To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.
What does Jeremiah 18:16 mean?
Sinners call it liberty to live at large; whereas for a man to be a slave to his lusts, is the very worst slavery. They forsook God for idols.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Jeremiah 18:14-17 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Jeremiah 18:16
Hissing - Not derision, but the drawing in of the breath quickly as men do when they shudder. Way his head - Or, "shake his head," a sign among the Jews not of scorn but of pity. The desolation of the land of Israel is to fill people with dismay.
Key words
- desolate
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To make their land desolate,.
Context in Jeremiah 18
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Jeremiah 18 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as conflict with kings, priests, and prophets. Jeremiah combines fierce warning, autobiographical anguish, symbolic action, the promise of a new covenant, and the trauma of Jerusalem’s fall. Read this chapter with the wider themes of judgment, tears, and new covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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