inside it is nothing but ·slavery [oppression]
7 Jerusalem ·pours out her evil [keeps its wickedness fresh]
as a well ·pours out its water [keeps its water fresh]
The sounds of violence and destruction are heard within her.
I can see the sickness and hurts ·of Jerusalem [always before me].
8 ·Listen to this warning [L Be instructed], Jerusalem,
or I will turn my back on you
and make your land an ·empty desert [L desolation]
where no one can live.”
9 This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:
“·Gather [L Glean] the ·few people of Israel who are left alive [L remnant of Israel],
as ·you would gather the last grapes on a grapevine [L a vine; C Israel is often compared to a vine; Gen. 49:11–12, 22; Ps. 80:9–10; Is. 5:1–2].
·Check each vine again [L Return your hand over it again],
like ·someone who gathers grapes.”
10 To whom can I speak? Whom can I warn?
Who will listen to me?
·The people of Israel have closed ears [L Your ears have a foreskin; C are uncircumcised; a metaphor for not listening to God],
so they cannot ·hear my warnings [L pay attention].
·They don’t like the word of the Lord [L The word of the Lord is a reproach to them];
they ·don’t want to listen to it [L take no pleasure in it]!
11 But I am full of the anger of the Lord,
and I am ·tired [weary] of holding it in.
“Pour ·out my anger [L it out] on the children who play in the street
and on the young men gathered together.
A husband and his wife will both be caught in his anger,
as will the very old and ·aged [L full of years].
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,
along with their fields and wives,
because I will ·raise [L stretch out] my hand
·and punish [L against] the people of Judah,” says the Lord.
13 “Everyone, from the least important to the greatest,
is greedy for ·money [unjust gain].
Even the prophets and priests
all ·tell lies [act falsely; are deceptive].
14 They tried to heal my people’s ·serious injuries [fracture]
as if they were small wounds.
They said, ‘·It’s all right, it’s all right [L Peace, peace].’
But ·really, it is not all right [L there is no peace].
15 They should be ashamed of the ·terrible way they act [abominations they do],
but they are not ashamed at all.
They don’t even know how to blush [C about their sins].
So they will fall, along with ·everyone else [L those who fall].
They will ·be thrown to the ground [stumble] ·when [L at the time] I punish them,” says the Lord.
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stand ·where the roads cross [at the crossroads] and look.
Ask where the ·old [eternal; enduring] way is [Deut. 32:7],
where the good way is, and walk on it.
If you do, you will find rest for ·yourselves [souls].
But they have said, ‘We will not ·walk on the good way [follow it].’
17 I set watchmen [C prophets] over you
and told you, ‘·Listen for [Pay attention to] the sound of the ·war trumpet [ram’s horn]!’
But they said, ‘We will not ·listen [pay attention].’
18 So listen, all you nations,
and ·pay attention [L know], you ·witnesses [assembly].
Watch what I will do to them [C the people of Judah].
19 Hear this, people of the earth:
I am going to bring ·disaster [trouble; evil] to this people [C of Judah]
because of the ·evil they plan [L the fruit of their plots].
They have not ·listened [paid attention] to my ·messages [words]
and have rejected my ·teachings [laws; instructions].
20 Why do you bring me offerings of ·incense [frankincense] from the land of Sheba [C unknown location, perhaps present-day Yemen, Eritrea, or Ethiopia; see 1 Kin. 10:1–13]?
Why do you bring me sweet-smelling cane from a faraway land?
Your burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–7] will not be accepted;
your sacrifices do not please me [Ps. 40:6–8; Mic. 6:6–8].”
21 So this is what the Lord says:
“I will put stumbling blocks [C problems] in front of this people [C Judah].
Fathers and sons will stumble over them together.
Neighbors and friends will ·die [perish].”
22 This is what the Lord says:
“Look, an ·army [people] is coming
from the land of the north [C Babylon];
a great nation is ·coming [L stirred up]
from the far sides of the earth.
23 ·The soldiers carry [L They grasp/seize] bows and ·spears [javelins].
They are ·cruel [fierce] and show no ·mercy [compassion].
They sound like the roaring ·ocean [sea; C symbol of chaos]
when they ride their horses.
That army is ·coming lined up [or equipped] for battle,
ready to attack you, ·Jerusalem [L daughter of Zion; C the location of the Temple].”
24 We have heard the news about ·that army [L them]
and ·are helpless from fear [L our hands grow limp].
We are gripped by our ·pain [distress],
like a woman ·having a baby [writhing in childbirth].
25 Don’t go out into the fields
or walk down the ·roads [paths],
because the enemy has swords.
There is terror on every side.
26 ·My people [L Daughter of my people], put on ·rough cloth [sackcloth; burlap]
and roll in the ashes [C mourning rituals].
·Cry loudly for those who are dead,
as if your only son were dead [L Make mourning/Wail for your only son, a bitter lamentation],
because the destroyer
will ·soon [or suddenly] come against us.
27 “I have made you [C Jeremiah] like a ·worker who tests metal [L tester and refiner/or fortress] among people [C who are like the ore].
You must ·observe [know] their ways
and test them.
28 All my people have ·turned [rebelled] against me and are stubborn.
They go around ·telling lies about others [slandering].
They are like bronze and iron [C rusted, not refined]
that act dishonestly.
