Worthy.Bible » ASV » Jeremiah » Chapter 6 » Verse 19

Jeremiah 6:19 American Standard (ASV)

19 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; and as for my law, they have rejected it.

Cross Reference

Jeremiah 8:9 ASV

The wise men are put to shame, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of Jehovah; and what manner of wisdom is in them?

Jeremiah 22:29 ASV

O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of Jehovah.

Isaiah 1:2 ASV

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for Jehovah hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

Acts 8:22 ASV

Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray the Lord, if perhaps the thought of thy heart shall be forgiven thee.

John 3:19-21 ASV

And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved. But he that doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God.

Jeremiah 6:10 ASV

To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of Jehovah is become unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.

John 12:48 ASV

He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Micah 6:2 ASV

Hear, O ye mountains, Jehovah's controversy, and ye enduring foundations of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel.

Hosea 10:13 ASV

Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies; for thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

Hosea 4:6 ASV

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children.

Jeremiah 19:15 ASV

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all its towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it; because they have made their neck stiff, that they may not hear my words.

Jeremiah 17:10 ASV

I, Jehovah, search the mind, I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.

Deuteronomy 4:26 ASV

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

Jeremiah 4:4 ASV

Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

Isaiah 66:18 ASV

For I `know' their works and their thoughts: `the time' cometh, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and shall see my glory.

Isaiah 59:7 ASV

Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their paths.

Proverbs 28:9 ASV

He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.

Proverbs 15:26 ASV

Evil devices are an abomination to Jehovah; But pleasant words `are' pure.

Proverbs 1:24-31 ASV

Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man hath regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof: I also will laugh in `the day of' your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as a storm, And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish come upon you. Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of Jehovah: They would none of my counsel; They despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own devices.

1 Samuel 15:26 ASV

And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.

1 Samuel 15:23 ASV

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

Deuteronomy 32:1 ASV

Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak; And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

Deuteronomy 30:19 ASV

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed;

Commentary on Jeremiah 6 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 6

Jer 6:1-30. Zion's Foes Prepare War against Her: Her Sins Are the Cause.

1. Benjamin—Jerusalem was situated in the tribe of Benjamin, which was here separated from that of Judah by the valley of Hinnom. Though it was inhabited partly by Benjamites, partly by men of Judah, he addresses the former as being his own countrymen.

blow … trumpet … Tekoa—Tikehu, Tekoa form a play on sounds. The birthplace of Amos.

Beth-haccerem—meaning in Hebrew, "vineyard-house." It and Tekoa were a few miles south of Jerusalem. As the enemy came from the north, the inhabitants of the surrounding country would naturally flee southwards. The fire-signal on the hills gave warning of danger approaching.

2. likened—rather, "I lay waste." Literally, "O comely and delicate one, I lay waste the daughter of Zion," that is, "thee." So Zec 3:9, "before Joshua," that is, "before thee" [Maurer].

3. shepherds—hostile leaders with their armies (Jer 1:15; 4:17; 49:20; 50:45).

feed—They shall consume each one all that is near him; literally, "his hand," that is, the place which he occupies (Nu 2:17; see on Isa 56:5).

4, 5. The invading soldiers encourage one another to the attack on Jerusalem.

Prepare—literally, "Sanctify" war, that is, Proclaim it formally with solemn rites; the invasion was solemnly ordered by God (compare Isa 13:3).

at noon—the hottest part of the day when attacks were rarely made (Jer 15:8; 20:16). Even at this time they wished to attack, such is their eagerness.

Woe unto us—The words of the invaders, mourning the approach of night which would suspend their hostile operations; still, even in spite of the darkness, at night they renew the attack (Jer 6:5).

6. cast—Hebrew, "pour out"; referring to the emptying of the baskets of earth to make the mound, formed of "trees" and earthwork, to overtop the city walls. The "trees" were also used to make warlike engines.

this—pointing the invaders to Jerusalem.

visited—that is, punished.

wholly oppression—or join "wholly" with "visited," that is, she is altogether (in her whole extent) to be punished [Maurer].

7. fountain—rather, a well dug, from which water springs; distinct from a natural spring or fountain.

casteth out—causeth to flow; literally, "causeth to dig," the cause being put for the effect (2Ki 21:16, 24; Isa 57:20).

me—Jehovah.

8. Tender appeal in the midst of threats.

depart—Hebrew, "be torn away"; Jehovah's affection making Him unwilling to depart; His attachment to Jerusalem was such that an effort was needed to tear Himself from it (Eze 23:18; Ho 9:12; 11:8).

9. The Jews are the grapes, their enemies the unsparing gleaners.

turn back … hand—again and again bring freshly gathered handfuls to the baskets; referring to the repeated carrying away of captives to Babylon (Jer 52:28-30; 2Ki 24:14; 25:11).

10. ear is uncircumcised—closed against the precepts of God by the foreskin of carnality (Le 26:41; Eze 44:7; Ac 7:51).

word … reproach—(Jer 20:8).

11. fury of … Lord—His denunciations against Judah communicated to the prophet.

weary with holding in—(Jer 20:9).

I will pour—or else imperative: the command of God (see Jer 6:12), "Pour it out" [Maurer].

aged … full of days—The former means one becoming old; the latter a decrepit old man [Maurer] (Job 5:26; Isa 65:20).

12. The very punishments threatened by Moses in the event of disobedience to God (De 28:30).

turned—transferred.

14. hurt—the spiritual wound.

slightly—as if it were but a slight wound; or, in a slight manner, pronouncing all sound where there is no soundness.

saying—namely, the prophets and priests (Jer 6:13). Whereas they ought to warn the people of impending judgments and the need of repentance, they say there is nothing to fear.

peace—including soundness. All is sound in the nation's moral state, so all will be peace as to its political state (Jer 4:10; 8:11; 14:13; 23:17; Eze 13:5, 10; 22:28).

