Jeremiah 18:17

Jeremiah 18:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
• New International Version (NIV)Like a wind from the east, I will scatter them before their enemies; I will show them my back and not my face in the day of their disaster.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Like the east wind I will scatter them before the enemy. I will show them my back, not my face, in the day of their calamity."
• New King James Version (NKJV)I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the back and not the face In the day of their calamity.”

Context of Jeremiah 18:17

15Yet my people have forgotten me and offered sacrifices to worthless idols! This makes them stumble along in the way they live and leave the old reliable path of their fathers. They have left them to walk in bypaths, in roads that are not smooth and level. 16So their land will become an object of horror. People will forever hiss out their scorn over it. All who pass that way will be filled with horror and will shake their heads in derision. I will scatter them before their enemies like dust blowing in front of a burning east wind. I will turn my back on them and not look favorably on them when disaster strikes them.” 18Then some people said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.” 19Then I said, “Lord, pay attention to me. Listen to what my enemies are saying.

Jeremiah 18:17 word by word

כְּרֽוּחַ־קָדִ֥ים אֲפִיצֵ֖ם לִפְנֵ֣י אוֹיֵ֑ב עֹ֧רֶף וְלֹֽא־פָנִ֛ים אֶרְאֵ֖ם בְּי֥וֹם אֵידָֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• I will scatterפּוּץpûts · to scatterH6327
• them as with an eastקָדִיםqâdîym qâdim · eastH6921
• windרוּחַrûach · spirit: breathH7307
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the enemyאֹיֵב'ôyêb 'ôyêb · enemyH341
• I will shewרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• them the backעֹ֫רֶף‛ôreph · neckH6203
• and not the faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
• in the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of their calamityאֵיד'êyd · calamityH343

Cross-references for Jeremiah 18:17

• Jeremiah 13:24“The Lord says, ‘That is why I will scatter your people like chaff that is blown away by a desert wind.
• Deuteronomy 28:25“The Lord will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
• Job 27:21The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place.
• Psalms 48:7With an east wind you shatter the large ships.
• Hosea 13:15Even though he flourishes like a reed plant, a scorching east wind will come, a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert. As a result, his spring will dry up; his well will become dry. That wind will spoil all his delightful foods in the containers in his storehouse.
• Jeremiah 2:27They say to a wooden idol, ‘You are my father.’ They say to a stone image, ‘You gave birth to me.’ Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’
• Jeremiah 32:33They have turned away from me instead of turning to me. I tried over and over again to instruct them, but they did not listen and respond to correction.
• Deuteronomy 31:17At that time my anger will erupt against them and I will abandon them and hide my face from them until they are devoured. Many disasters and distresses will overcome them so that they will say at that time, ‘Have not these disasters overcome us because our God is not among us?’
• Judges 10:13But since you abandoned me and worshiped other gods, I will not deliver you again.
• Jeremiah 46:21Even her mercenaries will prove to be like pampered, well-fed calves. For they too will turn and run away. They will not stand their ground when the time for them to be destroyed comes, the time for them to be punished.
• Proverbs 7:25Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways – do not wander into her pathways;

Commentaries on Jeremiah 18:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17I will scatter them as with an east wind - It is the property of this wind, almost every where, to parch up, blast, and destroy grain and trees, and even cattle and men suffer from it. Hence the old metrical proverb: - "When the wind blows from the east, 'Tis good for neither man nor beast."Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17I will shew them the back - The hiding of God‘s face is the sure sign of His displeasure Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah 59:2.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-17Verses 11-17 Sinners call it liberty to live at large; whereas for a man to be a slave to his lusts, is the very worst slavery. They forsook God for idols. When men are parched with heat, and meet with cooling, refreshing streams, they use them. In these things men will not leave a certainty for an uncertainty; but Israel left the ancient paths appointed by the Divine law. They walked not in the highway, in which they might travel safely, but in a way in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-17The Lord declared judgment on Judah and Jerusalem. They have made their land a desolation...I will scatter them: Between 605 and 586 BC, Judah and Jerusalem gradually lost their residents. like the east wind: In the summer, a strong hot wind from the east can blow sand and dust from the desert into Judah. I will show them My back: The people would no longer have a covenant relationship with the Lord.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. as with an east wind--literally, "I will scatter them, as an east wind (scatters all before it)": a most violent wind (Job 27:21; Psa 48:7; Is 27:8). Thirty-two manuscripts read (without as), "with an east wind." I will show them the back ... not ... face--just retribution: as "they turned their back unto Me ... not their face" (Jr 2:27).Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 18:17

• Church
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• East wind
• Smite
• Wag
• Anathoth
• Face
• Providence

Commentaries on Jeremiah 18

• 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