Jeremiah 17:6 He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

◄ Jeremiah 17:6 ►

New International Version
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

New Living Translation
They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.

English Standard Version
He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

Berean Standard Bible
He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

King James Bible
For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

New King James Version
For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.

New American Standard Bible
“For he will be like a bush in the desert, And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt that is not inhabited.

NASB 1995
“For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant.

NASB 1977
“For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant.

Legacy Standard Bible
And he will be like a juniper in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will dwell in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt which is not inhabited.

Amplified Bible
“For he will be like a shrub in the [parched] desert; And shall not see prosperity when it comes, But shall live in the rocky places of the wilderness, In an uninhabited salt land.

Christian Standard Bible
He will be like a juniper in the Arabah; he cannot see when good comes but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land where no one lives.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
He will be like a juniper in the Arabah; he cannot see when good comes but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land where no one lives.

American Standard Version
For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.

Contemporary English Version
They will dry up like a bush in salty desert soil, where nothing can grow.

English Revised Version
For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
He will be like a bush in the wilderness. He will not see when something good comes. He will live in the dry places in the desert, in a salty land where no one can live.

Good News Translation
He is like a bush in the desert, which grows in the dry wasteland, on salty ground where nothing else grows. Nothing good ever happens to him.

International Standard Version
He will be like a bush in the desert, and he won't see when good comes. He will dwell in parched places in the wilderness, a land of salt, without inhabitants.

Majority Standard Bible
He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

NET Bible
They will be like a shrub in the desert. They will not experience good things even when they happen. It will be as though they were growing in the desert, in a salt land where no one can live.

New Heart English Bible
For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.

Webster's Bible Translation
For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

World English Bible
For he will be like a bush in the desert, and will not see when good comes, but will inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, an uninhabited salt land.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
And he has been as a naked thing in a desert, "" And does not see when good comes, "" And has inhabited parched places in a wilderness, "" A salt land, and not inhabited.

Young's Literal Translation
And he hath been as a naked thing in a desert, And doth not see when good cometh, And hath inhabited parched places in a wilderness, A salt land, and not inhabited.

Smith's Literal Translation
And he was as ruins in the sterile region, and he shall not see when good shall come; he inherited the arid places in the desert, a salt land, and it shall not be inhabited.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
For he shall be like tamaric in the desert, and he shall not see when good shall come: but he shall dwell in dryness in the desert in a salt land, and not inhabited.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For he will be like a saltcedar tree in the desert. And he will not perceive it, when what is good has arrived. Instead, he will live in dryness, in a desert, in a land of salt, which is uninhabitable.

New American Bible
He is like a barren bush in the wasteland that enjoys no change of season, But stands in lava beds in the wilderness, a land, salty and uninhabited.

New Revised Standard Version
They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
For he shall be like a plant in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness in a salt land not inhabited.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
He shall be as a root in the plain, and he shall not see when good will come, and shall dwell in a cavern in the wilderness in the earth, a salt pit that is uninhabited

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
For he shall be like a tamarisk in the desert, And shall not see when good cometh; But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, A salt land and not inhabited.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And he shall be as the wild tamarisk in the desert: he shall not see when good comes; but he shall dwell in barren places, and in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.

Audio Bible

Context

The Sin and Punishment of Judah
…5This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD. 6He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. 7But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Psalm 1:4
Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.

Psalm 92:7
that though the wicked sprout like grass, and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.

Isaiah 5:24
Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust; for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 44:9-11
All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame. / Who fashions a god or casts an idol which profits him nothing? / Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are only human. Let them all assemble and take their stand; they will all be brought to terror and shame.

Isaiah 57:20-21
But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its waves churn up mire and muck. / “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Ezekiel 17:9-10
So you are to tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Will it flourish? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it shrivels? All its foliage will wither! It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by its roots. / Even if it is transplanted, will it flourish? Will it not completely wither when the east wind strikes? It will wither on the bed where it sprouted.’”

Ezekiel 19:12-14
But it was uprooted in fury, cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branches were stripped off and they withered; the fire consumed them. / Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land. / Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.”

Hosea 9:16
Ephraim is struck down; their root is withered; they cannot bear fruit. Even if they bear children, I will slay the darlings of their wombs.

Malachi 4:1
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”

Matthew 13:5-6
Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. / But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Matthew 21:19
Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.

Mark 4:5-6
Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. / But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Mark 11:20-21
As they were walking back in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from its roots. / Peter remembered it and said, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree You cursed has withered.”

Luke 8:6
Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the seedlings withered because they had no moisture.

Luke 13:6-9
Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. / So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ / ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it. ...

Treasury of Scripture

For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

like.

Jeremiah 48:6
Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.

Job 8:11-13
Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water? …

Job 15:30-34
He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away…

and shall.

2 Kings 7:1,19,20
Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria…

John 20:17
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

a salt.

Deuteronomy 29:23
And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

Judges 9:45
And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.

Ezekiel 47:11
But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.

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Brushwood Bush Desert Dry Dwell Good Heath Inhabit Inhabitant Inhabited Live Naked Parched Places Prosperity Salt Shrub Stony Tamarisk Uninhabited Unpeopled Waste Wastelands Wastes Wilderness

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Brushwood Bush Desert Dry Dwell Good Heath Inhabit Inhabitant Inhabited Live Naked Parched Places Prosperity Salt Shrub Stony Tamarisk Uninhabited Unpeopled Waste Wastelands Wastes Wilderness

Jeremiah 17

1. The captivity of Judah for her sin.
5. Trust in man is cursed;
7. in God is blessed.
9. The deceitful heart cannot deceive God.
12. The salvation of God.
15. The prophet complains of the mockers of his prophecy.
19. He is sent to renew the covenant in hallowing the Sabbath.

Berean Study Bible

He will be like a shrub in the desert
The Hebrew word for "shrub" here is "עֲרוֹעֵר" (ar'ar), which refers to a stunted, barren bush. This imagery is powerful, symbolizing a life that lacks spiritual nourishment and vitality. In the context of the ancient Near East, a desert shrub is a common sight, representing survival in harsh conditions but without flourishing. Spiritually, this suggests a person who relies on human strength rather than God, leading to a life that is spiritually dry and unproductive.

he will not see when prosperity comes
The phrase "will not see" indicates a blindness or inability to perceive. In Hebrew, "יִרְאֶה" (yir'eh) means to see or perceive. This blindness is not physical but spiritual, highlighting a lack of discernment or awareness of God's blessings. Prosperity, or "טוֹבָה" (tovah), signifies goodness or well-being. The tragic irony is that prosperity may come, but the spiritually blind will not recognize or benefit from it, missing out on God's provision and grace.

He will dwell in the parched places of the desert
"Dwell" translates from "יָשַׁב" (yashav), meaning to sit, remain, or inhabit. This suggests a settled state, not just a temporary condition. The "parched places" or "חֲרֵרִים" (charerim) are barren, dry areas, emphasizing desolation and lack of life. In biblical times, the desert was a place of testing and hardship, often associated with spiritual barrenness. This phrase underscores the consequences of turning away from God, leading to a life devoid of spiritual refreshment.

in a salt land where no one lives
A "salt land" or "אֶרֶץ מְלֵחָה" (eretz melachah) is a land that cannot support life, often used in the Bible to describe judgment or curse (e.g., the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah). Salt, in this context, symbolizes barrenness and desolation. The phrase "where no one lives" further emphasizes isolation and abandonment. Spiritually, it represents the ultimate outcome of a life lived apart from God—loneliness, fruitlessness, and separation from the community of faith.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) Like the heath in the desert.--The word rendered heath is, literally, bare or naked, and as such is translated by "destitute" in Psalm 102:17. That meaning has accordingly been given to it here by some recent commentators. No picture of desolation could be more complete than that of a man utterly destitute, yet inhabiting the "parched places of the wilderness." All the older versions, however, including the Targum, and some of the best modern (e.g. Ewald), take the word as describing the "heath" or other like shrubs standing alone in a barren land. A like word with the same meaning is found in Jeremiah 48:6, and stands in Arabic for the "juniper." Both views are tenable, but the latter, as being a bolder similitude, and balancing the comparison to a "tree planted by the waters" in Jeremiah 17:8, is more after the manner of a poet-prophet. There is something weak in saying "A man shall be like a destitute man." The word rendered "desert" (arabah) is applied specially to the Jordan valley (sometimes, indeed, to its more fertile parts), and its connection here with the "salt land" points to the wild, barren land of the Jordan as it flows into the Dead Sea (Deuteronomy 29:23).

Shall not see when good cometh.--The words describe the yearning that has been so often disappointed that at last, when the brighter day dawns, it is blind to the signs of its approach. It comes too late, as rain falls too late on the dead or withered heath.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 6. - Like the heath in the desert; as forlorn as some well-known desert plant. But which plant? St. Jerome explains, "Et erit quasi myrice ['tamarisk'], quae Hebraice dicitur Aroer (?) sire, at interpretatus est Syrus, lignum infructuosum." The versions agree in supposing the comparison to be to a plant; and a very similar word in Arabic (ghargar) means the mountain juniper; Tristram, the dwarf juniper. Most, however, take the word to be an adjective equivalent to "destitute." Dr. Thomson tells a story of a poor destitute woman he found in the desert (comp. Jeremiah 48:6 - the form there is Aroer, here it is 'ar'ar; Psalm 102:18). Shall not see; i.e. shall not perceive, or feel any evil consequences (comp. Isaiah 44:16, "I have seen the fire," equivalent to "feel the flame"). A salt land; i.e. one entirely barren (comp. Deuteronomy 29:23).

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

He will be
וְהָיָה֙ (wə·hā·yāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

like a shrub
כְּעַרְעָ֣ר (kə·‘ar·‘ār)
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6176: (probably a tree or bush) perhaps juniper

in the desert;
בָּֽעֲרָבָ֔ה (bā·‘ă·rā·ḇāh)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 6160: Arabah -- a steppe or desert plain, also a desert valley running south from the Sea of Galilee

he will not
וְלֹ֥א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

see
יִרְאֶ֖ה (yir·’eh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

when
כִּי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

prosperity
ט֑וֹב (ṭō·wḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

comes.
יָב֣וֹא (yā·ḇō·w)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

He will dwell
וְשָׁכַ֤ן (wə·šā·ḵan)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7931: To settle down, abide, dwell

in the parched places
חֲרֵרִים֙ (ḥă·rê·rîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2788: A parched place

of the desert,
בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר (bam·miḏ·bār)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4057: A pasture, a desert, speech

in a salt
מְלֵחָ֖ה (mə·lê·ḥāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4420: Saltiness, barrenness

land
אֶ֥רֶץ (’e·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 776: Earth, land

where no
וְלֹ֥א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

one lives.
תֵשֵֽׁב׃ (ṯê·šêḇ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry

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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 17:6 For he shall be like the heath (Jer.)