1
Flee for safety, O people of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal of smoke over Beth-haccherem! For disaster is peering out from the north, and a great destruction.
2
Is the daughter of Zion like a pasture most desired,
3
so that shepherds come to her with their flocks? They have pitched their tents around her; each one feeds on what he can find.
4
“Prepare war against her; come, let us attack at noon!” “Woe to us, for the day is declining, and the shadows of evening are lengthening!”
5
“Come, let us attack by night and destroy her fortresses!”
6
For thus says the LORD of hosts: “Cut down her trees and heap up a mound against Jerusalem! This is the city that must be punished; there is nothing but oppression within her!
7
As a spring keeps pouring out its water, so she keeps pouring out her wickedness. Violence and ruin are heard within her; wounds and blows are always before Me.
8
Accept correction, O Jerusalem, lest I turn away from you, lest I make you desolate, a land without inhabitants!”
9
Thus says the LORD of hosts: “They shall glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as a vine is gleaned. Return again, like a grape gatherer, and search through her branches with your hand.”
10
To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised; they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the LORD has become a reproach to them; they take no pleasure in it.
11
But I am full of the wrath of the LORD; I am weary of holding it in. I must pour it out upon the child in the street, and upon the gathering of young men together. For both man and woman shall be taken, both the old and the very aged.
12
Their houses shall be turned over to others, together with their fields and their wives. — “For I will stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of this land,” declares the LORD.
13
For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.
14
They have treated the wound of My people lightly, saying, Peace, peace! when there is no peace.
15
Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time when I punish them, they shall stumble, says the LORD.”
16
Thus says the LORD: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient 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!
17
Also I set watchmen over them, saying: Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet! But they said, We will not pay attention!
18
Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O assembly, what will happen to them!
19
Hear, O earth! Behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their plans, because they have not paid attention to My words and have rejected My instruction.
20
What use to Me is incense from Sheba and sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not pleasing to Me, and your sacrifices do not delight My heart.
21
Therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I will place stumbling blocks before this people, so that they shall stumble over them; fathers and sons together, neighbor and friend, all of them shall perish.”
22
Thus says the LORD: “Behold, a people is coming from the land of the north, a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
23
They grasp bow and spear; they are cruel, and know no mercy. Their voice roars like the sea; they ride on horses, arrayed as men for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24
We have heard the report of it; our hands grow weak; anguish has seized us, pain like that of a woman in labor.
25
“Do not go out into the field, and do not walk on the road, for the sword of the enemy is raging — terror is on every side!”
26
O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth, and roll in the dust! Mourn as for an only son, lament with bitter sorrow! For suddenly the destroyer will come upon you.
27
I have set you among My people as a tester; you must know how to examine them, and you must test their way of life.
28
They are all stubborn rebels, going about as slanderers; all of them act corruptly!
29
The bellows blow fiercely, but only lead comes out of the fire; the refining goes on in vain, for the wicked are not separated out.
30
Call them rejected silver, for the LORD has rejected them!
🚨🧱💔 Summary of Jeremiah 6 – The Final Warning to Jerusalem
Jeremiah 6 is the final cry of warning before the destruction of Jerusalem. The prophet calls the people to flee because judgment from the north (Babylon) is near. God is angry because His people have rejected correction, lived in greed, and listened to false prophets who soothe hearts with lies. Even their worship is not acceptable — religion without righteousness is an abomination in God’s sight. At the end of the chapter, God calls the nation rejected silver, because it has lost its worth before Him.
📌 1. Warning to Flee (verses 1–8)
“Flee, O children of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem!”
- Jeremiah calls the people to get out of the city at once, because destruction will come from the north
- The city is compared to a well that keeps pouring out evil
- The Lord desires to rebuke and correct, not to destroy at once
🎯 When the Lord warns, it is His love holding back His wrath one last time.
📌 2. The Sin and Greed of the Nation (verses 9–15)
“From the least to the greatest — all are seeking gain!”
- The false prophets heal the nation’s wound “as though it were slight,” saying: “Peace, peace!” when there is no peace.
- Even the priests and the people are not ashamed to do evil
🎯 When sin is no longer shameful, judgment is already at the door.
📌 3. The Good Way Rejected (verses 16–21)
“Ask for the ancient paths… but they said: We will not!”
- The Lord invites the people to return to the good old paths (His law), but they refuse
- They also reject the watchmen and the prophets’ warnings
- The Lord does not accept their offerings — religion without obedience is vain
🎯 The Lord is not interested in ritual, but in obedience from a listening heart.
📌 4. Certain Punishment Will Come (verses 22–30)
“A nation comes from a far country… They are cruel and know no mercy.”
- A picture of the Babylonian army: cruel, swift, attacking without ceasing
- Jeremiah describes his heart as broken as he sees the nation coming
- The people are called “rejected silver” — they failed the test of faith
🎯 The Lord tests His people, not to bring them down, but to purify them. But they refused to be purified.
📖 Main Teaching
- When the Lord warns, it is His love giving time to repent
- False prophets soothe the hearts of sinners, not heal wounds with truth
- The greed and lies of spiritual leaders bring a nation to ruin
- The Lord offers “the ancient paths” — everlasting truth that gives life
- Without repentance, worship and offerings are only empty sound
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“Enter through the narrow gate… The way to life is narrow, and few find it.”
➡️ Jeremiah 6:16 reaffirms that the right way is often rejected, yet it remains the only way to life.
“People will gather teachers to suit their own ears…”
➡️ Like the false prophets in Jeremiah, many people reject the truth and pursue teaching that soothes.
“The Lord disciplines those He loves…”
➡️ Tests and trials are a form of purification, but if they are refused, we become rejected silver (Jer. 6:30)
“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.”
➡️ True worship is measured by obedience, not ritual.
🕊️ “Ask for the ancient paths… and walk in them.” – Jeremiah 6:16
🕊️ “Peace, peace! when there is no peace.” – Jeremiah 6:14
🕊️ “Are they ashamed…? No, they are not ashamed at all!” – Jeremiah 6:15
🕊️ “They are all rebellious people… rejected silver.” – Jeremiah 6:30
