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THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR J E R E M I A H

CHAPTER SIX

Jer 6:1-6 Bible Text 6:1 Impending Destruction from the North "O you children of Benjamin, Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a signal-fire in Beth Haccerem; for disaster appears out of the north, and great destruction. 2 I have likened the daughter of Zion To a lovely and delicate woman. 3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come to her. They shall pitch their tents against her all around. Each one shall pasture in his own place." 4 "Prepare war against her; Arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us, for the day goes away, for the shadows of the evening are lengthening. 5 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces." 6 For thus has the LORD of hosts said: "Cut down trees, and build a mound against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished. She is full of oppression in her midst. NKJV

6:1-30 having despaired of finding anyone righteous in the city, the prophet prepares for the coming punishment. 1: He begins by calling upon the people of Benjamin to flee. The territory of the tribe of Benjamin lies immediately to the north of Jerusalem, the most likely approach for an enemy invasion (cf. Isaiah 10:27-32; Hosea 5:8-9). According to (Joshua 18:11-28), Jerusalem is included within the territory of Benjamin (cf. Judges 1:21; contrast Joshua 16:63). Lighting of hilltop signal fires is to warn all Judah of the approaching enemy. Tekoa is the hometown of the prophet Amos (Amos 1:1), located in Judah, about 20 km (12 miles) south of Jerusalem and 10 km (6 miles) south of Bethlehem.

The prophet is punning here, using the verb “tik’u” which plays on the place Tekoa. Puns are especially prevalent in Jeremiah. Beth-haccerem has been identified as either the village ‘Ain Karim to the west of modern Jerusalem or more likely as Ramat Rahel on the southern edges of the city. [Jewish Study Bible]

Siege of Jerusalem by the Army from the North 6:1. Tekoa. Tekoa (Khirbit Tequa) was a town in the highlands of Judah ten miles south of Jerusalem on the border of arable land and desert. A refugee from Jerusalem was able to reach the city within one day.

6:1. Beth Hakkerem. Beth Hakkerem was associated with Tekoa and Bethlehem, but its precise location is uncertain. The early church father Jerome stated that it could be seen from Bethlehem, and thus it has been tentatively identified with 'Ain Karim, four miles west of Jerusalem, or Ramath Rahel, two and a half miles south of Jerusalem, which would have been ideal for a signal location. (From IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, Copyright © 2000 by John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews and Mark W. Chavalas. Published by Inter Varsity Press. All rights reserved.)

Jer 6:1 Jeremiah proceeds to unveil the judgment impending upon Jerusalem, and his description of it is divided into five parts, each beginning with the words "Thus saith Jehovah." 1 THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR

Jer 6:1-8 The Judgment is Irrevocably Decreed. – 1. A hostile army approaches from the north, and lays siege to Jerusalem, in order to storm the city (vv. 1-8). 2. None is spared, since the people reject all counsels to reform (vv. 9-15). 3. Since it will not repent, it will fall by the hands of the enemy, in spite of the outward sacrificial service (vv. 16-21). 4. The enemy will smite Zion without mercy, seeing that the trial of the people has brought about no change for the better in them (vv. 22-30). (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary)

In graphic delineation of the enemy's approach against Jerusalem, the prophet calls on the people to flee. As regarded its situation, Jerusalem belonged to the tribe of Benjamin; the boundary between the tribal domain of Judah and Benjamin passed through the valley of Ben- hinnom on the south side of Jerusalem, and then ran northwards to the west of the city (Josh 15:8; 18:16 f.). The city was inhabited by Judeans and Benjamites, (1 Chron 9:2 ff). The summons is addressed to the Benjamites as the prophet's fellow-countrymen. Tekoa lay about two hours' journey southwards from Bethlehem, according to Jerome, on a hill twelve Roman miles south of Jerusalem; (see on Josh 15:59). This town is mentioned because its name admits of a play on the word tiqª`uw (OT: 8628) [blow]. The alarm is given in the country south of Jerusalem, because the enemy is coming from the north, so that the flight will be directed southwards.

[Blow the trumpet in Tekoa] The name of Tekoa is almost identical with the verb "to blow": but it was not chosen merely for the alliteration, but because it was the last town in Judaea (about 11 miles south of Jerusalem), upon the very border of the desert, where the fugitives would halt.

[A sign] Rather, a signal.

[Beth-haccerem] Or, the "Vineyard-House," which was situated halfway between Jerusalem and Tekoa. (From Barnes' Notes)

Verse 2 It falls on the daughter of Zion, the capital and its inhabitants, personified as a beautiful and delicately reared woman. Naawaah (OT: 5115), defectively written for naa'waah (OT: 5000), contracted from na'awaah (OT: 5000), lovely, beautiful. The words are not vocatives, O fair and delicate, but accusatives made to precede their governing verb absolutely, and are explained by "the daughter of Zion," dependent on "I destroy:" the fair and the delicate, namely, the daughter of Zion, I destroy, as in Hos 4:5. “Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.”

