Jeremiah 17:6

Literal Standard Version

And he has been as a naked thing in a desert, || And does not see when good comes, || And has inhabited parched places in a wilderness, || A salt land, and not inhabited.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He will be like a juniper in the Arabah;he cannot see when good comesbut dwells in the parched places in the wilderness,in a salt land where no one lives.

Hebrew Names Version
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.

King James Version
For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

English Standard Version
He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

New American Standard Bible
"For he will be like a bush in the desert, And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt that is not inhabited.

New Century Version
They are like a bush in a desert that grows in a land where no one lives, a hot and dry land with bad soil. They don't know about the good things God can give.

Amplified Bible
"For he will be like a shrub in the [parched] desert; And shall not see prosperity when it comes, But shall live in the rocky places of the wilderness, In an uninhabited salt land.

World English Bible
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.

Geneva Bible (1587)
For he shall be like the heath in the wildernesse, and shall not see when any good commeth, but shall inhabite the parched places in the wildernesse, in a salt land, and not inhabited.

Legacy Standard Bible
And he will be like a juniper in the desertAnd will not see when prosperity comes,But will dwell in stony wastes in the wilderness,A land of salt which is not inhabited.

Berean Standard Bible
He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

Contemporary English Version
They will dry up like a bush in salty desert soil, where nothing can grow.

Complete Jewish Bible
He will be like a tamarisk in the ‘Aravah — when relief comes, it is unaffected; for it lives in the sun-baked desert, in salty, uninhabited land.

Darby Translation
And he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but he shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.

Easy-to-Read Version
They are like a bush in a desert where no one lives. It is in a hot and dry land. It is in bad soil. That bush does not know about the good things that God can give.

George Lamsa Translation
For he shall be like a plant in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness in a salt land not inhabited.

Good News Translation
He is like a bush in the desert, which grows in the dry wasteland, on salty ground where nothing else grows. Nothing good ever happens to him.

Lexham English Bible
And he will be like a juniper in the wilderness, and he will not see when good comes, and he will dwell in the parched places in the desert, in a land of salt flats, where no one lives.

Literal Translation
For he shall be like a juniper in the desert, and shall not see when good comes. But he shall live in parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land that is not inhabited.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He shall be like the heeth, that groweth in the wildernes. As for the good thinge that is for to come, he shall not se it: but dwell in a drie place off the wildernes, in a salt and vnoccupied londe.

American Standard Version
For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.

Bible in Basic English
For he will be like the brushwood in the upland, and will not see when good comes; but his living-place will be in the dry places in the waste land, in a salt and unpeopled land.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
For he shall be like a tamarisk in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.

King James Version (1611)
For hee shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good commeth, but shall inhabite the parched places in the wildernesse, in a salt land and not inhabited.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
He shalbe like the heath that groweth in wildernesse: As for the good thyng that is for to come, he shall not see it, but dwell in a drye place of the wildernesse, in a salt and vnoccupied lande.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he shall be as the wild tamarisk in the desert: he shall not see when good comes; but he shall dwell in barren places, and in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.

English Revised Version
For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For he schal be as bromes in desert, and he schal not se, whanne good schal come; but he schal dwelle in drynesse in desert, in the lond of saltnesse, and vnabitable.

Update Bible Version
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.

Webster's Bible Translation
For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, [in] a salt land and not inhabited.

New English Translation
They will be like a shrub in the desert. They will not experience good things even when they happen. It will be as though they were growing in the desert, in a salt land where no one can live.

New King James Version
For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.

New Living Translation
They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.

New Life Bible
For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when good comes. He will live in dry wastes in the desert, in a land of salt where no other people live.

New Revised Standard
They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Therefore shall he become as a shrub in the waste plain, Neither shall he perceive when good cometh, But shall inhabit Parched places in a wilderness, A land of salt that cannot he dwelt in.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For he shall be like tamaric in the desert, and he shall not see when good shall come: but he shall dwell in dryness in the desert in a salt land, and not inhabited.

Revised Standard Version
He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

Young's Literal Translation
And he hath been as a naked thing in a desert, And doth not see when good cometh, And hath inhabited parched places in a wilderness, A salt land, and not inhabited.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant.

