1“Flee for safety, O sons of Benjamin,
         From the midst of Jerusalem!
         Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa
         And raise a signal over Beth-haccerem;
         For evil looks down from the north,
         And a great destruction.

2“The comely and dainty one, the daughter of Zion, I will cut off.

3“Shepherds and their flocks will come to her,
         They will pitch their tents around her,
         They will pasture each in his place.

4“Prepare war against her;
         Arise, and let us attack at noon.
         Woe to us, for the day declines,
         For the shadows of the evening lengthen!

5“Arise, and let us attack by night
         And destroy her palaces!”

6For thus says the LORD of hosts,
         “Cut down her trees
         And cast up a siege against Jerusalem.
         This is the city to be punished,
         In whose midst there is only oppression.

7“As a well keeps its waters fresh,
         So she keeps fresh her wickedness.
         Violence and destruction are heard in her;
         Sickness and wounds are ever before Me.

8“Be warned, O Jerusalem,
         Or I shall be alienated from you,
         And make you a desolation,
         A land not inhabited.”

9Thus says the LORD of hosts,
         “They will thoroughly glean as the vine the remnant of Israel;
         Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer
         Over the branches.”

10To whom shall I speak and give warning
         That they may hear?
         Behold, their ears are closed
         And they cannot listen.
         Behold, the word of the LORD has become a reproach to them;
         They have no delight in it.

11But I am full of the wrath of the LORD;
         I am weary with holding it in.
         “Pour it out on the children in the street
         And on the gathering of young men together;
         For both husband and wife shall be taken,
         The aged and the very old.

12“Their houses shall be turned over to others,
         Their fields and their wives together;
         For I will stretch out My hand
         Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD.

13“For from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
         Everyone is greedy for gain,
         And from the prophet even to the priest
         Everyone deals falsely.

14“They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially,
         Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
         But there is no peace.

15“Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done?
         They were not even ashamed at all;
         They did not even know how to blush.
         Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
         At the time that I punish them,
         They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.

16Thus says the LORD,
         “Stand by the ways and see and 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“And I set watchmen over you, saying,
         ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
         But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

18“Therefore hear, O nations,
         And know, O congregation, what is among them.

19“Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
         The fruit of their plans,
         Because they have not listened to My words,
         And as for My law, they have rejected it also.

20“For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba
         And the sweet cane from a distant land?
         Your burnt offerings are not acceptable
         And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”

21Therefore, thus says the LORD,
         “Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people.
         And they will stumble against them,
         Fathers and sons together;
         Neighbor and friend will perish.”

The Enemy from the North

22Thus says the LORD,
         “Behold, a people is coming from the north land,
         And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.

23“They seize bow and spear;
         They are cruel and have no mercy;
         Their voice roars like the sea,
         And they ride on horses,
         Arrayed as a man for the battle
         Against you, O daughter of Zion!”

24We have heard the report of it;
         Our hands are limp.
         Anguish has seized us,
         Pain as of a woman in childbirth.

25Do not go out into the field
         And do not walk on the road,
         For the enemy has a sword,
         Terror is on every side.

26O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth
         And roll in ashes;
         Mourn as for an only son,
         A lamentation most bitter.
         For suddenly the destroyer
         Will come upon us.

27“I have made you an assayer and a tester among My people,
         That you may know and assay their way.”

28All of them are stubbornly rebellious,
         Going about as a talebearer.
         They are bronze and iron;
         They, all of them, are corrupt.

29The bellows blow fiercely,
         The lead is consumed by the fire;
         In vain the refining goes on,
         But the wicked are not separated.

30They call them rejected silver,
         Because the LORD has rejected them.

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"Flee for safety, O sons of Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem! Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa And raise a signal over Beth-haccerem; For evil looks down from the north, And a great destruction.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
"Take cover, people of Benjamin! Run away from Jerusalem! Blow the ram's horn in Tekoa. Raise the flag over Beth Hakkerem, because disaster and widespread destruction are coming from the north.

King James Bible
O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Strengthen yourselves, ye sons of Benjamin, in the midst of Jerusalem, and sound the trumpet in Thecua, and set up the standard over Bethacarem: for evil is seen out of the north, and a great destruction.

Darby Bible Translation
Flee for safety, ye children of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a signal in Beth-haccerem; for evil appeareth out of the north, and a great destruction.

English Revised Version
Flee for safety, ye children of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise up a signal on Beth-haccherem: for evil looketh forth from the north, and a great destruction.