3-15: The enemy brings tents and sheep to prepare for a long siege and cuts down trees to prepare siege works for an assault (cf. Deuteronomy 20:19-20, which forbids Israelite soldiers to cut down fruit trees to besiege a city). [Jewish Study Bible]

SHEPHERDS AND THEIR FLOCKS 2 THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR

Verse 3 The destruction comes about by means of shepherds with their flocks, who set up their tents round the city, and depasture each his portion. We need hardly observe that the shepherds and their flocks are a figure for princes, who with their peoples besiege and sack Jerusalem; with this (cf. Jer 1:15).

Verse 4-7. The description passes from figure to reality, and the enemies appear before us as speaking, inciting one another to the combat, encouraging one another to storm the city. To sanctify a war, i.e., prepare them for the war by religious consecration, inasmuch as the war was undertaken under commission from God, and because the departure of the army, like the combat itself, was consecrated by sacrifice and other religious ceremonies; (see on Joel 3:9). `Aalaah (OT: 5927), [to ascend] to go up against a place as an enemy, not, go up upon, in which case the object, them (the city or walls), could not be omitted.

It is plainly the storming or capture of the town that is meant by the going up; hence we may understand what follows: and we will destroy her palaces. We have a rousing call to go up at noon or in clear daylight, joined with "woe to us," a cry of disappointment that they will not be able to gain their ends so soon, not indeed till night; in these we see the great eagerness with which they carry on the assault. Paanaah (OT: 6437) [to turn, to face] yowm (OT: 3117), [to be hot, a day] the day turns itself, declines towards its end; (cf. Ps 90:9). (Keil & Delitzsch)

Jer 6:4 [Prepare ye war] Rather, Sanctify ye war against her. War in ancient times was never undertaken without religions solemnities (see Deut 20:2 note). For some of these compare (Ezek 21:21-23).

[At noon] The mid-day heat is so great in the East as to be usually passed under shelter (2 Sam 4:5; Song 1:7). The morning-march of an army was made fasting, and was usually over by eight or nine. But so great is the impatience of the Chaldeans for the assault that they cry, "we will make the assault at noon!"

[Woe unto us!] Or Alas for us! "For the day" has turned for the evening shadows are lengthening! (From Barnes' Notes)

Deut 20:2 [The priest] Not the high priest, but one appointed for the purpose, and called, according to the rabbis, "the anointed of the war": hence, perhaps the expression of (Jer 6:4, etc). "Prepare ye" (literally consecrate) "war." Thus, Phinehas went with the warriors to fight against Midian (Num 31:6; compare 1 Sam 4:4, 11; 2 Chron 13:12). (Barnes’ Notes)

Jer 6:1-8 The enemies act under a commission from God, who has imposed on them the labour of the siege, in order to punish Jerusalem for her sins. Jahveh is here most fittingly called the God of hosts; for as God of the world, obeyed by the armies of heaven, He commands the kings of the earth to chastise His people. Hew wood, i.e., fell trees for making the siege works, (cf. Deut 20:20), both for raising the attacking ramparts, (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary)

Jer 6:5

3 THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR

Up! And we will make the assault "by night!" And destroy "her palaces." The generals delay the assault until the next morning. The soldiers consider themselves aggrieved at this, and clamor for a night attack. (From Barnes' Notes)

6:6. siege ramps. The ancients were notorious for their inability to conduct siege warfare. The construction of a siege ramp was a useful tool but very precarious, as the city defenders made every attempt to thwart its progress. It was normally made as a sloping ramp, built with a foundation of trees and large stones and mixed with earth and other elements at hand. Numerous wall reliefs from Assyria depict Assyrian siege ramps employed throughout the Near East. Moreover, remains of an Assyrian siege ramp have been uncovered at the Judean city of Lachish (for more information see comment on Jer 32:24), where the Assyrians were successful in capturing and destroying the fortress city. (IVP Bible Background Commentary)

Jer 6:7-8 Bible Text 7 As a fountain wells up with water, so she wells up with her wickedness. Violence and plundering are heard in her. Before Me continually are grief and wounds. 8 Be instructed, O Jerusalem, lest My soul depart from you; lest I make you desolate, A land not inhabited." NKJV

Verse 7 We therefore, along with (Luther) and most commentators, prefer the rabbinical interpretation: as a well makes its water to gush out, etc.; for there is no sufficient force in the objection that maaqowr (OT: 4726) [something dug] from quwr (OT: 6979), dig, is not a spring but a well, that heeqiyr has still less the force of making to gush forth, and that bowr (OT: 953) [cistern] wholly excludes the idea of causing to spring out.

Jer 6:8 [Be thou instructed] Are thou chastised: learn the lesson which chastisement is intended to teach thee.

