Chapter Six

1–8. The enemies are already at the walls of Jerusalem. 9–21. The depth of the moral fall of the Judeans. 22–26. The danger threatening Jerusalem. 27–30. Conclusion.

Jer 6:1-8. The situation in Judah becomes more and more troubling. It is no longer safe even to remain in Jerusalem – and from there one must flee – of course to the south, since the enemy comes from the north. The enemies hasten to Jerusalem to destroy this city.

Jeremiah 6:1. “Flee, you children of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem! And blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal in Beth-haccerem; for disaster looms from the north with great destruction. “Children of Benjamin.” The inhabitants of Jerusalem are called thus because originally Jebus or Jerusalem belonged to the tribe of Benjamin (Josh 15:8) and the Benjaminites formed the greater part of the city’s population in ancient times (Judg 1:26). – “Tekoa” – a settlement to the southeast of Bethlehem, lay on hills and from there it was therefore convenient to give signals (probably by fire). The same can be said of Beth-haccerem, whom the blessed Jerome understood as a hilly region between Tekoa and Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 6:2. “I will destroy the daughter of Zion, the beautiful and delicate one. Jeremiah 6:3. “Shepherds with their flocks will come against her; they will pitch their tents around her; each will pasture in his portion. Jerusalem is threatened by an invasion of enemy hordes. – “Shepherds” – military commanders.

Jeremiah 6:4. “Prepare for war against her; arise, and let us attack at noon. Woe to us! The day is turning away, and the evening shadows are stretching out. Jeremiah 6:5. “Arise, and let us attack by night, and destroy her palaces! The enemies encourage one another. They need to go quickly – otherwise night will catch them on the way. And they go despite the midday heat... – “Prepare for war” – more accurately: “consecrate war.” War among eastern peoples was often regarded as a sacred undertaking, as a kind of worship (cf. 1 Sam 21:5; Exod 19:10; Josh 3:5). The shadows spread out as evening approaches. With the approaching of night, shadows from objects become longer.

Jeremiah 6:6. “For thus says the Lord of Hosts: ‘Cut down her trees and cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem; this city must be punished; there is only oppression within her.’ Jeremiah 6:7. “As a fountain springs forth with its waters, so she springs forth with her evil; violence and destruction are heard in her; before My face continually are grief and wounds. Jeremiah 6:8. “Be corrected, O Jerusalem, so that My soul does not turn away from you, so that I do not make you a desolation, a land not inhabited. Now Jehovah Himself encourages the enemies to hasten to take possession of Jerusalem, because Jerusalem cannot refrain from evildoing, as a spring cannot cease to spring forth water. However, Jehovah still invites the inhabitants of Jerusalem to correct their lives. Jer 6:9-21. The sins of the Judeans are extraordinarily great and therefore the wrath of God will come down on both adults and children. They, the Judeans, would not listen to any of God’s warnings and for this they will be destroyed.

Jeremiah 6:9. “Thus says the Lord of Hosts: ‘They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel; run your hand like a vintager over the branches again.’ “The remnant of Israel” – that is, the kingdom of Judah, which in the days of Jeremiah still maintained its independence, while the larger kingdom of Israel had already been devastated.

Jeremiah 6:10. “To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hear; behold, the word of the Lord is to them a mockery; they do not delight in it. From here (until the sixteenth verse) the prophet speaks. He sees no hope for the kingdom of Judah. He would speak to the Judean people in vain with calls to repentance. The Judeans have an uncircumcised ear, that is, as if overgrown with skin, and they are not able to listen to the teaching of the prophet, but only mock him.

Jeremiah 6:11. “Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord; I cannot hold it in. Pour it out on the children in the street, and on the assembly of young men together; for both husband and wife shall be taken, the elderly with him who is full of days. Jeremiah 6:12. “And their houses shall be turned to others, with their fields and wives together; for I will stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of this land,” says the Lord. The prophet himself is so filled with the heat of divine wrath that he can no longer hold it within himself and now will proclaim destruction to all.