Webster's Bible Translation
O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.

World English Bible
"Flee for safety, you children of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise up a signal on Beth Haccherem; for evil looks forth from the north, and a great destruction.

Young's Literal Translation
Strengthen yourselves, sons of Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem, And in Tekoa blow ye a trumpet, And over Beth-Haccerem lift ye up a flame, For evil hath been seen from the north, And great destruction.

Cross References

Joshua 18:28 and Zelah, Haeleph and the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin according to their families.

Nehemiah 3:14 Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of Beth-haccherem repaired the Refuse Gate. He built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars.

Jeremiah 1:14 Then the LORD said to me, "Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land.

Jeremiah 4:5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, "Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry aloud and say, 'Assemble yourselves, and let us go Into the fortified cities.'

Jeremiah 4:6 "Lift up a standard toward Zion! Seek refuge, do not stand still, For I am bringing evil from the north, And great destruction.

Jeremiah 6:22 Thus says the LORD, "Behold, a people is coming from the north land, And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.

Amos 1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders from Tekoa, which he envisioned in visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

Amos 3:6 If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?

Zechariah 6:6 with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the south country.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

Chapter 6

In this chapter, as before, we have, I. A prophecy of the invading of the land of Judah and the besieging of Jerusalem by the Chaldean army (v. 1-6), with the spoils they should make of the country (v. 9) and the terror which all should be seized with on that occasion (v. 22-26). II. An account of those sins of Judah and Jerusalem which provoked God to bring this desolating judgment upon them. Their oppression (v. 7), their contempt of the word of God (v. 10-12), their worldliness (v. 13), the treachery of their prophets (v. 14), their impudence in sin (v. 15), their obstinacy against reproofs (v. 18, 19), which made their sacrifices unacceptable to him (v. 20), and for which he gave them up to ruin (v. 21), but tried them first (v. 27) and then rejected them as irreclaimable (v. 28-30). III. Good counsel given them in the midst of all this, but in vain (v. 8, 16, 17).

Verses 1-8

Here is I. Judgment threatened against Judah and Jerusalem. The city and the country were at this time secure and under no apprehension of danger; they saw no cloud gathering, but every thing looked safe and serene: but the prophet tells them that they shall shortly be invaded by a foreign power, an army shall be brought against them from the north, which shall lay all waste, and shall cause not only a general consternation, but a general desolation. It is here foretold,

1. That the alarm of this should be loud and terrible. This is represented, v. 1. The children of Benjamin, in which tribe part of Jerusalem lay, are here called to shift for their own safety in the country; for the city (to which it was first thought advisable for them to flee, ch. 4:5, 6) would soon be made too hot for them, and they would find it the wisest course to flee out of the midst of it. It is common, in public frights, for the people to think any place safer than that in which they are; and therefore those in the city are for shifting into the country, in hopes there to escape out of danger, and those in the country are for shifting into the city, in hopes there to make head against the danger; but it is all in vain when evil pursues sinners with commission. They are told to send the alarm into the country, and to do what they can for their own safety: Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, a city which lay twelve miles north from Jerusalem. Let them be stirred up to stand upon their guard: Set up a sign of fire (that is, kindle the beacons) in Beth-haccerem, the house of the vineyard, which lay on a hill between Jerusalem and Tekoa. Prepare to make a vigorous resistance, for the evil appears out of the north. This may be taken ironically: "Betake yourselves to the best methods you can think of for your own preservation, but all shall be in vain; for, when you have done your best, it will be a great destruction, for it is in vain to contend with God's judgments."