[Lest my soul] Lest I Myself-not "depart from thee," God does not willingly leave His people, but - "be torn from thee." (Barnes' Notes)

"A land uninhabited" is an apposition giving greater expressiveness to "a waste," (Jer 22:6). (From Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)

“…yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.” Jeremiah 22:6

“And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city? 9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.” Jeremiah 22:8-10

Jer 6:9-15 Bible Text 9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: The Next Prophecy "They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel; as a grape-gatherer, put your hand back into the branches." 10 To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it. 11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD.I am 4 THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR weary of holding it in.” I will pour it out on the children outside, and on the assembly of young men together; for even the husband shall be taken with the wife, the aged with him who is full of days. 12 And their houses shall be turned over to others, Fields and wives together; for I will stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of the land," says the LORD. 13 "Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness; And from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. 14 They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, 'Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace. 15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time I punish them, they shall be cast down," says the LORD. NKJV

Jer 6:9 [They ...] Each word indicates the completeness of Judah's ruin.

[Turn back thine hand] Addressed perhaps to Nebuchadnezzar as God's servant (Jer 25:9). He is required to go over the vine once again, that no grapes may escape.

[Into the baskets] Better, "upon the tendrils." While the Jews carried captive to Babylon escaped, misery gleaned the rest again and again. (Barnes' Notes)

[General Information - 6:11-15 although the prophet warns of danger, not even the priests or prophets who are responsible for the people’s welfare heed his warning; in fact, they inappropriately reassure the people. 16-21: Although the leaders could have chosen the ancient paths or “torah,” they did not and therefore bring punishment upon themselves. Jewish Study Bible

Jer 6:9-15 This judgment will fall unsparingly on Jerusalem, because they listen to no warning, but suffer themselves to be confirmed in their shameless courses by false prophets and wicked priests. The threatening of v. 9 is closely connected with the foregoing. The Lord will make Jerusalem an uninhabited waste, because it will not take warning. The enemy will make a gleaning like vine-dressers, i.e., they will yet search out eve that which is left of the people, and crush it or carry it captive. This still sterner threat does come into contradiction with the repeated pledge that Israel is not to be wholly extirpated, not to be made an utter end of (Jer 4:27; 5:10, 18).

For even at the gleaning odd clusters are left, which are not noticed or set store by. The words convey the idea that the enemy will not have done with it after one devastating campaign, but will repeat his inroads. Is construed with the occlusive of the vineyard in (Lev 19:10). The "remnant of Israel" is not the kingdom of Judah at large, but Judah already reduced by judgments. In the second clause the idea of the first is repeated in the form of a command to the gleaners. The command is to be looked on as addressed to the enemy by God; and this turn of the expression serves to put the thought with a positive ness that excludes the faintest doubt. To bring back the hand means: yet again to turn it, stretch it out against a person or thing; (cf. Amos 1:8; Isa 1:25). (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)

Verse 10-11. Well might Jeremiah warn the people once more (cf. v. 8), in order to turn sore judgment away from it; but it cannot and will not hear, for it is utterly hardened. Yet can he not be silent; for he is so filled with the fury of God, that he must pour it forth on the depraved race. This is our view of the progress of the thought in these verses. Just because their ear is uncircumcised to that they cannot hear, is it in vain to speak to them for the purpose of warning them; and the prophet has no alternative left but to pour out on the deaf and seared people that fury of the Lord with which he is inwardly filled. The question: to whom should I speak? Is not to be taken as a question to God, but only as a rhetorical turn of the thought, that all further speaking or warning is in vain. "Testify," lay down testimony by exhibiting the sin and the punishment it brings with it. "That they may hear.” Uncircumcised is their ear, as it were covered with a foreskin, so that the voice of God's word cannot find its way in; (cf. Jer 5:24; 4:4).

The second clause, introduced by, the reason of their not being able to hear. The word of God is become a reproach to them; they are determined not to hearken to it, because it lashes their sins. V. 11 come in adversatively: But the fury of the Lord drives him to speak. YHWH (OT: 3068) [God’s special name] chamat (OT: 2534) is not a holy ardor for Jahveh (Graf and many ancient comm.), but the wrath of God against the people, which the prophet cannot contain, i.e., keep to himself, but must pour out. (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary)

Jer 6:11 Or, but I am filled with "the fury of Yahweh: I am weary with holding" it "in." Pour it out "upon the children" in the street, and upon the company of youths "together;" for both man and "wife shall be taken;" the older and he whose days are full. With emphatic abruptness Jeremiah bids he gives full utterance to God's message. And the message is to reach all. Five stages of human life are successively marked out. (From Barnes' Notes)

‘But I am filled with the wrath of the Lord, I cannot hold it in. Pour it on the infant in the street, and on the company of youths gathered together! Yes, men and women alike shall be captured, elders and those of advanced years.’ Jeremiah 6:11 Tanakh Jewish Text

Verse 12-14. V. 12a gives the result of being thus taken: their houses, fields, and wives will be handed over to others, descend to others. Wives are mentioned along with houses and fields, as in the commandment, (Exodus 20:17; cf. Deut 5:18). The loss of all one's possessions is mentioned in connection with reproof, following in v. 13, of greed and base avarice. The threatening is confirmed in v. 12b by the clause: for I (Jahveh) stretch my hand out, etc.