Contextual Overview

⁵Thus said YHWH: "Cursed [is] the man who trusts in man, || And has made flesh his arm, || And whose heart turns from YHWH. ⁶And he has been as a naked thing in a desert, || And does not see when good comes, || And has inhabited parched places in a wilderness, || A salt land, and not inhabited.⁷Blessed [is] the man who trusts in YHWH, || And whose confidence has been YHWH. ⁸And has been as a tree planted by waters, || And he sends forth his roots by a stream, || And he does not see when heat comes, || And his leaf has been green, || And he is not sorrowful in a year of scarcity, || Nor does he cease from making fruit. ⁹The heart [is] deceitful above all things, || And it [is] incurable—who knows it? ¹⁰I, YHWH, search the heart, try the reins, || Even to give to each according to his way, || According to the fruit of his doings. ¹¹A partridge hatching, and not bringing forth, || [Is] one making wealth, and not by right, || In the midst of his days he forsakes it, || And in his latter end—he is a fool."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

like: Jeremiah 48:6, Job 8:11-13, Job 15:30-34, Psalms 1:4, Psalms 92:7, Psalms 129:6-8, Isaiah 1:30

and shall: 2 Kings 7:2, 2 Kings 7:19, 2 Kings 7:20, Job 20:17

a salt: Deuteronomy 29:23, Judges 9:45, Ezekiel 47:11, Zephaniah 2:9

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 16:7 - Because Job 6:21 - ye are nothing Job 8:12 - General Job 39:6 - barren land Psalms 146:3 - Put Ecclesiastes 6:6 - yet Isaiah 22:25 - the burden Isaiah 30:3 - your confusion Jeremiah 29:32 - behold Jeremiah 37:7 - Pharaoh's Jeremiah 46:25 - and all Ezekiel 29:7 - thou didst Hosea 2:3 - a dry Zephaniah 3:2 - she trusted 1 Corinthians 4:6 - that ye Hebrews 6:8 - beareth

Cross-References

Genesis 17:4
"I—behold, My covenant [is] with you, and you have become father of a multitude of nations;

Genesis 17:6
and I have made you exceedingly fruitful, and made you become nations, and kings go out from you.

Genesis 17:16
and I have blessed her, and have also given to you a son from her; and I have blessed her, and she has become nations—kings of peoples are from her."

Genesis 17:17
And Abraham falls on his face, and laughs, and says in his heart, "Is one born to the son of one hundred years? Or does Sarah—daughter of ninety years—bear?"

Genesis 17:20
As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him, and made him fruitful, and multiplied him, very exceedingly; twelve princes does he beget, and I have made him become a great nation;

Genesis 35:11
And God says to him, "I [am] God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply, a nation and an assembly of nations is from you, and kings from your loins go out;

Ezra 4:20
and mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, even rulers over all beyond the river, and toll, tribute, and custom is given to them.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For he shall be like the heath in the desert,.... The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "myrice": and so the Latin interpreter of the Targum; but the word that paraphrase makes use of according to R. Hai, mentioned by Kimchi, signifies something that is thorny without, and eatable within; but this is not likely to be intended here. The Septuagint version renders it, "wild myrice"; it seems to be the same that is called "erice", or "ling", and "heath"; which delights to grow in wild and waste places; hence such with us are called "heaths", whether this grows upon them or not. It is a low shrub, fruitless and useless; and, because neither bears fruit nor seed, is reckoned by Pliny o among unhappy plants, and such as are condemned or forbid religious uses; and very fit to represent such persons as truest in men and in themselves, and not in the Lord:

and shall not see when good cometh; perceive or receive any advantage by rain coming upon it; as such persons do not receive any good by the pure ministration of the word, compared to rain; and so the self-righteous Jews did not see when the Messiah came, who is goodness itself; nor see him, and embrace him, nor his righteousness; but rejected him and that; went about to establish their own, and did not submit to his; nor did they attain to righteousness, or enjoy eternal life; as is the case of all self-justiciaries:

but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land, and not inhabited: which became literally true of the land of Judea, for the rejection of the Messiah, and trust in themselves; see

Deuteronomy 29:23 and may fitly represent the barren pastures of a man's own works of righteousness, which such as trust in themselves feed upon. All the characters are expressive of barrenness, as a wilderness, places parched with heat, and where salt is; for, as Pliny p says, where salt is found, it is barren, and produces nothing.

o Nat. Hist. l. 13. c. 21. & l. 16. c. 26. & l. 24. c. 9. p Nat. Hist. l. 31. c. 7.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

In the rest of the prophecy Jeremiah dwells upon the moral faults which had led to Judah’s ruin.

