Jeremiah 6 8

Jeremiah 6:8 kjv

Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.

Jeremiah 6:8 nkjv

Be instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest My soul depart from you; Lest I make you desolate, A land not inhabited."

Jeremiah 6:8 niv

Take warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it."

Jeremiah 6:8 esv

Be warned, O Jerusalem, lest I turn from you in disgust, lest I make you a desolation, an uninhabited land."

Jeremiah 6:8 nlt

Listen to this warning, Jerusalem,
or I will turn from you in disgust.
Listen, or I will turn you into a heap of ruins,
a land where no one lives."

Jeremiah 6 verses

Jeremiah 6 8 Meaning

Jeremiah 6:8 conveys a profound and urgent warning from God to Jerusalem (representing Judah), imploring the city to accept His discipline and repent. God states that if they refuse His correction, He will ultimately abandon them. This divine withdrawal will result in their utter desolation, turning Jerusalem into a land stripped of inhabitants and reduced to ruin. The verse underscores that God's covenant blessings and presence are conditional upon obedience and repentance.

Jeremiah 6 8 Context

Jeremiah chapter 6 is a fervent plea from God to His people Judah through the prophet. It is set against a backdrop of imminent invasion from the North, widely understood to be Babylonia, even if not explicitly named here. The chapter describes the enemy's approach (vv. 1-5), Jerusalem's deep-seated spiritual sickness (vv. 6-8a, 13-15), the people's refusal to listen to God's warnings (vv. 10-12, 16-19), and God's unheeded call for justice and repentance.

Verse 8 stands as a pivotal, final, and most urgent warning, almost a last-gasp plea. It precedes God's lament over His inability to save them due to their hard-heartedness. The people of Jerusalem were living in a false sense of security, believing that God would never allow His holy city to fall, especially while His Temple stood. This verse directly challenges that presumption, revealing the terrifying consequences of their persistent sin and refusal to heed divine discipline. It encapsulates the deep sorrow of God at the prospect of abandoning His chosen people, an abandonment necessitated by their persistent rebellion.

Jeremiah 6 8 Word analysis

• Be warned (הִוָּסְרִי, hivvasri): This is a Hophal imperative, conveying a command in the passive voice. It means "allow yourself to be disciplined," "receive instruction," or "take heed." It's not a mere suggestion but an urgent directive to accept the corrective measures God has provided, indicating an active role of submission to divine teaching and correction. Root: יָסַר (yasar), meaning to discipline, chasten, instruct. It suggests a parental instruction, aiming for their benefit.

• O Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַם, Yerushalayim): The direct address personifies the city as a living entity, usually as a woman. This evokes a deep, personal lament and connection from God. Jerusalem represents not just the physical capital but the entire people of Judah, their spiritual state, and their covenant relationship with God. The direct address underscores God's personal involvement and heartbreak.

• lest I pass away from you / lest my soul be alienated from you (פֶּן־תֵּקַע נַפְשִׁי מִמֵּךְ, pen teqaʿ nafshī mimmeḵ):

  • Lest (pen): Indicates a strong warning, highlighting a feared negative consequence.
  • my soul (nafshi): An anthropomorphic expression signifying God's very being, His essence, His deep commitment, and intimate presence.
  • be alienated / torn away (teqaʿ): From the root נָקַע (nāqaʿ), meaning "to be torn away, dislocated, wrenched off, alienated." This is not a casual departure or a temporary hiding of God's face, but a complete rupture, an active tearing away of His intimate connection and sustaining presence from His people. It is a severe term denoting a radical break in relationship.

• lest I make you a desolation (וְשָׂמְתִּיךְ לְשַׁמָּה, wəśaməttîḵ ləšammâ):

  • I make you (wəśaməttîḵ): Emphasizes God's active role as the agent of judgment, indicating that the impending desolation is not accidental but a direct, deliberate consequence of their sin and His just response.
  • desolation (šammâ): A frequently used prophetic term for utter ruin, devastation, and horror. It describes a state of waste and emptiness, both physically (cities ruined) and existentially (lost purpose/presence of God).

• a land uninhabited (אֶרֶץ אֵין יוֹשֵׁב, ’ereṣ ’ên yôšēḇ): This phrase further specifies and intensifies the meaning of "desolation." It implies the forced removal or destruction of its people, rendering the land literally empty of human presence. This directly foretells the Babylonian exile, when the land of Judah would lie vacant, depopulated of its residents.

Words-group analysis:

• "Be warned, O Jerusalem": This is an urgent, direct, and final call to repentance and to accept discipline. It is a heartfelt appeal before irreversible judgment, revealing God's grief mixed with His resolute justice.
• "lest I pass away from you": This clause details the core consequence of their unfaithfulness: God's ultimate departure. This signifies the severing of the covenant relationship from God's side, provoked by their consistent breach. This spiritual abandonment is the precursor to physical destruction.
• "lest I make you a desolation, a land uninhabited": These two phrases powerfully describe the physical and demographic reality of God's judgment. The first describes the ruin of the urban and national infrastructure; the second emphasizes the forced removal of the people, turning a once vibrant nation into a wasteland. Together, they paint a picture of complete destruction and abandonment.

Jeremiah 6 8 Bonus section

• The divine anguish conveyed through "lest My soul be alienated from you" highlights that this judgment is deeply sorrowful for God Himself, not a detached punitive act. He "suffers" the breaking of the relationship He initiated.
• This verse counters the theological complacency prevalent in Jerusalem during Jeremiah's time, where the people relied on the physical presence of the Temple and their status as God's chosen people, without living out the covenant obligations. It forcefully demonstrates that privileges come with responsibilities.
• The call to "be warned" through discipline (root yasar) implies that God had already sent warnings and corrections. The urgency here is about finally listening and responding to that ongoing divine instruction, or facing a final, severe outcome.
• Jeremiah 6:8 functions as a chilling ultimatum, revealing the dire alternative to repentance. It’s a moment of severe clarity from the divine perspective: the cost of unfaithfulness is existential for the nation.

Jeremiah 6 8 Commentary

Jeremiah 6:8 represents a critical inflection point in God's dealing with Judah, presented as a "last chance" warning. It expresses God's intense personal distress (my soul torn away) at the thought of abandoning His beloved city, yet His righteous character demands action in response to persistent, unrepentant rebellion. The verse dispels any notion of unconditional divine favor, firmly linking God's presence and the nation's well-being to their willingness to receive discipline and obey. The phrase "lest I pass away from you" is deeply poignant; it's not a mere withdrawal but a relational breaking. The resulting desolation, not just physical destruction but complete depopulation, serves as a grim and potent reminder that covenant infidelity has dire consequences. This was starkly fulfilled in the Babylonian exile, a historical witness to the verse's prophetic accuracy and God's uncompromising justice when His mercy is repeatedly spurned.