15. Rosenmuller translates, "They ought to have been ashamed, because … but," &c.; the Hebrew verb often expressing, not the action, but the duty to perform it (Ge 20:9; Mal 2:7). Maurer translates, "They shall be put to shame, for they commit abomination; nay (the prophet correcting himself), there is no shame in them" (Jer 3:3; 8:12; Eze 3:7; Zep 3:5).

them that fall—They shall fall with the rest of their people who are doomed to fall, that is, I will now cease from words; I will execute vengeance [Calvin].

16. Image from travellers who have lost their road, stopping and inquiring which is the right way on which they once had been, but from which they have wandered.

old paths—Idolatry and apostasy are the modern way; the worship of God the old way. Evil is not coeval with good, but a modern degeneracy from good. The forsaking of God is not, in a true sense, a "way cast up" at all (Jer 18:15; Ps 139:24; Mal 4:4).

rest—(Isa 28:12; Mt 11:29).

17. watchmen—prophets, whose duty it was to announce impending calamities, so as to lead the people to repentance (Isa 21:11; 58:1; Eze 3:17; Hab 2:1).

18. congregation—parallel to "nations"; it therefore means the gathered peoples who are invited to be witnesses as to how great is the perversity of the Israelites (Jer 6:16, 17), and that they deserve the severe punishment about to be inflicted on them (Jer 6:19).

what is among them—what deeds are committed by the Israelites (Jer 6:16, 17) [Maurer]. Or, "what punishments are about to be inflicted on them" [Calvin].

19. (Isa 1:2).

fruit of … thoughts—(Pr 1:31).

nor to my law, but rejected it—literally, "and (as to) My law they have rejected it." The same construction occurs in Ge 22:24.

20. Literally, "To what purpose is this to Me, that incense cometh to Me?"

incense … cane—(Isa 43:24; 60:6). No external services are accepted by God without obedience of the heart and life (Jer 7:21; Ps 50:7-9; Isa 1:11; Mic 6:6, &c.).

sweet … sweet—antithesis. Your sweet cane is not sweet to Me. The calamus.

21. stumbling-blocks—instruments of the Jews' ruin (compare Mt 21:44; Isa 8:14; 1Pe 2:8). God Himself ("I") lays them before the reprobate (Ps 69:22; Ro 1:28; 11:9).

fathers … sons … neighbour … friend—indiscriminate ruin.

22. north … sides of the earth—The ancients were little acquainted with the north; therefore it is called the remotest regions (as the Hebrew for "sides" ought to be translated, see on Isa 14:13) of the earth. The Chaldees are meant (Jer 1:15; 5:15). It is striking that the very same calamities which the Chaldeans had inflicted on Zion are threatened as the retribution to be dealt in turn to themselves by Jehovah (Jer 50:41-43).

23. like the sea—(Isa 5:30).

as men for war—not that they were like warriors, for they were warriors; but "arrayed most perfectly as warriors" [Maurer].

24. fame thereof—the report of them.

25. He addresses "the daughter of Zion" (Jer 6:23); caution to the citizens of Jerusalem not to expose themselves to the enemy by going outside of the city walls.

sword of the enemy—literally, "there is a sword to the enemy"; the enemy hath a sword.

26. wallow … in ashes—(Jer 25:34; Mic 1:10). As they usually in mourning only "cast ashes on the head," wallowing in them means something more, namely, so entirely to cover one's self with ashes as to be like one who had rolled in them (Eze 27:30).

as for an only son—(Am 8:10; Zec 12:10).

lamentation—literally, "lamentation expressed by beating the breast."

27. tower … fortress—(Jer 1:18), rather, "an assayer (and) explorer." By a metaphor from metallurgy in Jer 6:27-30, Jehovah, in conclusion, confirms the prophet in his office, and the latter sums up the description of the reprobate people on whom he had to work. The Hebrew for "assayer" (English Version, "tower") is from a root "to try" metals. "Explorer" (English Version, "fortress") is from an Arabic root, "keen-sighted"; or a Hebrew root, "cutting," that is, separating the metal from the dross [Ewald]. Gesenius translates as English Version, "fortress," which does not accord with the previous "assayer."

28. grievous revolters—literally, "contumacious of the contumacious," that is, most contumacious, the Hebrew mode of expressing a superlative. So "the strong among the mighty," that is, the strongest (Eze 32:21). See Jer 5:23; Ho 4:16.

walking with slanders—(Jer 9:4). "Going about for the purpose of slandering" [Maurer].

brass, &c.—that is, copper. It and "iron" being the baser and harder metals express the debased and obdurate character of the Jews (Isa 48:4; 60:17).

29. bellows … burned—So intense a heat is made that the very bellows are almost set on fire. Rosenmuller translates not so well from a Hebrew root, "pant" or "snort," referring to the sound of the bellows blown hard.

lead—employed to separate the baser metal from the silver, as quicksilver is now used. In other words, the utmost pains have been used to purify Israel in the furnace of affliction, but in vain (Jer 5:3; 1Pe 1:7).

consumed of the fire—In the Chetib, or Hebrew text, the "consumed" is supplied out of the previous "burned." Translating as Rosenmuller, "pant," this will be inadmissible; and the Keri (Hebrew Margin) division of the Hebrew words will have to be read, to get "is consumed of the fire." This is an argument for the translation, "are burned."

founder—the refiner.

wicked … not plucked away—answering to the dross which has no good metal to be separated, the mass being all dross.

30. Reprobate—silver so full of alloy as to be utterly worthless (Isa 1:22). The Jews were fit only for rejection.