Jeremiah 6:16-30
Disaster because of Disobedience
16 This is what the LORD says:
Stand by the roadways and look.
Ask about the ancient paths,
“Which is the way to what is good? ”
Then take it
and find rest for yourselves.
But they protested, “We won’t! ”
17 I appointed watchmen over you
and said, “Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.”
But they protested, “We won’t listen! ”
18 Therefore listen, you nations
and you witnesses,
learn what the charge is against them.
19 Listen, earth!
I am about to bring disaster on these people,
the fruit of their own plotting,
for they have paid no attention to my words.
They have rejected my instruction.
20 What use to me is frankincense from Sheba
or sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
your sacrifices do not please me.
21 Therefore, this is what the LORD says:
I am going to place stumbling blocks before these people;
fathers and sons together will stumble over them;
friends and neighbors will also perish.
A Cruel Nation from the North
22 This is what the LORD says:
Look, an army is coming from a northern land;
a great nation will be stirred up
from the remote regions of the earth.
23 They grasp bow and javelin.
They are cruel and show no mercy.
Their voice roars like the sea,
and they ride on horses,
lined up like men in battle formation
against you, Daughter Zion.
24 We have heard about it,
and our hands have become weak.
Distress has seized us —
pain, like a woman in labor.
25 Don’t go out to the fields;
don’t walk on the road.
For the enemy has a sword;
terror is on every side.
26 My dear[fn] people, dress yourselves in sackcloth
and roll in the dust.
Mourn as you would for an only son,
a bitter lament,
for suddenly the destroyer will come on us.
Jeremiah Appointed as an Examiner
27 I have appointed you to be an assayer among my people —
a refiner[fn] —
so you may know and assay their way of life.
28 All are stubborn rebels
spreading slander.
They are bronze and iron;
all of them are corrupt.
29 The bellows blow,
blasting the lead with fire.
The refining is completely in vain;
the evil ones are not separated out.
30 They are called rejected silver,
for the LORD has rejected them.
For deeper study: David Guzik Commentary