Then in vv. 13 and 14 the cause of the judgment is adduced. The judgment falls upon all, for all, great and little, i.e., mean and powerful (cf. vv. 4, 5), go after base gain; and the teachers, who ought to lead the people on the true way (Isa 30:21), sue deceit and dishonesty. They heal the breach of the daughter of my people, i.e., the infirmities and injuries of the state, after a light and frivolous fashion;-in this, namely, that they speak of peace and healing where there is no peace; that they do not uncover the real injuries so as to heal them thoroughly, but treat them as if they were trifling and in no way dangerous infirmities.

Verse 15 For this behavior they are put to shame, i.e., deceived in their hope. The perfect is prophetic, representing the matter as being equally certain as if it had been already realized. (From Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)

Jer 6:15 The fact is expressed that their conduct was a disgrace to them, though they did not feel it as such. "Abomination" has its usual meaning of idolatry (Jer 4:1). (From Barnes' Notes)

Jer 6:15-21 Bible Text 16 Thus says the LORD: The Next Prophecy "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' 17 Also, I set watchmen over you, saying,’ Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, 'we will not listen.' 18 Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. 19 Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people --The fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded My words or My law, but rejected it. 20 For what purpose to Me Comes frankincense from Sheba, and sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to Me." 21 Therefore thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish." NKJV

Jer 6:16 The sense is: God's prophet has declared that a great national calamity is at hand. "Make inquiries; stand in the ways; ask the passers by. Your country was once prosperous and blessed. Try to learn what were the paths trodden in those days which led your ancestors to happiness. Choose them, and walk earnestly therein, and find thereby rest for your souls." The Christian fathers often contrast Christ the one good way with the old tracks, many in number and narrow to walk in, which are the Law and the prophets. (From Barnes' Notes)

6:17 The watchmen are the prophets who were to guide the people. This image is developed in detail in (Ezekiel 3:17-21). 19: The prophet continues to draw upon the Isaiah tradition; the statement that they rejected My Instruction, Hebrew “torah,” echoes (Isaiah 5:24 cf. Isaiah 1:10). He charges that they were more concerned with their own wealth. Jewish Study Bible

Jer 6:16-21 Verse 16 The Lord has not left any lack of instruction and warning. He has marked out for them the way of salvation in the history of the ancient times. It is to this reference is made when they, in ignorance of the way to walk in, are called to ask after the everlasting paths. This thought is clothed thus: they are to step forth upon the ways, to place themselves where several ways diverge from one another, and inquire as to the everlasting paths, so as to discover which the right way is, and then on this they are to walk. `owlaam (OT: 5769) [always] nªtiybowt (OT: 5410) [path] are paths that have been trod in the hoary time of old, but not all sorts of ways, good and bad, which they are to walk on indiscriminately, so that it may be discovered which of them is the right one (Hitz.).

This meaning is not to be inferred from the fact, that in (Jer 18:15) everlasting paths are opposed to untrodden ways; indeed this very passage teaches that the everlasting ways are the right ones, from which through idolatry the people have wandered into unbeaten paths. Thus the paths of the old time are here the ways in which Israel's godly ancestors have trod; meaning substantially, the patriarchs' manner of thinking and acting. For the following question, 7 THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR

"which is the way," etc., does not mean, amongst the paths of old time to seek out that which, as the right one, leads to salvation, but says simply thus much: ask after the paths of the old time, so as thus to recognize the right way, and then, when ye have found it, to walk therein. (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)

‘He that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin’ As the Scripture states, Just knowing what is right is not enough. The High Priest and the Sanhedrin knew the right course of action, but they chose not to accept Jesus Christ and their Messiah and so all they had to look forward was the destruction that would come in about 40 years from Rome. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. Paul the Learner

Note: Have we lost our way from the old paths that established the church of Jesus Christ? Have we forgotten the very foundation that made the church a powerful instrument in the hands of the Holy Spirit? Maybe we should go back to the basics again before Christ comes for His church. Paul the Learner

6:17: The watchmen are the prophets who were to guide the people. This image is developed in detail in Ezekiel 3:17-21. [‘O mortal, I appoint you watchman for the House of Israel; and when you hear a word from My mouth, you must warn them for Me. 18 If I say to a wicked man, ‘You shall die,’ and you do not warn him – you do not speak to warn the wicked man of his wicked course in order to save his life – he, the wicked man, shall die for his iniquity, but I will require a reckoning for his blood from you…’ Ezekiel 3:17, 18 Tanakh Hebrew Text

