Jeremiah 6:13 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Jeremiah 6:13
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.
great (in any sense) · adjective, masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
given
בּוֹצֵ֣עַbo.Tze.a'
H1214
figuratively · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
covetousness
בָּ֑צַעBa.tza'
H1215
plunder · noun, common masculine singular absolute
prophet
וּמִנָּבִיא֙u.mi.na.Vi'
H5030
a prophet or (generally) inspired man · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
priest
כֹּהֵ֔ןko.Hen
H3548
literally one officiating · noun, common masculine singular absolute
dealeth
עֹ֥שֶׂה'O.seh
H6213
to do or make · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
falsely
שָּֽׁקֶרSha.ker
H8267
an untruth · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Jeremiah 23:11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 8:10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the…
Micah 3:11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean up…
Jeremiah 22:17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do…
Micah 3:2-3 Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
Isaiah 57:17 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.
Jeremiah 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end th…
Jeremiah 14:18 If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 6:9-17
The heads of this paragraph are the very same with those of the last; for precept must be upon precept and line upon line.
I. The ruin of Judah and Jerusalem is here threatened. We had before the haste which the Chaldea army made to the war (Jer 6:4, Jer 6:5); now here we have the havoc made by the war. How lamentable are the desolations here described! The enemy shall so long quarter among them, and be so insatiable in their thirst after blood and treasure, that they shall seize all they can meet with, and what escapes them at one time shall fall into their hands another (Jer 6:9): They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine; as the grape-gatherer, who is resolved to leave n…
For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them,.... From the least in age to the oldest among them; or rather, from persons of the lowest class of life, and in the meanest circumstances, to those that are in the highest places of trust and honour, and are in the greatest affluence of riches and wealth; so that as men of every age and station had sinned, old and young, high and low, rich and poor, it was but just and right that they should all share in the common calamity:
everyone is given to covetousness; which is mentioned particularly, and instead of other sins, it being the root of evil, and was the prevailing sin among them:
from the prophet even unto the priest everyone de…
Jeremiah 6:13
13. 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.
13. Quia a parvo eorum usque ad magnum eorum omnis (vel, quilibet) con cupiscit cupiditatem (hoc est, cupidus est lucri, vel, addictus avaritiae;) et a propheta usque ad sacerdotem quilibet operatur mendacium (hoc est, fraudulenter agit.)
The Prophet now again declares, that it was nothing strange that God resolved to deal with so much severity with that people, and to execute on them extreme vengeance; for no part was whole and sound, but impiety had pervaded all ranks. It might, indeed, be ascribed to the you…
The Church Fathers
(Vers. 13 seqq.) For I will stretch out my hand over the inhabitants of the land, declares the Lord. From the least of them to the greatest, they all pursue greed, and from prophet to priest, they all practice deceit. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. In Hebrew, it is said, 'I will stretch out my hand against sinners or the inhabitants of the earth,' but in the Septuagint it is always written, 'I will continuously raise up,' which signifies both the one who strikes and the one who is struck. According to what is written: 'Yet his hand is still stretched out, or lifted up' (Isaiah 5:25). But the inhabitants of the earth are always in sin. Therefore, it is frequently said in the Apocalypse: 'Woe to the inhabitant of the earth' (Revelation 8:13). From the least to the greatest, all strive for greed, according to the saying of the Apostle: 'For the love of money is the root of all evil' (1 Timothy 6:10). And from the prophet to the priest, all practice deceit. Some prophesy lies, others perversely interpret the law of God. For in another place the Prophet says: 'Inquire of the priests for the law' (Jeremiah 18). And they would declare all the good things they did for my people and pretended to care for the wounds and dishonor of my daughter saying: 'Peace, peace' when there was no peace at all. This should be understood specifically of the priests and teachers who promise prosperity to the wealthy and those they see in the highest honor, and proclaim a merciful God, preparing them more for punishment and anger.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Covetousness · Exemplified: Jewish people — Exemplified: Jewish people
Injustice · Covetousness leads to — Covetousness leads to
Jews, The · National character of: Covetous — National character of: Covetous
Priests · Were sometimes: Unjust — Were sometimes: Unjust
Sins, National · Pervade all ranks — Pervade all ranks
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
This judgment will fall unsparingly on Jerusalem, because they listen to no warning, but suffer themselves to be confirmed in their shameless courses by false prophets and wicked priests. - Jer 6:9. "Thus hath Jahveh of hosts said: They shall have a gleaning of the remnant of Israel as of a vine: lay thine hand again as a vine-dresser on the soots. Jer 6:10. To whom shall I speak, and testify, that they may hear? Behold, uncircumcised is their ear, and they cannot give heed: behold, the word of Jahveh is become to them a reproach; they have no pleasure in it. Jer 6:11. But of the fury of Jahveh am I full, am weary with holding it in. Pour it out upon the child on the street, and upon the gro…
The people were so ruled by greed that they sought gain even by violent methods (cp. Prov 1:11-19; see also Isa 56:11; Mic 3:5, 11). The religious leaders were frauds; they did not function as their titles indicated they should.
