Jeremiah 6 13

Jeremiah 6:13 kjv

For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

Jeremiah 6:13 nkjv

"Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is given to covetousness; And from the prophet even to the priest, Everyone deals falsely.

Jeremiah 6:13 niv

"From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.

Jeremiah 6:13 esv

"For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.

Jeremiah 6:13 nlt

"From the least to the greatest,
their lives are ruled by greed.
From prophets to priests,
they are all frauds.

Jeremiah 6 verses

Jeremiah 6 13 Meaning

Jeremiah 6:13 delivers a stark indictment of pervasive moral and spiritual corruption throughout the nation of Judah, spanning every segment of society and especially implicating its religious leadership. The verse proclaims that from the humblest citizen to the most influential person, an insatiable desire for dishonest gain defines their actions. Crucially, this depravity extends directly to the prophets and priests, the very custodians of God's truth and justice, who are universally depicted as practicing deception and promoting falsehood. It underscores a complete societal and religious breakdown that made divine judgment inevitable.

Jeremiah 6 13 Context

Jeremiah 6:13 appears within a section of Jeremiah's prophecy (chapters 4-6) where the prophet pronounces impending judgment on Judah for its rampant sin and persistent rebellion against God. Chapter 6 specifically depicts the siege and destruction that awaits Jerusalem, calling on the people to prepare for the invasion. The verses preceding 6:13 (6:9-12) speak of a total desolation and God's extension of His hand against a people unwilling to hear His word, concluding that their houses, fields, and wives will be given to others. Verse 13 then provides the core reason for this severe judgment: the deep-seated, all-encompassing corruption, particularly highlighting the hypocrisy and malfeasance of their religious leaders. It is a critical diagnostic statement explaining why Judah faces such a grim future, positioning the nation's moral and spiritual decay as the root cause of its imminent destruction. This diagnosis is part of Jeremiah's persistent call to repentance, which ultimately falls on deaf ears.

Jeremiah 6 13 Word analysis

• For (כִּ֤י, kî): This conjunction serves as an explanatory connector, indicating the reason or justification for the severe judgment pronounced in the preceding verses. It introduces the root cause of Judah's downfall.
• from the least of them (מִקְּטַנָּם֙, miqqeṭannām): Literally "from their small ones." This refers to those lowest in social standing, wealth, influence, or age. It signifies the earliest onset or the lowest rank within the societal structure.
• even to the greatest of them (וְעַד־גְּדוֹלָ֔ם, wəʿaḏ-gəḏôlām): Literally "and to their great ones." This refers to those highest in social standing, power, wealth, or age. Together with "least," this forms a merism, a literary device indicating comprehensive universality, spanning all classes and individuals in society without exception.
• everyone is greedy for gain (כֻּלּוֹ֙ בּוֹצֵ֣עַ בָּ֔צַע, kullō bōṣēaʿ bāṣaʿ):
  • כֻּלּוֹ (kullō): "everyone" or "the whole of it." Reinforces the idea of universality.
  • בּוֹצֵ֣עַ בָּ֔צַע (bōṣēaʿ bāṣʿa): This phrase is a play on words, rooted in בָּצַע (bāṣaʿ), which means "to cut off," "to complete," but frequently in the sense of "to gain ill-gotten profit" or "to get violent gain." The repetition here (a verb and its noun) emphasizes the aggressive pursuit and appropriation of unethical, illicit, or wrongful profit. It depicts a deep-seated avarice, a willingness to exploit and defraud for personal enrichment.
• and from the prophet (וּמִנָּבִיא֙, ûminnāḇîʾ): The prophet (נָבִיא, nābîʾ) was divinely appointed to speak God's word to the people, call them to repentance, and warn them of judgment. Their inclusion highlights a profound failure at the very core of spiritual authority.
• even to the priest (וְעַד־כֹּהֵ֔ן, wəʿaḏ-kōhēn): The priest (כֹּהֵן, kōhēn) was responsible for administering the Law, teaching God's ways, offering sacrifices, and interceding for the people. Their corruption signals the absolute breakdown of religious integrity and covenant fidelity. This pairing of prophet and priest, like "least and greatest," is another merism, encompassing the entire religious leadership, indicating their comprehensive guilt.
• everyone deals falsely (כֻּלּוֹ֙ עֹשֶׂ֣ה שָּׁ֑קֶר, kullō ʿōśeh šāqe r):
  • כֻּלּוֹ (kullō): Again, "everyone" (of the specified group), emphasizing pervasive deceit.
  • עֹשֶׂ֣ה שָּׁ֑קֶר (ʿōśeh šāqe r): Literally "doing falsehood" or "making a lie." שָּׁקֶר (šāqe r) means "lie," "deception," "falsehood." This implies that their teachings, their practices, and their very lives were characterized by deceit. They preached a message that was not from God, promising peace where there was none, for personal gain, and failing to guide the people to righteousness.

• "from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for gain": This phrase captures the pervasive societal disease. It illustrates a total collapse of moral and ethical standards, where an exploitative mindset and unbridled covetousness permeate every social stratum. Economic injustice and the pursuit of dishonest wealth are not confined to a few corrupt individuals but are endemic to the entire society. This greed manifests in various forms, from petty corruption among common people to large-scale exploitation by those in power.
• "and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely": This is a powerful and shocking indictment. The prophet and the priest represented the highest spiritual and moral authority in Israel. Their role was to represent God to the people and the people to God, to teach the divine law, uphold truth, and lead in righteousness. When these very figures are consumed by falsehood (שָּׁקֶר, shāqer), it indicates a profound betrayal of their sacred calling. They compromise divine truth, mislead the people, offer false assurances, and, as indicated by the earlier phrase, do so out of a greedy motivation, thereby undermining the spiritual foundations of the nation and accelerating its judgment. This dual indictment emphasizes the universality of corruption—not just economic or political, but crucially, spiritual.

Jeremiah 6 13 Bonus section

The strong linguistic parallels between Jeremiah 6:13 and Jeremiah 8:10 underscore a prophetic echo, emphasizing the persistence and unchanging nature of Judah's deep-seated corruption even after initial warnings. The Hebrew participles used in this verse—bôṣēaʿ (greedy for gain) and ʿōśeh (dealing falsely)—describe ongoing, habitual actions rather than isolated incidents, portraying a settled state of moral perversion. This persistent pattern of sin required a decisive, corrective action from God, manifested in the Babylonian invasion and exile. The complete breakdown of leadership from the "prophet" to the "priest" is particularly poignant as these were the very individuals commissioned to keep the nation on a covenantal path. Their moral bankruptcy serves as a warning against spiritual complacency and compromise in all generations of religious leadership, stressing that true ministry prioritizes truth and righteousness over personal profit or popular appeasement.

Jeremiah 6 13 Commentary

Jeremiah 6:13 offers a penetrating divine diagnosis of Judah's terminal condition, exposing sin as a systemic issue affecting all levels of society and, most critically, its spiritual leadership. The universality ("least to greatest," "prophet to priest") underscores that no one is exempt from the rampant pursuit of illicit gain and pervasive falsehood. The "greed for gain" (בּוֹצֵעַ בָּצַע) highlights a rapacious desire for unrighteous profit, revealing the underlying motivation for the "dealing falsely" (עֹשֶׂה שָּׁקֶר). The religious leaders, instead of being guardians of truth and justice, became perpetrators of deceit, teaching for their own benefit rather than God's glory, thus affirming a false peace and undermining true repentance. This verse fundamentally explains why God's severe judgment was not only justified but absolutely necessary, as the entire moral and spiritual fabric of the nation had unravelled, from top to bottom, sacred and secular alike.