Verse 17 But God does not let the matter end here. He caused prophets to rise up amongst them, who called their attention to the threatening evil. Watchers are prophets,(Ezek 3:17), who stand upon the watch-tower to keep a lookout, (Hab 2:1), and to give the people warning, by proclaiming what they have seen in spirit. "Hearken to the sound," etc., are not the words of the watchmen (prophets), for it is they who blow the trumpet, but the words of God; so that we have to supply, "and I said." The comparison of the prophets to watchmen, who give the alarm of the imminent danger by means of the sound of the trumpet, involves the comparison of the prophets' utterances to the clang of the signal-horn-suggested besides by (Amos 3:6). (Keil & Delitzsch)

Verse 18 Judah being thus hardened, the Lord makes known to the nations what He has determined regarding it; (cf. Mic 1:2). The sense of "Know, thou congregation," etc., is far from clear, and has been very variously given. (Ros. Dahl., Maur., Umbr, and others), understand `eedaah (OT: 5712) of the congregation or assembly of the foreign nations; but the word cannot have this meaning without some further qualifying word. Besides, a second mention of the nations is not suitable to the context. The congregation must be that of Israel.

The only question can be, whether we are by this to think of the whole people (of Judah), (Chald, Syr., Ew. and others), or whether it is the company of the ungodly that is addressed. But there is little probability in the view, that the crew of the ungodly is addressed along with the nations and the earth. (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)

Note: When you find a difference of opinion concerning a passage of Scripture, then I like to go back to the source, which in this case is the Tanakh the Holy Scriptures, which is the traditional Hebrew Text of the Jews. If further information is needed, then let’s look further.

‘Hear well, O nations, And know, a-O community [Judah], what is in store for them.-a Jeremiah 6:18 [Hebrew uncertain a-a]

‘Therefore the nations [Judah] heard; even they who were tending their flocks.’ Jeremiah 6:18 the Septuagint

Jer 6:18 God summons three witnesses to hear His sentence. (1) The Gentiles. (2) All mankind, Jews and Gentiles. (3) Nature (see Jer 6:19).

[What is among them] Rather, "what happens" in them; i.e., "Know what great things I will do to them." (From Barnes' Notes)

Note: You will find as you seek to find the truth concerning a passage of Scripture, that teachers both Jewish and Gentile have different opinions and sometimes you have to seek the truth from God. “…and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” The Acts 17:11

6:19: The prophet continues to draw upon the Isaiah tradition; the statement that they rejected My Instruction, Hebrew “torah,” echoes Isaiah 5:24 (cf. Isaiah 1:10 ‘Hear the word of the Lord you chieftains of Sodom; give ear to our God’s instruction, you folk of Gomorrah!’ Tanakh). He charges that they were more concerned with their own wealth. [Jewish Study Bible]

Verse 19 In v. 19 the evil is characterized as a punishment drawn down by them on themselves by means of the apposition: fruit of their thoughts. "Fruit of their thoughts," not of their deeds (Isa 3:10), in order to mark the hostility of the evil heart towards God. God's law is put in a place of prominence by the turn of the expression: My law and they spurned at it. The latter reference, acc. to which the disputed phrase would be translated: what will happen to them (against them), seems more feasible, and corresponds better to the parallelism of (vv. 18 and 19), since this corresponds better to the parallelism of vv. 18 and 19, since this same phrase is then explained in v. 19 by: I bring evil upon this people. (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary)

6:20. incense from Sheba. One of the more luxurious spices used for incense was frankincense (a white gum resin) which came from Sheba in south Arabia, a center of the spice trade. Incense accompanied sacrificial offerings (see comment on Lev 2:1).

6:20. sweet calamus. Sweet calamus (or aromatic spice cane) most likely originated from India. It was among the ingredients listed in the anointing oil in Exodus 30:23. It was a marsh plant that was used as a tonic and stimulant. It is not to be confused with sugar cane, which spread east after the Old Testament period. (IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament)

6:20 Sheba, identified with modern Yemen in southwest Arabia, was a well-known source for frankincense, other spices, gold, and precious stones (1 Kings Chapter 10; Isaiah 60:6; Ezekiel 27:25). Again, the prophet’s statements concerning God’s rejection of sacrifices recalls (Isaiah

1:10-17. 21: As in (Isaiah 8:14), God will place stumbling blocks before the people (cf. Isaiah 3:8). [Jewish Study Bible]

Jer 6:20 [The sweet cane] The same as the scented cane of Exodus 30:23.

