6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.
`and that' the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, `and' a burning, `that' it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which Jehovah overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:
Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.
Whose home I have made the wilderness, And the salt land his dwelling-place?
And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that were therein: and he beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
and that captain answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if Jehovah should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? and he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof: it came to pass even so unto him; for the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died.
Can the rush grow up without mire? Can the flag grow without water? Whilst it is yet in its greenness, `and' not cut down, It withereth before any `other' herb. So are the paths of all that forget God; And the hope of the godless man shall perish:
He shall not depart out of darkness; The flame shall dry up his branches, And by the breath of `God's' mouth shall he go away. Let him not trust in vanity, deceiving himself; For vanity shall be his recompense. It shall be accomplished before his time, And his branch shall not be green. He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, And shall cast off his flower as the olive-tree. For the company of the godless shall be barren, And fire shall consume the tents of bribery.
The wicked are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
When the wicked spring as the grass, And when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; It is that they shall be destroyed for ever.
Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, Which withereth before it groweth up; Wherewith the reaper filleth not his hand, Nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom. Neither do they that go by say, The blessing of Jehovah be upon you; We bless you in the name of Jehovah. Psalm 130 A Song of Ascents.
For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.
But the miry places thereof, and the marshes thereof, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt.
Therefore as I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall make a prey of them, and the remnant of my nation shall inherit them.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 17
Commentary on Jeremiah 17 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Judah's sin is ineffaceably stamped upon the hearts of the people and on their altars. These four verses are closely connected with the preceding, and show why it is necessary that Judah be cast forth amidst the heathen, by reason of its being perfectly stepped in idolatry. Jeremiah 17:1. "The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen, with the point of a diamond graven on the table of their hearts and on the horns of your altars. Jeremiah 17:2 . As they remember their children, so do they their altars and their Astartes by the green tree upon the high hills. Jeremiah 17:3 . My mountain in the field, thy substance, all thy treasures give I for a prey, thy high places for sin in all thy borders. Jeremiah 17:4 . And thou shalt discontinue, and that of thine own self, from thine inheritance that I gave thee, and I cause thee to serve thine enemies in a land which thou knowest not; for a fire have ye kindled in mine anger, for ever it burneth."