2. That the attempt upon them should be bold and formidable and such as they should be a very unequal match for. (1.) See what the daughter of Zion is, on whom the assault is made. She is compared to a comely and delicate woman (v. 2), bred up in every thing that is nice and soft, that will not set so much as the sole of her foot to the ground for tenderness and delicacy (Deu. 28:56), nor suffer the wind to blow upon her; and, not being accustomed to hardship, she will be the less able either to resist the enemy (for those that make war must endure hardness) or to bear the destruction with that patience which is necessary to make it tolerable. The more we indulge ourselves in the pleasures of this life the more we disfit ourselves for the troubles of this life. (2.) See what the daughter of Babylon is, by whom the assault is made. The generals and their armies are compared to shepherds and their flocks (v. 3), in such numbers and in such order did they come, the soldiers following their leaders as the sheep their shepherds. The daughter of Zion dwelt at home (so some read it), expecting to be courted with love, but was invaded with fury. This comparing of the enemies to shepherds inclines me to embrace another reading, which some give of v. 2, The daughter of Zion is like a comely pasture-ground and a delicate land, which invite the shepherds to bring their flocks thither to graze; and as the shepherds easily make themselves masters of an open field, which (as was then usual in some parts) lies common, owned by none, pitch their tents in it, and their flocks quickly eat it bare, so shall the Chaldean army easily break in upon the land of Judah, force for themselves a free quarter where they please, and in a little time devour all. For the further illustration of this he shows, [1.] How God shall commission them to make this destruction even of the holy land and the holy city, which were his own possession. It is he that says (v. 4), Prepare you war against her; for he is the Lord of hosts, that has all hosts at his command, and he has said (v. 6), Hew you down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem, in order to the attacking of it. The Chaldeans have great power against Judah and Jerusalem, and yet they have no power but what is given them from above. God has marked out Jerusalem for destruction. He has said, "This is the city to be visited, visited in wrath, visited by the divine justice, and this is the time of her visitation." The day is coming when those that are careless and secure in sinful ways will certainly be visited. [2.] How they shall animate themselves and one another to execute that commission. God's counsels being against Jerusalem, which cannot be altered or disannulled, the councils of war which the enemies held are made to agree with his counsels. God having said, Prepare war against her, their determinations are made subservient to his; and, notwithstanding the distance of place and the many difficulties that lay in the way, it is soon resolved, nemine contradicente-unanimously. Arise, and let us go. Note, It is good to see how the counsel and decree of God are pursued and executed in the devices and designs of men, even theirs that know him not, Isa. 10:6, 7. In this campaign, First, They resolve to be very expeditious. They have no sooner resolved upon it than they address themselves to it; it shall never be said that they left any thing to be done towards it to-morrow which they could do to-day: Arise, let us go up at noon, though it be in the heat of the day; nay, (v. 5), Arise, let us go up at night, though it be in the dark. Nothing shall hinder them; they are resolved to lose no time. They are described as men in care to make despatch (v. 4): "Woe unto us, for the day goes away, and we are not going on with our work; the shadows of the evening are stretched out, and we sit still, and let slip the opportunity." O that we were thus eager in our spiritual work and warfare, thus afraid of losing time, or any opportunity, in taking the kingdom of heaven by violence! It is folly to trifle when we have an eternal salvation to work out, and the enemies of that salvation to fight against. Secondly, They confidently expect to be very successful: "Let us go up, and let us destroy her palaces and make ourselves masters of the wealth that is in them." It was not that they might fulfill God's counsels, but that they might fill their own treasures, that they were thus eager; yet God thereby served his own purposes.

II. The cause of this judgment assigned. It is all for their wickedness; they have brought it upon themselves; they must bear it, for they must bear the blame of it. They are thus oppressed because they have been oppressors; they have dealt hardly with one another, each in his turn, as they have had power and advantage, and now the enemy shall come and deal hardly with them all. This sin of oppression, and violence, and wrong-doing, is here charged upon them, 1. As a national sin (v. 6): Therefore this city is to be visited, it is time to make inquisition, for she is wholly oppression in the midst of her. All orders and degrees of men, from the prince on the throne to the meanest master of a shop, were oppressive to those that were under them. Look which way you might, there were causes for complaints of this kind. 2. As a sin that had become in a manner natural to them (v. 7): She casts out wickedness, in all the instances of malice and mischievousness, as a fountain casts out her waters, so plentifully and constantly, the streams bitter and poisonous, like the fountain. The waters out of the fountain will not be restrained, but will find or force their way, nor will they be checked by laws or conscience in their violent proceedings. This is fitly applied to the corrupt heart of man in his natural state; it casts out wickedness, one evil imagination or other, as a fountain casts out her waters, naturally and easily; it is always flowing, and yet always full. 3. As that which had become a constant practice with them; Violence and spoil are heard in her. The cry of it had come up before God as that of Sodom: Before me continually are grief and wounds-the complaint of those that find themselves aggrieved, being unjustly wounded in their bodies or spirits, in their estates or reputation. Note, He that is the common Parent of mankind regards and resents, and sooner or later will revenge, the mischiefs and wrongs that men do to one another.