Jeremiah 17:6

Like the heath - Or, “like a destitute man” Psalms 102:17. The verbs “he shall see” (or fear) and “shall inhabit” plainly show that a man is here meant and not a plant.

Jeremiah 17:8

The river - Or, “water-course” Isaiah 30:25, made for purposes of irrigation.

Shall not see - Or, “shall not fear Jeremiah 17:6.” God’s people feel trouble as much as other people, but they do not fear it because they know

(1) that it is for their good, and

(2) that God will give them strength to bear it.

Jeremiah 17:9

The train of thought is apparently this: If the man is so blessed Jeremiah 17:7-8 who trusts in Yahweh, what is the reason why men so generally “make flesh their arm”? And the answer is: Because man’s heart is incapable of seeing things in a straightforward manner, but is full of shrewd guile, and ever seeking to overreach others.

Desperately wicked - Rather, mortally sick.

Jeremiah 17:10

The answer to the question, “who can know it?” To himself a man’s heart is an inscrutable mystery: God alone can fathom it.

Ways - Rather, way, his course of life. The “and” must be omitted, for the last clause explains what is meant “by man’s way,” when he comes before God for judgment. It is “the fruit,” the final result “of his doings, i. e., his real character as formed by the acts and habits of his life.

Jeremiah 17:11

Rather, “As the partridge hath gathered eggs which it laid not, so ...” The general sense is: the covetous man is as sure to reap finally disappointment only as is the partridge which piles up eggs not of her own laying, and is unable to hatch them.

A fool - A Nabal. See 1 Samuel 25:25.

Jeremiah 17:12, Jeremiah 17:13

Or, “Thou throne ... thou place ... thou hope ... Yahweh! All that forsake Thee etc.” The prophet concludes his prediction with the expression of his own trust in Yahweh, and confidence that the divine justice will finally be vindicated by the punishment of the wicked. The “throne of glory” is equivalent to Him who is enthroned in glory.

Jeremiah 17:13

Shall be written in the earth - i. e., their names shall quickly disappear, unlike those graven in the rock forever Job 19:24. A board covered with sand is used in the East to this day in schools for giving lessons in writing: but writing inscribed on such materials is intended to be immediately obliterated. Equally fleeting is the existence of those who forsake God. “All men are written somewhere, the saints in heaven, but sinners upon earth” (Origen).

Jeremiah 17:15

This taunt shows that this prophecy was written before any very signal fulfillment of Jeremiah’s words had taken place, and prior therefore to the capture of Jerusalem at the close of Jehoiakim’s life. “Now” means “I pray,” and is ironical.

Jeremiah 17:16

I have not hastened from - i. e., I have not sought to escape from.

A pastor to follow thee - Rather, “a shepherd after Thee.” “Shepherd” means “ruler, magistrate” (Jeremiah 2:8 note), and belongs to the prophet not as a teacher, but as one invested with authority by God to guide and direct the political course of the nation. So Yahweh guides His people Psalms 23:1-2, and the prophet does so “after Him,” following obediently His instructions.

The woeful day - literally, “the day of mortal sickness:” the day on which Jerusalem was to be destroyed, and the temple burned.

Right - Omit the word. What Jeremiah asserts is that he spake as in God’s presence. They were no words of his own, but had the authority of Him before whom he stood. Compare Jeremiah 15:19.

Jeremiah 17:17

A terror - Rather, “a cause of dismay,” or consternation Jeremiah 1:17. By not fulfilling Jeremiah’s prediction God Himself seemed to put him to shame.

Jeremiah 17:18

Confounded - Put to shame.

Destroy them ... - Rather, break them with a double breaking: a twofold punishment, the first their general share in the miseries attendant upon their country’s fall; the second, a special punishment for their sin in persecuting and mocking God’s prophet.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 17:6. He shall be like the heath in the desert — כערער kearar; or, like a blasted tree, without moisture, parched and withered.

Shall not see when good cometh — Shall not be sensible of it: the previous drought having rendered it incapable of absorbing any more vegetable juices.

A salt land — Barren; and therefore unfit to be inhabited.