Jeremiah 6
New American Standard Bible
The Coming Destruction of Jerusalem
6 “Flee to safety, you sons of (A)Benjamin,
From the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow a trumpet in Tekoa
And raise a warning signal over [a](B)Beth-haccerem;
For evil looks down from the (C)north,
Along with a great destruction.
2 The beautiful and (D)delicate one, (E)the daughter of Zion, I will destroy.
3 (F)Shepherds and their flocks will come to her,
They will (G)pitch their tents [b]around her,
They will pasture, each in his [c]place.
4 ‘[d](H)Prepare for war against her;
Arise, and let’s [e]attack at (I)noon.
Woe to us, for the day declines,
For the shadows of the evening lengthen!
5 Arise, and let’s [f]attack by night
And (J)destroy her [g]palaces!’”
6 For this is what the Lord of armies says:
“(K)Cut down her trees
And pile up an (L)assault ramp against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
In whose midst there is only (M)oppression.
7 (N)As a well [h]keeps its waters fresh,
So she [i]keeps fresh her wickedness.
(O)Violence and destruction are heard in her;
(P)Sickness and wounds are constantly before Me.
8 (Q)Be warned, Jerusalem,
Or [j](R)I shall be alienated from you,
And make you a desolation,
An uninhabited land.”
9 This is what the Lord of armies says:
“They will (S)thoroughly glean the (T)remnant of Israel like the vine;
Pass your hand over the branches again
Like a grape gatherer.”
10 To whom shall I speak and give warning,
That they may hear?
Behold, their (U)ears are [k]closed
And they cannot listen.
Behold, (V)the word of the Lord has become for them a rebuke;
They take no delight in it.
11 But I am (W)full of the wrath of the Lord;
I am (X)weary of holding it in.
“(Y)Pour it out on the children in the street
And on the [l]gathering of young men together;
For both husband and wife shall be taken,
The old [m]and the very old.
12 Their (Z)houses shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together;
For I will (AA)stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord.
13 “For (AB)from the least of them to the greatest of them,
Everyone is (AC)greedy for gain,
And from the prophet to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.
14 They have (AD)healed the brokenness of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
15 Were they (AE)ashamed because of the abomination they had done?
They were not ashamed at all,
Nor did they know even how to be ashamed.
Therefore they will fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them,
They will collapse,” says the Lord.
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the (AF)ancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
Then (AG)you will find a resting place for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 And I set (AH)watchmen over you, saying,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
18 Therefore hear, you nations,
And know, you congregation, what is among them.
19 (AI)Hear, earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
The (AJ)fruit of their [n]plans,
Because they have not listened to My words,
And as for My Law, they have (AK)rejected it also.
20 (AL)For what purpose does (AM)frankincense come to Me from Sheba,
And the [o](AN)sweet cane from a distant land?
(AO)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable
And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”
21 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
“Behold, (AP)I am [p]placing stumbling blocks before this people.
And they will stumble against them,
(AQ)Fathers and sons together;
Neighbor and [q]friend will perish.”
The Enemy from the North
22 This is what the Lord says:
“Behold, there is (AR)a people coming from the north land,
And a great nation will be stirred up from the (AS)remote parts of the earth.
23 They seize (AT)bow and spear;
They are (AU)cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice (AV)roars like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Lined up as a man for the battle
Against you, daughter of Zion!”
24 We have (AW)heard the report of it;
Our hands are limp.
(AX)Anguish has seized us,
Pain like that of a woman in childbirth.
25 (AY)Do not go out into the field,
And (AZ)do not walk on the road;
For the enemy has a sword,
(BA)Terror is on every side.
26 Daughter of my people, (BB)put on sackcloth
And (BC)roll in ashes;
[r](BD)Mourn as for an only son,
A most bitter mourning.
For suddenly the destroyer
Will come against us.
27 “I have (BE)made you an assayer and an examiner among My people,
So that you may know and put their way to the test.”
28 All of them are stubbornly rebellious,
(BF)Going about as a slanderer;
They are (BG)bronze and iron.
They are, all of them, corrupt.
29 The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain the refining goes on,
But the (BH)wicked are not [s]separated.