[Your burnt offerings] The rejection of ritual observances is proclaimed by the two prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, who chiefly assisted the two pious kings, Hezekiah and Josiah, in restoring the temple-service. God rejects not the ceremonial service, but the substitution of it for personal holiness and morality. Compare (1 Sam 15:22; Isa 1:11; Mic 6:6-8). (Barnes' Notes)

Note: Do you think that God is rejecting our ‘religiosity’ for the moving of the Holy Spirit in our church services through the gifts of the Spirit and the old time preaching of the cross of Christ and the danger of hell fire. Gone are the Prophets and Evangelist and old time revivals in our assemblies, now we brag about having two or three services on a Sunday and we have our two songs and of course our two or three offerings to support our different ministries and we move them out as fast as we can to make room for the next bunch. No time for testimonies any more and of course no time for any type of altar service. The pattern repeats itself. Paul the Learner

Verse 20 The people had no shortcoming in the matter of sacrifice in the temple; but in this service, as being mere outward service of works, the Lord has no pleasure, if the heart is estranged from Him, rebels against His commandments. Here we have the doctrine; to obey is better than sacrifice, (1 Sam 15:22). The Lord desires that men do justice, exercise love, and walk humbly with Him, (Mic 6:8). Sacrifice, is denounced by all the prophets: (cf. Hos 6:6; Amos 5:21 ff., Isa 1:11; Ps 50:8 ff).

Incense from Sheba (see on Ezek 27:22) was required partly for the preparation of the holy incense (Ex 30:34), partly as an addition to the meat-offerings, (Lev 2:1, 15), etc. Good, precious cane, is the aromatic reed, calamus odoratus (Exodus 30:23), calamus from a far country-namely, brought from India-and used in the preparation of the anointing oil; (see on Exodus 30:23). lªraatsown (OT: 7522) [delight] is from the language of the Torah.

Verse 21 Therefore the Lord will lay stumbling-blocks before the people, whereby they all come to grief. The stumbling-blocks, by which the people are to fall and perish, are the inroads, of the enemies, whose formidableness is depicted in v. 22 ff. The idea of totality is realized by individual cases in "fathers and sons, neighbour and his friend." (Keil & Delitzsch)

Jer 6:21 "Behold," I give unto "this people" causes of stumbling, and they shall stumble against them: Fathers and sons together, "the neighbor and his friend shall perish."

This is the natural consequence of their conduct. Their service of Yahweh was a systematic hypocrisy: how then could they walk uprightly with their fellow-men? When God lays stumbling blocks in men's way, it is by the general action of His moral law (James 1:13-14), by which willful sin in one point reacts upon the whole moral nature (James 2:10). (Barnes' Notes)

Jer 6:21-30 Bible Text 22 Thus says the LORD: The Next Prophecy "Behold, a people comes from the North Country, And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth. 23 They will lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel and have no mercy; their voice roars like the sea; and they ride on horses, as men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion." 24 We have heard the report of it; our hands grow feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, Pain as of a woman in labor. 25 Do not go out into the field, nor walk by the way. Because of the sword of the enemy, Fear is on every side. 26 O daughter of my people, Dress in sackcloth and roll about in ashes! Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the plunderer will suddenly come upon us. 27 "I have set you as an assayer and a fortress among My people, that you may know and test their way. 28 They are all stubborn rebels, walking as slanderers. They are bronze and iron, they are all corrupters; 29 the bellows blow fiercely, the lead is consumed by the fire; the smelter refines in vain, for the wicked are not drawn off. 30 People will call them rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them." NKJV

22-26: The description of the approaching northern enemy from the remotest parts of the earth with weapons in hand and roaring like the sea once again recalls the description of the Assyrians in (Isaiah 5:26-30). 24: The image of a woman in childbirth also appears in (Isaiah 13:8; 26:17- 18). Jewish Study Bible

6:24: The image of a woman in childbirth also appears in Isaiah 13:8; 26:17-18. [JSB]

6:25: The reference to terror on every side is characteristic of Jeremiah (20:3, 10; 46:5; 49:29). [Jewish Study Bible]

Note: All of this has brought into my mind of a cancer surgery that I had to have. The surgeons had to take out some good part in order to completely take out the bad part. God had to bring destruction on both the good and the bad only the good would be the next generation of the people, because this generation must perish. Paul the Learner

Jer 6:22-25 In v. 22 the stumbling-blocks of (v. 21) are explained. At the end of this discourse yet again the invasion of the enemy from the far north is announced, (cf. Jer 4:13 and 5:15), and its terribleness is portrayed with new colors. The farther the land is from which the enemy comes, the stranger and terrible he appears to the imagination. The farthest (hindmost) sides of the earth (cf. 25:32) is only a heightening of the idea: land of the north, or of the far distance (5:15); in other words, the far uttermost north (cf. Isa 14:13). “But "sides of the earth" is not a geographical term for any particular northern country, but only for very remote lands; and that the Chaldeans were reckoned as falling within this term, is shown by the passage (Jer 31:8), according to which Israel is to be gathered again from the land of the north and from the sides of the earth. (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)

“Behold, I will bring them from the North Country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth….” Jer. 31:8

"Against thee" is dependent on `aaruwkª (OT: 6186) [arrange, put in order]: equipped as a warrior is equipped for the war, against the daughter of Zion. In (vv. 24-26) are set forth the terrors and the suspense which the appearance of the foe will spread abroad. In v. 24 the prophet, as a member of the people, gives utterance to its feelings. As to the sense, the clauses are to be connected thus: As soon as we hear the rumor of the people, i.e., of its approach, our hands become feeble through dread, all power to resist vanishes: (cf. Isa 13:7); and for the metaphor of travail, (Isa 13:8; Mic 4:9, etc).