29 The ·fire is fanned to make it hotter [bellows blow],
but the lead ·does not melt [is consumed by the fire].
·The pure metal does not come out [L The refining is in vain];
the evil is not removed from my people.
30 My people will be called rejected silver,
because the Lord has rejected them [Ezek. 22:17–22].”
Jeremiah 6
Amplified Bible
Destruction of Jerusalem Impending
6 “Run for safety, you children of Benjamin,
Out of the midst of Jerusalem!
And blow a trumpet in Tekoa [in Judah]
And raise a signal-fire in Beth-haccherem [near Jerusalem];
For evil is looking down [with eager anticipation] from the north,
And great destruction.
2
“I will destroy the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem), the lovely and delicate one [so like a luxurious pasture].
3
“Shepherds with their flocks will come against her;
They will pitch their tents all around her;
They will pasture, each one in his place [eating up all her rich grasses].
4
“[They shout], ‘Prepare for war against her;
Arise, let us [take her by surprise and] attack her at noon.
But alas, the daylight pales,
The evening shadows grow long.
5
‘Arise, let us [awaken to] attack her at night
And destroy her [fortified] palaces!’”
6 For the Lord of hosts has said,
“Cut down her trees
And build a siege [mound] against Jerusalem.
This is the city which must be punished;
There is nothing but oppression inside her [walls].
7
“As a fountain springs up and pours out its fresh waters,
So she [continually] pours out her fresh wickedness.
Violence and destruction are heard inside her [walls];
Sickness and wounds are always before Me.
8
“Be wise and be warned, O Jerusalem,
Or I will be alienated from you,
And make you a desolation,
An uninhabited land.”
9
Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“They will thoroughly gather like [fruit on] a vine what is left of Israel;
Pass your hand [over the vine] again and again [Babylon, tool of destruction] like a grape gatherer,
Over the branches [stripping the tendrils off the vine].”
10
To whom shall I (Jeremiah) speak and give warning
That they may hear?
Behold, their ears are [a]closed [absolutely deaf to God]
And they cannot listen.
Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reprimand and an object of scorn to them;
They have no delight in it.(A)
11
But I am full of the wrath (judgment) of the Lord;
I am tired of restraining it.
“[I will] pour it out on the children in the street
And on the young men gathered together;
For both the husband and wife shall be taken,
The aged and the very old [though full of days they are not exempt from judgment].
12
“Their houses shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together;
For I will stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord.
13
“For from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is greedy for [unfair] gain;
And from the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals deceitfully.
14
“They have treated superficially the [bloody] broken wound of My people,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
When there is no peace.
15
“Were they ashamed because they had committed disgusting and vile things?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
They did not even know how to blush [at their idolatry].
Therefore they will fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them
They will be overthrown,” says the Lord.
16
Thus says the Lord,
“Stand by the roads and look; ask for the ancient paths,
Where the good way is; then walk in it,
And you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’(B)
17
“I have set watchmen (prophets) over you,
Saying, ‘Listen and pay attention to the [warning] sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
18
“Therefore hear, O [Gentile] nations,
And see, O congregation, what [vengeful act] is to be done to them.
19
“Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
The fruit of their schemes,
Because they have not listened and paid attention to My words,
And as for My law, they have rejected it also.
20
“For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from [b]Sheba
And the sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable
And your sacrifices are not sweet and pleasing to Me.”
21 Therefore, thus says the Lord,
“Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people.
The fathers and the sons together
Will stumble against them;
The neighbor and his friend will perish.”
The Enemy from the North
22
Thus says the Lord,
“Behold, a people is coming from the north country,
And a great nation shall be stirred up and put into action from the remote parts of the earth.
23
“They seize bow and spear;
They are cruel and inhuman and have no mercy.
Their voice sounds like the roaring sea;
They ride [in formation] on horses,
Arrayed as a man for battle
Against you, O Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem)!”
24
We have heard the report of it;
Our hands become limp and helpless.
Anguish has gripped us,
Pain like that of a woman in childbirth.
25
Do not go out into the field
Nor walk on the road,
For the enemy is armed with the sword;
Terror is on every side.
26
O daughter of my people [says Jeremiah],
Clothe yourself in sackcloth and wallow in ashes;
Mourn [aloud] as for an only son,
A most bitter cry [of sorrow and regret],
For suddenly the destroyer will come upon us [on both prophet and people].
27
“I [the Lord] have set you as an assayer [O Jeremiah] and as a tester [of the ore] of My people,
That you may know and analyze their acts.”
28
They are all the worst [kind] of [stiff-necked, godless] rebels,
Going around spreading slander.
They are [not gold and silver ore, but] bronze and iron;
They are all corrupt.
29
The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain they continue refining,
But the wicked are not separated and removed.
30
They call them rejected silver [only dross, without value],
Because the Lord has rejected them.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 6:10 Lit uncircumcised.
- Jeremiah 6:20 Located in southwestern Arabia, Sheba was ruled by the priest-kings of the Sabeans whose primary deity was Attar, a god of procreation. The ruins of the capital city of Mariaba attest to the splendor of the ancient kingdom. The Queen of Sheba visited Solomon the king of Israel in about 950 b.c. The purpose of her 1,200 mile journey was most likely to establish a fair trade agreement. Incense was among the most desirable and valuable exports of Sheba.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