30 (BI)They call them rejected silver,
Because the (BJ)Lord has rejected them.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 6:1 I.e., house of the vineyard
- Jeremiah 6:3 Lit against her round about
- Jeremiah 6:3 Lit hand
- Jeremiah 6:4 Lit Sanctify war
- Jeremiah 6:4 Lit go up
- Jeremiah 6:5 Lit go up
- Jeremiah 6:5 Or fortified towers
- Jeremiah 6:7 Lit keeps cold
- Jeremiah 6:7 Lit keeps cold
- Jeremiah 6:8 Lit my soul
- Jeremiah 6:10 Lit uncircumcised
- Jeremiah 6:11 Lit council
- Jeremiah 6:11 Lit with fullness of days
- Jeremiah 6:19 Or devices
- Jeremiah 6:20 Lit good
- Jeremiah 6:21 Lit giving
- Jeremiah 6:21 Lit his friend
- Jeremiah 6:26 Lit Make for yourself mourning
- Jeremiah 6:29 Or drawn off
Jeremiah 6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Imminence and Horror of the Invasion
6 Flee for safety, O children of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,
and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem,
for evil looms out of the north
and great destruction.(A)
2 I have likened daughter Zion
to the loveliest pasture.[a](B)
3 Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her.
They shall pitch their tents around her;
they shall pasture, all in their places.(C)
4 “Prepare war against her;
up, and let us attack at noon!”
“Woe to us, for the day declines;
the shadows of evening lengthen!”(D)
5 “Up, and let us attack by night,
and destroy her palaces!”(E)
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts:
Cut down her trees;
cast up a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be punished;[b]
there is nothing but oppression within her.(F)
7 As a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her wickedness;
violence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.(G)
8 Take warning, O Jerusalem,
or I shall turn from you in disgust
and make you a desolation,
an uninhabited land.(H)
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
Glean[c] thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape gatherer, pass your hand again
over its branches.(I)
10 To whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
See, their ears are closed;[d]
they cannot listen.
The word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;
they take no pleasure in it.(J)
11 But I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
I am weary of holding it in.
Pour it out on the children in the street
and on the gatherings of young men as well;
both husband and wife shall be taken,
the elderly and those full of days.(K)
12 Their houses shall be turned over to others,
their fields and wives together;
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,
says the Lord.(L)
13 For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.(M)
14 They have treated the wound of my people carelessly,
saying, “Peace, peace,”
when there is no peace.(N)
15 They acted shamefully; they committed abomination,
yet they were not ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,
says the Lord.
16 Thus says the Lord:
Stand at the crossroads and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way lies; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.
But they said, “We will not walk in it.”(O)
17 Also I raised up sentinels for you:
“Give heed to the sound of the trumpet!”
But they said, “We will not give heed.”(P)
18 Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
19 Hear, O earth; I am going to bring disaster on this people,
the fruit of their schemes,
because they have not given heed to my words,
and as for my teaching, they have rejected it.(Q)
20 Of what use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba
or sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me.(R)
21 Therefore thus says the Lord:
See, I am laying before this people
stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;
parents and children together,
neighbor and friend shall perish.(S)
22 Thus says the Lord:
See, a people is coming from the land of the north;
a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.(T)
23 They grasp the bow and the javelin;
they are cruel and have no mercy;
their sound is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
equipped like a warrior for battle,
against you, O daughter Zion!(U)
24 “We have heard news of them;
our hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
pain as of a woman in labor.(V)
25 Do not go out into the field
or walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword;
terror is on every side.”(W)
26 O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth
and roll in ashes;
make mourning as for an only child,
most bitter lamentation,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.(X)
27 I have made you a tester and a refiner[e] among my people
so that you may know and test their ways.
28 They are all stubbornly rebellious,
going about with slanders;
they are bronze and iron;
all of them act corruptly.(Y)
29 The bellows blow fiercely;
the lead is consumed by the fire;[f]
in vain the refining goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
30 They are called “rejected silver,”
for the Lord has rejected them.
Jeremiah 6
The Message
A City Full of Lies
6 1-5 “Run for your lives, children of Benjamin!
Get out of Jerusalem, and now!
Give a blast on the ram’s horn in Blastville.
Send up smoke signals from Smoketown.
Doom pours out of the north—
massive terror!
I have likened my dear daughter Zion
to a lovely meadow.
Well, now ‘shepherds’ from the north have discovered her
and brought in their flocks of soldiers.
They’ve pitched camp all around her,
and plan where they’ll ‘graze.’
And then, ‘Prepare to attack! The fight is on!
To arms! We’ll strike at noon!