6:23. cavalry units in seventh century. Chariot and cavalry warfare in the seventh century B.C. were primarily used as shock weapons. However, with the reforms of Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria (r. 745 B.C. - 727 B.C.), horses and chariots also played the role of light artillery, as arrows were shot from the horse-drawn chariots. Later a heavier chariot with four men appeared with Ashurbanipal (r. 668 B.C. - 627 B.C.). Cavalry (exclusive of chariotry) was developed in Urartu (biblical Ararat), which furnished up to a thousand specialized units to the Assyrian army by the time of Sargon II (r. 721 B.C. - 705 B.C.). Stud farms were created in various points of the empire, especially in Syria and in the Assyrian capitals. This cavalry tradition was inherited in its entirety by the Chaldeans in the late seventh century B.C. For more information see comment on Hab 1:8. (IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament)

Jer 6:23 [Cruel] ruthless, inhuman. In the Assyrian monuments warriors put the vanquished to death; rows of impaled victims hang round the walls of the besieged towns; and men collect in heaps hands cut from the vanquished. (From Barnes' Notes)

6:27-30: The portrayal of the enemy as an assayer of My people – a refiner who smelts and does not separate out the dross likewise draws on Isaiah’s metaphorical portrayal of the purification of Jerusalem as a smelting process (Isaiah 1:21-26). Throughout this passage, Jeremiah draws an analogy between the situation of his own time and that of the prophet Isaiah in an effort to warn the people of approaching danger and convince them to change their course of action. The way in which Jeremiah reuses Isaiah’s oracles is behind the (chronologically impossible) suggestion that Isaiah was Jeremiah’s teacher (Talmud Lam. Rab. 1:18). Jewish Study Bible

In v. 28 the inhabitants of Jerusalem, personified as the daughter of Zion, are warned not to go forth of the city into the field or about the country, lest they fall into the enemies' hands and be put to death. Micaabiyb (OT: 5439) [a circle –around] maagowr (OT: 4032) [fear, terror], often used by Jeremiah, (cf. Jer 20:3, 10; 46:5; 49:29, and, as 20:10) shows, taken from (Ps 31:14). Fear or terrors around, i.e., on all sides’ danger and destruction threaten. (From Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

“Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: 8 and they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.” Isaiah 13:7, 8

“And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The Lord hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib.” Jeremiah 20:3 12 THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR

Magormissabib means Fear round about.

6:26. rolling in ashes. Rolling or groveling in the dust or sprinkling ashes on oneself was a sign of mourning in the ancient Near East. [IVP Commentary]

6:27. metal assayers. The assayer/refiner here was a metallurgist whose duty was to assess the quality of the ore. It was then refined by stripping it of its impure elements. However, if there were a great deal of impurities in the metal, the item was totally discarded. [IVP]

6:27-30: The portrayal of the enemy as an assayer of My people – a refiner who smelts and does not separate out the dross likewise draws on Isaiah’s metaphorical portrayal of the purification of Jerusalem as a smelting process (Isaiah 1:21-26). Throughout this passage, Jeremiah draws an analogy between the situation of his own time and that of the prophet Isaiah in an effort to warn the people of approaching danger and convince them to change their course of action. The way in which Jeremiah reuses Isaiah’s oracles is behind the (chronologically impossible) suggestion that Isaiah was Jeremiah’s teacher (Talmud Lam. Rab. 1:18). [Jewish Study Bible]

Jer 6:26-27 Sorest affliction will seize the inhabitants of Jerusalem. As to "daughter of my people," (cf. Jer 4:11); on "gird thee with sackcloth," (cf. 4:8). To bestrew the head with ashes is a mode of expressing the greatest affliction; (cf. Ezek 27:30; Mic 1:10). Yaachiyd (OT: 3173) [desolate] 'eebel (OT: 60) [lamentation-mourning] as in (Amos 8:10; Zech 12:10).

The (vv. 27-30) corresponds in substance with the view given in (Jer 5:30-31) of the moral character of the people. As that statement shows the reasons for the threatening that God must take vengeance on such a people (5:29), so what is said in the verses before us explain why it is threatened that a people approaching from the north will execute judgment without mercy on the daughter of Zion. For these verses do not tell us only the results of the prophet's past labors, but they at the same time indicate that his further efforts will be without effect.

