EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Jeremiah 17:6
6They will be like a bush that grows in the desert. It grows in a place where nobody can live. The ground is very dry and is spoiled by salt. Even when good times come, those people will not receive any good thing.
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
4I gave you this land to be your home for ever. But it will no longer belong to you. Your enemies will take you to a land that you do not know. You will be their slaves. You have made me very angry, like a fire that nobody can stop.’ 5The Lord says, ‘I will curse those who only trust people to help them. They think that human strength will save them, and they turn away from me, the Lord. They will be like a bush that grows in the desert. It grows in a place where nobody can live. The ground is very dry and is spoiled by salt. Even when good times come, those people will not receive any good thing. 7The Lord blesses people who trust in him. They know that the Lord will help them. 8They will be like trees that grow beside a river. Their roots reach into the water. When the sun is hot, they are not afraid. Their leaves continue to be green. They give fruit each year, even when there is no rain.
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 48:6People say, “Run away to save your lives! Go and live in the desert.”
- Job 8:11Some plants only grow tall in wet ground. Reeds only grow well where there is water.
- Job 15:30When it becomes dark, he will not be able to escape. He will be like a tree that fire has burned. God's breath will blow him away!
- Psalms 1:4But wicked people are as empty as chaff. The wind blows them away.
- Psalms 92:7Wicked people may continue to grow, like green grass. Evil people may grow like weeds. But in the end you will destroy them and they will never grow again.
- Psalms 129:5I pray that everyone who hates Zion's people will be ashamed. Then they will have to turn around and go back.
- Isaiah 1:30You will be like an oak tree with leaves that have become dry. You will be like a garden that has no water.
- 2 Kings 7:1Elisha said, ‘Now listen to the Lord's message! This is what the Lord says: “About this time tomorrow, five kilograms of good flour will cost only one piece of silver. Ten kilograms of barley will also cost one piece of silver. You will be able to buy this food at the gate of Samaria.” ’
- John 20:17Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me because I have not gone up to the Father yet. But go to my brothers, the disciples. Tell them, “Now I will go up to my Father. He is also your Father. He is my God, and he is your God.” ’
- Deuteronomy 29:23The whole land will become spoiled with salt and sulphur. No one will plant seed in it, because nothing will grow there. Even grass will not grow on it. The land will be useless, like the cities that the Lord destroyed when he was very angry with them. Those cities were Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim.
- Judges 9:45Abimelech attacked the city all that day. He took the city and he killed all the people who lived there. Then he destroyed the city. He put salt all over it as a curse.
- Ezekiel 47:11But the water in the pools and the wet places around the Salt Sea will not become pure. There will still be salt for people there.
- Zephaniah 2:9The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says, ‘You can be sure that I live. In the same way, you can also be sure that my people will take everything for themselves. God will destroy Moab as he destroyed Sodom. He will destroy Ammon as he destroyed Gomorrah. After this, the ground will have lots of salt on it. Weeds will grow there. Nobody will build anything there again. My people who are still alive will take for themselves the Ammonites' things and the Moabites' things.’
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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