Jeremiah 6:13. “For 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; Jeremiah 6:14. “they heal the wound of My people lightly, saying, ‘Peace! Peace!’ when there is no peace. Jeremiah 6:15. “Are they ashamed because they have committed abominations? No! They are not at all ashamed, and they do not blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time of their punishment they shall be overthrown,” says the Lord. Even the priests and prophets (the false ones) – all act against the requirements of honor and conscience. They promise the people peace, that is, reconciliation with God and from this complete external safety, while now there can be no talk of such peace.

Jeremiah 6:16. “Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, “We will not walk in it.”’ Jeremiah 6:17. “Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, “Listen to the sound of the trumpet.” But they said, “We will not listen. The Lord urged the people to walk in the ancient way, that is, to imitate the patriarchs who pleased God. He set watchmen, that is, the prophets, who from time to time were to give the call of the trumpet to warn careless travelers who wanted to go on new paths. But nothing affected the Judeans!

Jeremiah 6:18. “Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them. Jeremiah 6:19. “Hear, O earth: Behold, I am bringing calamity on this people, the fruit of their thoughts; because they have not heeded My words nor My law, but rejected it. Jeremiah 6:20. “For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba, and sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me. Jeremiah 6:21. “Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people; both fathers and sons together shall stumble against them, neighbor and his friend shall perish.’ All nations are invited to hear God’s verdict upon the Judeans. The Judeans did not listen to the words of Jehovah, thinking to cover up all their transgressions by offering select incense and sacrifices (“frankincense... from Sheba” or Fortunate Arabia and “sweet cane” from foreign lands were not required offerings). Therefore God will lay before the Judean people stumbling blocks, that is, will send upon them nations from the north. Jer 6:22-26. The Lord announces to the Judeans the approach to Jerusalem of a terrible nation from the north and the Judeans come in terror at this news. The prophet on his part invites his people to lamentation.

Jeremiah 6:22. “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a people comes from the north country, and a great nation is stirred up from the ends of the earth.’ Jeremiah 6:23. “They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy; their sound roars like the sea; and they ride on horses, all arrayed for battle against you, O daughter of Zion. The prophet evidently has the Babylonians in mind here (cf. Jer 1:15; Jer 4:15). “Daughter of Zion” – primarily the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 6:24. “We have heard the report of it; our hands have become feeble; anguish has seized us, pain like that of a woman in labor. Jeremiah 6:25. “Go not out into the field, nor walk on the road; for the enemy has a sword, terror is on all sides. This is spoken by the people living on Zion.

Jeremiah 6:26. “O daughter of My people, gird yourself with sackcloth and roll in ashes; make mourning as for an only son, a lamentation most bitter; for the plunderer will suddenly come upon us. The prophet invites the Judeans to mourn their destruction as a certainty. Jer 6:27-30. In conclusion the prophet says that, by God’s command, he has investigated the moral state of his people and found that this people fully deserves rejection from God.

Jeremiah 6:27. “I have set you as an assayer among My people, a fortress, that you may know and test their ways. “An assayer” – more accurately from the Hebrew: tester (according to the Slavic text: tester; if instead of bochon “fortress” we read bochen). – “A fortress” – according to the Hebrew: mebazer. This expression is obviously parallel to the expression bochen, but its exact meaning cannot be established.

Jeremiah 6:28. “All of them are stubborn rebels who go about as slanderers; they are bronze and iron; they are all corrupters. These are words of the prophet. According to his observations, the Judeans represent only bronze and iron and cannot be compared with any precious metals.

Jeremiah 6:29. “The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed by the fire; in vain does the refiner refine, for the wicked are not removed. Jeremiah 6:30. “They are called rejected silver, for the Lord has rejected them. Comparing his people to metallic ore, the prophet, like a refiner, wanted to separate the dross or impurities from the silver. But it was all in vain – the dross or evil people were not separated – all Judeans turned out to be a completely homogeneous mass. Nothing but lead!