III. The counsel given them how to prevent this judgment. Fair warning is given now upon the whole matter: "Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem! v. 8. Receive the instruction given thee both by the law of God and by the prophets; be wise at length for thyself." They knew very well what they had been instructed to do; nothing remained but to do it, for till then they could not be said to be instructed. The reason for this counsel is taken from the inevitable ruin they ran upon if they refused to comply with the instructions given them: Lest my soul depart, or be disjoined, from thee. This intimates what a tender affection and concern God had had for them; his very soul had been joined to them, and nothing but sin could disjoin it. Note, 1. The God of mercy is loth to depart even from a provoking people, and is earnest with them by true repentance and reformation to prevent things coming to that extremity. 2. Their case is very miserable from whom God's soul is disjoined; it intimates the loss not only of their outward blessings, but of those comforts and favours which are the more immediate and peculiar tokens of his love and presence. Compare this with that dreadful word (Heb. 10:38), If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 3. Those whom God forsakes are certainly undone; when God's soul departs from Jerusalem she soon becomes desolate and uninhabited, Mt. 23:38.

Calvin's Commentary

1. O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.

1. Congregamini filii Benjamin e medio Jerusalem, et in Thekua clangite tuba, et Bethhacherem tollite signum; quia malum visum est ab Aquilone et afflictio magna.

WE have already seen that oftentimes punishment is not only mentioned by this Prophet as being nigh at hand, but is also set as it were before our eyes; and we have shewn the reason for this, -- because men are not only deaf, but wholly thoughtless, whenever God threatens them. As reproofs make no impressions, and even threatenings are not sufficient to arouse and awake them, it is necessary to set before them vivid descriptions, and to represent the event as present. Jeremiah continues this mode of teaching; he addresses the tribe of Benjamin; for one half of Jerusalem was in the territory of that tribe; And as he was from Anathoth, he addresses his own people and kindred rather than others, as he could use greater freedom. Had he directly reproved the Jews, they might not have so well borne with him; but as he begins with his neighbors, the tribe of Benjamin, it became more easy to bear his reproofs.

Some understand the words, "Be ye assembled, and flee;" others read, "Go ye in haste, "but for what reason I know not. I do not think that flight is meant here; but I rather regard the Prophet as ironically encouraging the citizens of Jerusalem and their neighbors to go forth, as it is usual, to meet their enemies; and this we may easily learn from the context: Be ye assembled, he says, from the midst of Jerusalem; that is, Be aroused and go forth. And he indirectly condemns their indulgences, for they had been lying as it were in the bosom of their mother. Like infants in the womb, the Jews were not apprehensive of any danger; they indulged themselves, and were wholly secure and thoughtless. Hence he says, "From the midst of Jerusalem be ye assembled." [160]

Then he says, Blow ye the trumpet in Tekoa. They were wont, no doubt, when any danger was at hand, to blow the trumpet in that town; and then the citizens of Jerusalem went forth in large bodies to resist their enemies: for the Prophet follows the usual custom, and speaks as of things well known. And set up a sign on the house of Haccerem, hkrm. No doubt this place was so called, because many forces were planted there. It means literally the house of the vineyard. It is, indeed, a proper name; but its etymology ought to be borne in mind; for as vines were usually planted on hills, it is probable that this place stood high; and a sign might have been thence given to many around. He therefore says, "Set up a sign, ms't, meshat, a word derived from ns', nesha, which is also found here: but some interpreters render it "fire" or bonfire; others "banner;" and others "tower." They who render it tower or citadel have no reason in their favor; for towers could not have been suddenly raised up. But it is probable, as I have already said, that thence a sign was given to those around, as from a watch -- tower, whenever there was any cause of fear. I am therefore inclined to take the word as meaning a sign; for the word "banner" would have been too restricted. Literally it is, "Elevate an elevation." The word "sign, "then, is the most suitable. [161]

For an evil, he says, from the north has appeared [162] The Prophet points out whence ruin would soon come, even from the Chaldeans, for God had appointed them as the ministers and the executioners of his vengeance in destroying Jerusalem and the whole tribe of Judah. We hence see what the Prophet means: he ridicules the Jews, who were asleep in their vices, promising to themselves impunity, and despising all the judgments of God: "Be now assembled, "he says, "from the midst of Jerusalem;" as though he said, that they could not be safe in the city, without going forth to meet their enemies: "Blow ye the trumpet in Tekoa;" and then he adds, "Let the inhabitants of Bethhaccerem, "that is, of the house of the vineyard, "set up signals; for an evil is nigh at hand, and a great distress;" from whom? from the Chaldeans. The prediction was more likely to be believed, when he thus pointed out their enemies, as it were, by his finger. It afterwards follows --

Footnotes:

[160] See note on Jeremiah 4:6. The meaning of the verb is, no doubt, to haste, or to hasten. It is singular that the Septuagint render it in Jeremiah 4:6, "Haste ye," and here, "Be ye strong." The Targum renders it "migrate," or, remove ye. The idea of assembling it never has. The line rightly rendered is, -- Hasten, ye sons of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem. Where Blayney got the phrase, "Retire in a body," it is difficult to say. -- Ed.