Oh, it’s too late? Day is dying?
Evening shadows are upon us?
Well, up anyway! We’ll attack by night
and tear apart her defenses stone by stone.’”
6-8 God-of-the-Angel-Armies gave the orders:
“Chop down her trees.
Build a siege ramp against Jerusalem,
A city full of brutality,
bursting with violence.
Just as a well holds a good supply of water,
she supplies wickedness nonstop.
The streets echo the cries: ‘Violence! Rape!’
Victims, bleeding and moaning, lie all over the place.
You’re in deep trouble, Jerusalem.
You’ve pushed me to the limit.
You’re on the brink of being wiped out,
being turned into a ghost town.”
9 More orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Time’s up! Harvest the grapes for judgment.
Salvage what’s left of Israel.
Go back over the vines.
Pick them clean, every last grape.
Is Anybody Listening?
10-11 “I’ve got something to say. Is anybody listening?
I’ve a warning to post. Will anyone notice?
It’s hopeless! Their ears are stuffed with wax—
deaf as a post, blind as a bat.
It’s hopeless! They’ve tuned out God.
They don’t want to hear from me.
But I’m bursting with the wrath of God.
I can’t hold it in much longer.
11-12 “So dump it on the children in the streets.
Let it loose on the gangs of youth.
For no one’s exempt: Husbands and wives will be taken,
the old and those ready to die;
Their homes will be given away—
all they own, even their loved ones—
When I give the signal
against all who live in this country.”
God’s Decree.
13-15 “Everyone’s after the dishonest dollar,
little people and big people alike.
Prophets and priests and everyone in between
twist words and doctor truth.
My people are broken—shattered!—
and they put on Band-Aids,
Saying, ‘It’s not so bad. You’ll be just fine.’
But things are not ‘just fine’!
Do you suppose they are embarrassed
over this outrage?
No, they have no shame.
They don’t even know how to blush.
There’s no hope for them. They’ve hit bottom
and there’s no getting up.
As far as I’m concerned,
they’re finished.”
God has spoken.
Death Is on the Prowl
16-20 God’s Message yet again:
“Go stand at the crossroads and look around.
Ask for directions to the old road,
The tried-and-true road. Then take it.
Discover the right route for your souls.
But they said, ‘Nothing doing.
We aren’t going that way.’
I even provided watchmen for them
to warn them, to set off the alarm.
But the people said, ‘It’s a false alarm.
It doesn’t concern us.’
And so I’m calling in the nations as witnesses:
‘Watch, witnesses, what happens to them!’
And, ‘Pay attention, Earth!
Don’t miss these bulletins.’
I’m visiting catastrophe on this people, the end result
of the games they’ve been playing with me.
They’ve ignored everything I’ve said,
had nothing but contempt for my teaching.
What would I want with incense brought in from Sheba,
rare spices from exotic places?
Your burnt sacrifices in worship give me no pleasure.
Your religious rituals mean nothing to me.”
21 So listen to this. Here’s God’s verdict on your way of life:
“Watch out! I’m putting roadblocks and barriers
on the road you’re taking.
They’ll send you sprawling,
parents and children, neighbors and friends—
and that will be the end of the lot of you.”
22-23 And listen to this verdict from God:
“Look out! An invasion from the north,
a mighty power on the move from a faraway place:
Armed to the teeth,
vicious and pitiless,
Booming like sea storm and thunder—tramp, tramp, tramp—
riding hard on war horses,
In battle formation
against you, dear Daughter Zion!”
24-25 We’ve heard the news,
and we’re as limp as wet dishrags.
We’re paralyzed with fear.
Terror has a death grip on our throats.
Don’t dare go outdoors!
Don’t leave the house!
Death is on the prowl.
Danger everywhere!
26 “Dear Daughter Zion: Dress in black.
Blacken your face with ashes.
Weep most bitterly,
as for an only child.
The countdown has begun . . .
six, five, four, three . . .
The Terror is on us!”
* * *
27-30 God gave me this task:
“I have made you the examiner of my people,
to examine and weigh their lives.
They’re a thickheaded, hard-nosed bunch,
rotten to the core, the lot of them.
Refining fires are cranked up to white heat,
but the ore stays a lump, unchanged.
It’s useless to keep trying any longer.
Nothing can refine evil out of them.
Men will give up and call them ‘slag,’
thrown on the slag heap by me, their God.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson