Jeremiah 6 7

Jeremiah 6:7 kjv

As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds.

Jeremiah 6:7 nkjv

As a fountain wells up with water, So she wells up with her wickedness. Violence and plundering are heard in her. Before Me continually are grief and wounds.

Jeremiah 6:7 niv

As a well pours out its water, so she pours out her wickedness. Violence and destruction resound in her; her sickness and wounds are ever before me.

Jeremiah 6:7 esv

As a well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps fresh her evil; violence and destruction are heard within her; sickness and wounds are ever before me.

Jeremiah 6:7 nlt

She spouts evil like a fountain.
Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction.
I always see her sickness and sores.

Jeremiah 6 verses

Jeremiah 6 7 Meaning

Jeremiah 6:7 portrays the pervasive and self-renewing wickedness of Jerusalem, likened to a natural well that continually brings forth fresh water. Instead of good, the city persistently generates fresh evil, violence, and destruction. This moral corruption is ever-present and visible to God, leading to an enduring state of spiritual and ethical disease. The verse highlights the city's active and unwavering commitment to sin, where injustice and wrongdoing are not isolated incidents but a continuous output, constantly brought forth and amplified within its gates.

Jeremiah 6 7 Context

Jeremiah chapter 6 is a poignant lament and prophecy concerning Jerusalem's impending judgment at the hands of an invading northern army, commonly understood to be the Babylonians. Jeremiah, the prophet, is urgently warning the people of Judah, particularly the inhabitants of Jerusalem, of the dire consequences of their entrenched disobedience and rebellion against God. The city is called to flee, signaling imminent danger, yet the people remain stubborn and unresponsive to the divine call for repentance. Verse 7, in particular, speaks to the deep-seated moral decay within Jerusalem. The passage reveals God's exasperation with His people, who despite repeated warnings, continue to proliferate wickedness. Historically, Jerusalem in Jeremiah's time was marked by widespread idolatry, social injustice (oppression of the poor, corruption in legal systems), and a false sense of security based on their temple and covenant relationship with God, ignoring the ethical demands of that covenant. Jeremiah 6 exposes this spiritual sickness as endemic, affecting all strata of society, from priests and prophets to common citizens, solidifying the coming destruction as a righteous judgment.

Jeremiah 6 7 Word analysis

• As a well (כִּמְצוֹר - kim'tzor): Refers to a spring or fountain, a source that naturally and continuously produces water. This imagery evokes a constant, unstoppable flow, signifying the inherent and ingrained nature of what follows.
• keeps its water fresh (קָרַר מָיִם - karar mayim): The verb karar means "to cool," "to refresh," or "to make fresh." Wells provide cool, life-giving water. The comparison highlights the consistent, fresh supply.
• so (כֵּן - ken): A direct comparative conjunction, establishing a parallel between the physical process of a well and the spiritual condition of the city.
• she keeps her wickedness fresh (הֵנֵה קֵרְרָה רָעָתָהּ - hene qererah ra'atah): This is a powerful paradox. The verb qererah is derived from the same root as karar, but in an intensive or causative (Hiphil) form. It means "she causes her wickedness to be fresh" or "she renews her evil." This isn't passive evil, but active generation; Jerusalem doesn't merely have wickedness, it produces it continuously, actively revitalizing and presenting it. Ra'atah means "her evil," "her wickedness," encompassing all forms of moral and spiritual transgression.
• Violence (חָמָס - ḥamas): This term denotes not merely physical aggression but also injustice, wrongful actions, and cruel oppression. It implies a disregard for rights and righteousness.
• and destruction (וָשֹּׁד - vaššod): Often paired with ḥamas, šod refers to ruin, devastation, despoilment, and oppressive acts that lead to desolation.
• are heard in her (יִשָּׁמַע בָּהּ - yiššama' bah): The passive voice, "it is heard," suggests that ḥamas and šod are so prevalent that they are publicly manifest, constantly resonating throughout the city, undeniable to anyone present, and certainly to God.
• sickness (חֳלִי - ḥoli): Refers to disease, illness. In this spiritual context, it signifies moral and spiritual corruption, an ailment of the soul and society.
• and wounds (וּמַכָּה - umakkah): Literally "a blow" or "a stroke." Here, it points to injuries, the painful consequences of their persistent wickedness, or the resulting moral bruises on the collective conscience of the city.
• continually (תָּמִיד - tamid): Emphasizes the unending, incessant nature of this suffering or its cause. It’s an ongoing, pervasive condition.
• before me (לְפָנַי - ləfanai): God speaking, declaring that this entire tableau of sin and its ill effects is constantly in His direct sight and knowledge. He is fully aware and the divine witness.

Words-group analysis:

• "As a well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps her wickedness fresh": This is a potent simile of inversion. What should be a source of life and refreshment (fresh water) becomes, for Jerusalem, a perpetual fount of evil. The active, constant nature of the "freshening" implies a deliberate and renewed commitment to sin, not a passive falling into it. The image is of an inexhaustible spring, but tragically, it produces wickedness instead of good.
• "Violence and destruction are heard in her": The auditory aspect highlights the overt and clamorous nature of the city's sins. These are not hidden transgressions but public and pervasive cries of injustice and devastation, forming the dominant soundscape of Jerusalem.
• "sickness and wounds are continually before me": This phrase combines the consequences of their actions (sickness and wounds, both physical and moral) with God's perfect omniscience ("before me"). The suffering, a direct outcome of their unrepentant sin, is an open wound continually visible to God, underscoring the severity of their plight and His ongoing witness to their condition.

Jeremiah 6 7 Bonus section

The imagery of a constantly flowing spring for good is highly valued in the Bible (Ps 36:9; John 4:10-14). Here, it is twisted and applied to wickedness, intensifying the rebuke. This inversion powerfully illustrates Judah's fallen state – where sources designed for life-giving purpose are instead channeling death-dealing evil. This verse also contains an indirect polemic against any perception of Jerusalem's automatic sanctity. Despite its status as the chosen city and the site of the Temple, its continuous generation of sin made it utterly corrupt in God's eyes, stripping it of its privileged status and rendering it ripe for judgment. The people's spiritual heart had become a constant source of poison rather than piety.

Jeremiah 6 7 Commentary

Jeremiah 6:7 stands as a powerful indictment of Jerusalem's ingrained sin, employing a striking paradox to convey its relentless nature. The city, which was meant to be a wellspring of righteous living and faith for the nations, had become, in God's eyes, a "well" that ceaselessly produces and "freshens" its own wickedness. This isn't merely passive sin but an active, generative force. Like a perennial spring, Judah continuously revitalized its moral corruption, social injustice (violence, hamas), and devastation (šod). These transgressions were not covert but loudly manifest, filling the public square with cries of injustice. God declares that this ongoing "sickness" and "wounds"—representing the internal moral decay and its painful outward consequences—were always present before His divine gaze. This omnipresent wickedness, evident to God, solidifies the justification for the imminent severe judgment upon a people unwilling to stem the flow of their own pervasive evil.