[161] "Raise ye a sign (semeion)" is the Septuagint and the Targum; "Raise ye a banner (vexillum)" is the Vulgate and the Syriac. The word has no connection with "fire," as mentioned in our version, which has been derived from the Rabbins. Blayney's rendering is, "light up a fire-beacon;" but the words admit of no such meaning. It is a general expression, and may be rendered, "Raise ye a signal;" there is no definition as to what the signal was to be. -- Ed

[162] Literally, "For evil is seen from the north." So the Vulgate and the Targum. The verb in Kal, Niphal, and Hiphil, is rendered "look" in our version. See Genesis 19:28; Judges 5:28; Deuteronomy 26:15. But in Niphal, as it is found here, it may be rendered passively, "is seen;" and also in Psalm 85:12; and in Cant. 6:10, and in most other places. Blayney renders it, "is seen coming onwards," which is a paraphrase. -- Ed.

Links

Jeremiah 6 Commentaries: Barnes • Calvin • Clarke • Darby • Gill • Geneva • Guzik • JFB • Keil / Delitzsch • KJV Translators' • Henry's Concise • Matthew Henry • Scofield • TSK • Wesley

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Bible Browser

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An Address to the Regenerate, Founded on the Preceding Discourses.
James I. 18. James I. 18. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. I INTEND the words which I have now been reading, only as an introduction to that address to the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, with which I am now to conclude these lectures; and therefore shall not enter into any critical discussion, either of them, or of the context. I hope God has made the series of these discourses, in some measure, useful to those …
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration

Jeremiah
Among those who had hoped for a permanent spiritual revival as the result of the reformation under Josiah was Jeremiah, called of God to the prophetic office while still a youth, in the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign. A member of the Levitical priesthood, Jeremiah had been trained from childhood for holy service. In those happy years of preparation he little realized that he had been ordained from birth to be "a prophet unto the nations;" and when the divine call came, he was overwhelmed with …
Ellen Gould White—The Story of Prophets and Kings

Scriptures Showing the Sin and Danger of Joining with Wicked and Ungodly Men.
Scriptures Showing The Sin And Danger Of Joining With Wicked And Ungodly Men. When the Lord is punishing such a people against whom he hath a controversy, and a notable controversy, every one that is found shall be thrust through: and every one joined with them shall fall, Isa. xiii. 15. They partake in their judgment, not only because in a common calamity all shares, (as in Ezek. xxi. 3.) but chiefly because joined with and partakers with these whom God is pursuing; even as the strangers that join …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

How those who Fear Scourges and those who Contemn them are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 14.) Differently to be admonished are those who fear scourges, and on that account live innocently, and those who have grown so hard in wickedness as not to be corrected even by scourges. For those who fear scourges are to be told by no means to desire temporal goods as being of great account, seeing that bad men also have them, and by no means to shun present evils as intolerable, seeing they are not ignorant how for the most part good men also are touched by them. They are to be admonished …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Christian Meekness
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth Matthew 5:5 We are now got to the third step leading in the way to blessedness, Christian meekness. Blessed are the meek'. See how the Spirit of God adorns the hidden man of the heart, with multiplicity of graces! The workmanship of the Holy Ghost is not only curious, but various. It makes the heart meek, pure, peaceable etc. The graces therefore are compared to needlework, which is different and various in its flowers and colours (Psalm 45:14). …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Jeremiah
The interest of the book of Jeremiah is unique. On the one hand, it is our most reliable and elaborate source for the long period of history which it covers; on the other, it presents us with prophecy in its most intensely human phase, manifesting itself through a strangely attractive personality that was subject to like doubts and passions with ourselves. At his call, in 626 B.C., he was young and inexperienced, i. 6, so that he cannot have been born earlier than 650. The political and religious …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament