Christian Standard Bible
Jeremiah 17:6
6He will be like a juniper in the Arabah; he cannot see when good comes but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land where no one lives.
Jeremiah 17:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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, in a salt land and not inhabited.
- New International Version (NIV)That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.
Context of Jeremiah 17:6
4You will, on your own, relinquish your inheritance that I gave you. I will make you serve your enemies in a land you do not know, for you have set my anger on fire; it will burn forever. 5This is what the Lord says: Cursed is the person who trusts in mankind. He makes human flesh his strength, and his heart turns from the Lord. He will be like a juniper in the Arabah; he cannot see when good comes but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land where no one lives. 7The person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. 8He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.
Read all of Jeremiah 17Jeremiah 17:6 word by word
וְהָיָה֙ כְּעַרְעָ֣ר בָּֽעֲרָבָ֔ה וְלֹ֥א יִרְאֶ֖ה כִּי־יָב֣וֹא ט֑וֹב וְשָׁכַ֤ן חֲרֵרִים֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר אֶ֥רֶץ מְלֵחָ֖ה וְלֹ֥א תֵשֵֽׁב׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For he shall be like the heathעַרְעָר‛ar‛âr · destituteH6199
- in the desertעֲרָבָה‛ărâbâh · plainH6160
- and shall not seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- when goodטוֹבţôb · goodH2896
- comethבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- but shall inhabitשָׁכַןshâkan · to dwellH7931
- the parched placesחָרֵרchârêr · parchedH2788
- in the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
- a saltמְלֵחָהmelêchâh · saltinessH4420
- landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- and not inhabitedיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
Cross-references for Jeremiah 17:6
- Jeremiah 48:6Flee! Save your lives! Be like a juniper bush in the wilderness.
- Job 8:11Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water?
- Job 15:30He will not escape from the darkness; flames will wither his shoots, and by the breath of God’s mouth, he will depart.
- Psalms 1:4The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
- Psalms 92:7though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be eternally destroyed.
- Psalms 129:5Let all who hate Zion be driven back in disgrace.
- Isaiah 1:30For you will become like an oak whose leaves are withered, and like a garden without water.
- 2 Kings 7:1Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says: ‘About this time tomorrow at Samaria’s gate, six quarts of fine flour will sell for a half ounce of silver and twelve quarts of barley will sell for a half ounce of silver.’”
- John 20:17“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus told her, “since I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
- Deuteronomy 29:23All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown, producing nothing, with no plant growing on it, just like the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord demolished in his fierce anger.
- Judges 9:45So Abimelech fought against the city that entire day, captured it, and killed the people who were in it. Then he tore down the city and sowed it with salt.
- Ezekiel 47:11Yet its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be left for salt.
- Zephaniah 2:9Therefore, as I live — this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel — Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah: a place overgrown with weeds, a salt pit, and a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of my people will plunder them; the remainder of my nation will dispossess them.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 17:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Be shall be like the heath in the desert - כערער kearar ; or, like a blasted tree, without moisture, parched and withered. Shall not see when good cometh - Shall not be sensible of it: the previous drought having rendered it incapable of absorbing any more vegetable juices. A salt land - Barren; and therefore unfit to be inhabited.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5-18Verses 5-18 In the rest of the prophecy Jeremiah dwells upon the moral faults which had led to Judah‘s ruin. Jeremiah 17:6 Like the heath - Or, “like a destitute man” Psalm 102:17. The verbs “he shall see” (or fear) and “shall inhabit” plainly show that a man is here meant and not a plant. Jeremiah 17:8 The river - Or, “water-course” Isaiah 30:25, made for purposes of irrigation. Shall not see - Or, “shall not fear Jeremiah 17:6.” God‘s people feel…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-11Verses 5-11 He who puts confidence in man, shall be like the heath in a desert, a naked tree, a sorry shrub, the product of barren ground, useless and worthless. Those who trust to their own righteousness and strength, and think they can do without Christ, make flesh their arm, and their souls cannot prosper in graces or comforts. Those who make God their Hope, shall flourish like a tree always green, whose leaf does not wither. They shall be fixed in…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6The people of Judah would be completely helpless during disasters because they trusted human abilities instead of the Lord. They would be like desert shrubs that are stunted due to a lack of water.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. heath--In Psa 102:17; Is 32:11; Ha 3:9, the Hebrew is translated, "bare," "naked," "destitute"; but as the parallel in Jr 17:8 is "tree," some plant must be meant of which this is the characteristic epithet (Jr 48:6, Margin), "a naked tree." Robinson translates, "the juniper tree," found in the Arabah or Great Valley, here called "the desert," south of the Dead Sea. The "heath" was one of the plants, according to Pliny (13.21; 16.26), excluded from…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 17:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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