Jeremiah 6

AMP — Amplified Bible (AMP)

KJV — King James Version Bible (KJV)

Verse 1

“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.

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 Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.

Verse 2

“I will destroy the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem), the lovely and delicate one [so like a luxurious pasture].

I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.

Verse 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].

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.

Verse 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.

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.

Verse 5

‘Arise, let us [awaken to] attack her at night
And destroy her [fortified] palaces!’”

Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.

Verse 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].

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.

Verse 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.

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.

Verse 8

“Be wise and be warned, O Jerusalem,
Or I will be alienated from you,
And make you a desolation,
An uninhabited land.”

Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.

Verse 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].”

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.

Verse 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.

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.

Verse 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].

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.

Verse 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.

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.

Verse 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.

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.

Verse 14

“They have treated superficially the [bloody] broken wound of My people,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
When there is no peace.

They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

Verse 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.

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.

Verse 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!’

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.

Verse 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.’

Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

Verse 18

“Therefore hear, O [Gentile] nations,
And see, O congregation, what [vengeful act] is to be done to them.

Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.

Verse 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.

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.

Verse 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.”

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.

Verse 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

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.

Verse 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.

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.

Verse 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)!”

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.

Verse 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.

We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

Verse 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.

Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.

Verse 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].

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.

Verse 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.”

I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.

Verse 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.

They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.

Verse 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.

The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.

Verse 30

They call them rejected silver [only dross, without value],
Because the Lord has rejected them.

Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them.