6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.
[and that] the whole land of it is sulfur, and salt, [and] a burning, [that] it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:
Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.
Whose home I have made the wilderness, And the salt land his dwelling-place?
Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and killed the people who were therein: and he beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
and that captain answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? and he said, Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but shall not eat of it: it happened even so to him; for the people trod on him in the gate, and he died.
"Can the papyrus grow up without mire? Can the rushes grow without water? While it is yet in its greenness, not cut down, It withers before any other reed. So are the paths of all who forget God. The hope of the godless man shall perish,
He shall not depart out of darkness; The flame shall dry up his branches, By the breath of God's mouth shall he go away. Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For emptiness shall be his reward. It shall be accomplished before his time. His branch shall not be green. He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, And shall cast off his flower as the olive tree. For the company of the godless shall be barren, And fire shall consume the tents of bribery.
The wicked are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Though the wicked spring up as the grass, And all the evil-doers flourish, They will be destroyed forever.
Let them be as the grass on the housetops, Which withers before it grows up; With which the reaper doesn't fill his hand, Nor he who binds sheaves, his bosom. Neither do those who go by say, "The blessing of Yahweh be on you. We bless you in the name of Yahweh."
For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades, And as a garden that has no water.
But the miry places of it, and the marshes of it, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt.
Therefore as I live, says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, surely Moab will be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The remnant of my people will plunder them, and the survivors of my nation will inherit them.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 17
Commentary on Jeremiah 17 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Judah's sin is ineffaceably stamped upon the hearts of the people and on their altars. These four verses are closely connected with the preceding, and show why it is necessary that Judah be cast forth amidst the heathen, by reason of its being perfectly stepped in idolatry. Jeremiah 17:1. "The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen, with the point of a diamond graven on the table of their hearts and on the horns of your altars. Jeremiah 17:2 . As they remember their children, so do they their altars and their Astartes by the green tree upon the high hills. Jeremiah 17:3 . My mountain in the field, thy substance, all thy treasures give I for a prey, thy high places for sin in all thy borders. Jeremiah 17:4 . And thou shalt discontinue, and that of thine own self, from thine inheritance that I gave thee, and I cause thee to serve thine enemies in a land which thou knowest not; for a fire have ye kindled in mine anger, for ever it burneth."