Jer 6:26-27 People like copper and iron – can’t remove the slag The people are like copper and iron, unproductive of either gold or silver; and so the smelting process is in vain. The illustration and the thing illustrated are not strictly discriminated in the statement: he that tries metal that by smelting separates the slag from the gold and silver ore; (cf. Zech 13:9; Job 23:10). (From Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

Jer 6:27 Render it: I have set thee among My people as a prover of ore, and thou shalt know and try their way. They are all of them rebels of rebels (i.e., utter rebels): Slander-walkers, were copper and iron, Corrupters all of them. The bellows glow: from their fire lead only! In vain hath the smelter smelted, and the wicked are not separated. Refuse-silver have men called them: For Yahweh hath refused them. The intermixture throughout of moral words and metallurgical terms is remarkable. (From Barnes' Notes)

Jeremiah 6:28 13 THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR

6:28. bronze, iron metaphor. In the ancient world silver was extracted and assayed through a process called cupellation. In the initial smelting process silver was extracted from lead ores (galena) containing less than 1 percent silver in a given sample. The lead was melted in shallow vessels made of porous substances such as bone ash or clay. A bellows was then used to blow air across the molten lead producing lead oxide (litharge). Some of the lead oxide was absorbed by the bone ash, while some could be skimmed off the surface. Ideally the silver would remain. Unfortunately this process had many potential problems.

1. If the temperature was too high, 2. Or if the sample contained other metals (iron, copper or tin were common), 3. The cupellation would be unsuccessful.

In this situation, when the litharge was skimmed off, rather than resulting in silver extraction, what remained was tainted silver mixed with other metals and therefore unusable. This unusable product is perhaps what is referred to in the translation as "dross."

Another possibility is that the text refers to the assaying process. This involved heating a sample of silver together with large amounts of lead in order to draw off the impurities. One of the possible results of the assaying process was that the quantity of lead would be insufficient to draw off the impurities rendering the silver useless. Rather than being purified, then, the silver would be in worse shape than before the process. Perhaps this process is envisioned by the text, and the silver becomes this useless junk. (From IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, Copyright © 2000 by John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews and Mark W. Chavalas. Published by Inter Varsity Press. All rights reserved.)

Note: can you see the parallel between the sanctified Jew that gave up his sanctification in order to be like the other nations around him, and so he became a sinner the one who has forsaken his God, and there was no way for him or her to then become a sanctified Jew again. This is the same process of the Jew who receives the knowledge of the Messiah Jesus and becomes born again and then forsakes that knowledge and decides to go back into the Jewish system and fails to receive forgiveness, for he has counted the blood of Christ an unholy thing. Paul the Learner

Jer 6:28 V. 28 give a statement as to the moral character of the people. "Revolters of revolters" is a kind of superlative, and caareey (OT: 5493) [to turn off] is to be derived from caarar (OT: 5637) [to turn away], not from cuwr (OT: 5493), perverse of perverse; or, as (Hitz) imitating the Hebrew phrase, rebels of the rebellious.

Going about as slanderers, (see on Lev 19:16), in order to bring others into difficulties; (cf. Ezek 22:9). To this is subjoined the figurative expression: brass and iron, i.e., ignoble metal as contrasted with gold and silver, (cf. Ezek 22:18); and to this, again, the unfigurative statement: they are all dealing corrupting. mashªchiytiym (OT: 7843) [cast off], (cf. Isa 1:4; Deut 31:29). There is no sufficient reason for joining kulaam (OT: 3605) [all] with the preceding: brass and iron, as (Hitz. and Graf) do in defiance of the accents.

Jer 6:29 The smelting has been carried on so perseveringly, that the bellows have been scorched by the heat of the fire, and the lead added in order to get the ore into fusion is used up; but they have gone on smelting quite in vain. Tsaarap (OT: 6884) [to fuse, refine] with indefinite subject, and the infinite. Absolute. Added to indicate the long duration of the experiment. In the last clause of the verse the result is mentioned in words without a figure: The wicked have not been separated out (prop., torn asunder from the mass). (From Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

Jer 6:30 [Reprobate] See the margin; not really silver, but the dross.

[The LORD hath rejected them] This then is the end. The smelter is God's prophet: the bellows the breath of inspiration: the flux his earnestness in preaching. But in vain does the fervor of prophecy essay to melt the hearts of the people. They are so utterly corrupt, that no particle even of pure metal can be found in them. The entire refiner's art is in vain. They have rejected all God's gifts and motives for their repentance, and therefore Yahweh has rejected them as an alloy too utterly adulterate to repay the refiner's toil. (From Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)

Conclusion 1. There was no righteous man or woman found in Jerusalem. 2. All had become polluted with sin. 3. They had even sacrificed there children to a false god. 4. There was only one thing left as there cup of indignation was now full. 5. God sent the army from Babylon for punishment upon them. 6. There were some who were taken captive back to Babylon 7. After this generation had died off, then there children could be saved. Paul the Learner