Jeremiah 17:6

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.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The prophet Jeremiah delivers a divine oracle to the people of Judah, framing the verse as the direct consequence of trusting human strength rather than the LORD. The passage immediately follows a curse on flesh-reliance and precedes a blessing on divine reliance.

The words — עַרְעָר ('ar.'Ar) denotes a hardy desert shrub, and עֲרָבָה ('a.ra.Vah) specifies the barren desert plain where such vegetation survives. These terms ground the metaphor in an environment of extreme scarcity and isolation.

The thread — The imagery of barren desolation parallels the cursed land in Deuteronomy 29:23 and the lost streams in Job 20:17, while the structural contrast between the wicked and the righteous aligns with Psalms 1:4.

Why it lands — The text demands a deliberate choice of allegiance, presenting reliance on human strength as a path to spiritual aridity and reliance on God as the only viable foundation. Readers must examine where they place their confidence and accept the corresponding consequences.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְהָיָה֙ve./ha.Yahand/ he will be כְּעַרְעָ֣רke./'ar.'Arlike/ a bush בָּֽעֲרָבָ֔הba./'a.ra.Vahin the/ desert plain וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not יִרְאֶ֖הyir.'Ehhe will see כִּי־ki-if יָב֣וֹאya.Vo'it will come ט֑וֹבTovgood וְשָׁכַ֤ןve./sha.Khanand/ he will dwell חֲרֵרִים֙cha.re.Rimparched places בַּמִּדְבָּ֔רba./mid.Barin the/ wilderness אֶ֥רֶץ'E.retza land of מְלֵחָ֖הme.le.Chahsaltiness וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not תֵשֵֽׁב׃ סte.Shevanyone dwells

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.

Cross-references

Job 20:17 He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
Deuteronomy 29:23 All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.
Psalms 1:4 Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.
Job 8:11 Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water?
Job 15:30 He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
Job 39:6 I made the wilderness his home and the salt flats his dwelling.
Jeremiah 48:6 ‘Flee! Run for your lives! Become like a juniper in the desert.’
Judges 9:45 And all that day Abimelech fought against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.
Psalms 129:6 May they be like grass on the rooftops, which withers before it can grow,
Zephaniah 2:9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah—a place of weeds and salt pits, a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of My people will plunder them; the remainder of My nation will dispossess them.”