Jeremiah 17 · Verse 6

Jeremiah 17:6

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.
Jeremiah 17:6, King James Version

Jeremiah 17:6 in other translations

BSBHe 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.
WEBFor he will be like a bush in the desert, and will not see when good comes, but will inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, an uninhabited salt land.
ASVFor 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.
YLTAnd 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.
DARBYAnd 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.
BBEFor 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.
WebsterFor 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.

What does Jeremiah 17:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
6. heath--In Psa 102:17; Is 32:11; Ha 3:9, the Hebrew is translated, "bare," "naked," "destitute"; but as the parallel in Jr 17:8 is "tree," some plant must be meant of which this is the characteristic epithet (Jr 48:6, Margin), "a naked tree." Robinson translates, "the juniper tree," found in the Arabah or Great Valley, here called "the desert," south of the Dead Sea. The "heath" was one of the plants, according to Pliny (13.21; 16.26), excluded from religious uses, because it has neither fruit nor seed, and is neither sown nor planted. not see ... good--(Job 20:17). salt land--(De 29:23), barren ground.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 Be 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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 17:5-11

He who puts confidence in man, shall be like the heath in a desert, a naked tree, a sorry shrub, the product of barren ground, useless and worthless. Those who trust to their own righteousness and strength, and think they can do without Christ, make flesh their arm, and their souls cannot prosper in graces or comforts. Those who make God their Hope, shall flourish like a tree always green, whose leaf does not…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 17:5-11 →

Jeremiah 17:6 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהָיָה֙ve.ha.Yahand he will beH1961
כְּעַרְעָ֣רke.'ar.'Arlike a bushH6176
בָּֽעֲרָבָ֔הba.'a.ra.Vahin the desert plainH6160
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
יִרְאֶ֖הyir.'Ehhe will seeH7200
כִּי\־ki-ifH3588
יָב֣וֹאya.Vo'it will comeH935
ט֑וֹבTovgoodH2896
וְשָׁכַ֤ןve.sha.Khanand he will dwellH7931
חֲרֵרִים֙cha.re.Rimparched placesH2788
בַּמִּדְבָּ֔רba.mid.Barin the wildernessH4057
אֶ֥רֶץ'E.retza land ofH776
מְלֵחָ֖הme.le.ChahsaltinessH4420
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
תֵשֵֽׁב\׃\ \סte.Shevanyone dwellsH3427

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Jeremiah 17:6

  • Job 20:17

    He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.

  • Psalms 1:4

    The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

  • Deuteronomy 29:23

    And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

  • Job 39:6

    Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.

  • Jeremiah 48:6

    Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.

  • Job 15:30-34

    He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away. Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence. It shall be accomplished before his time, and 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. …

  • Job 8:11-13

    Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water? Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb. So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish:

  • Judges 9:45

    And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.

  • Zephaniah 2:9

    Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.

  • Psalms 129:6-8

    Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up: Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom. Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we bless you in the name of the Lord.

  • 2 Kings 7:19-20

    And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.

  • Ezekiel 47:11

    But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
like.
48:6; Job 8:11-13; 15:30-34; Ps 1:4; 92:7; 129:6-8; Isa 1:30
and shall.
2Ki 7:2,19,20; Job 20:17
a salt.
De 29:23; Jud 9:45; Eze 47:11; Zep 2:9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Jeremiah 17:5

    Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

  • Jeremiah 17:6

    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.

  • Jeremiah 17:7

    Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

Read all of Jeremiah 17

Jeremiah 17:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Pues será como la retama en el desierto, y no verá cuando viniere el bien; sino que morará en las securas en el desierto, en tierra despoblada y deshabitada.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il sera comme un dénué dans le désert, et il ne verra pas quand le bien arrivera, mais il demeurera dans des lieux secs au désert, dans un pays de sel et inhabité.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und er wird sein wie ein Entblößter in der Steppe und nicht sehen, daß Gutes kommt und an dürren Örtern in der Wüste wird er wohnen, in einem salzigen und unbewohnten Lande.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Erit enim quasi myricæ in deserto, et non videbit cum venerit bonum: sed habitabit in siccitate in deserto, in terra salsuginis et inhabitabili.