Jeremiah 17:6

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

4The wonderful possession I have reserved for you will slip from your hands. I will tell your enemies to take you as captives to a foreign land. For my anger blazes like a fire that will burn forever.” 5This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. 7“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. 8They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

Jeremiah 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 for your lives! Hide in the wilderness!
• Job 8:11“Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh? Can marsh grass flourish without water?
• Job 15:30“They will not escape the darkness. The burning sun will wither their shoots, and the breath of God will destroy them.
• Psalms 1:4But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
• Psalms 92:7Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
• Psalms 129:5May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat.
• Isaiah 1:30You will be like a great tree with withered leaves, like a garden without water.
• 2 Kings 7:1Elisha replied, “Listen to this message from the Lord! This is what the Lord says: By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, six quarts of choice flour will cost only one piece of silver, and twelve quarts of barley grain will cost only one piece of silver.”
• John 20:17“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
• Deuteronomy 29:23They will exclaim, ‘The whole land is devastated by sulfur and salt. It is a wasteland with nothing planted and nothing growing, not even a blade of grass. It is like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger.’
• Judges 9:45The battle went on all day before Abimelech finally captured the city. He killed the people, leveled the city, and scattered salt all over the ground.
• Ezekiel 47:11But the marshes and swamps will not be purified; they will still be salty.
• Zephaniah 2:9Now, as surely as I live,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, “Moab and Ammon will be destroyed— destroyed as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah. Their land will become a place of stinging nettles, salt pits, and eternal desolation. The remnant of my people will plunder them and take their land.”

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

• Apostasy
• Desert
• Heath
• Idolatry
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Discontinue
• Hallow
• Hatch
• Heath
• Salt
• Sit
• Champaign
• Parched
• Tamarisk

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