Jeremiah 6:8
New International Version
Take warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it.”

New Living Translation
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.”

English Standard Version
Be warned, O Jerusalem, lest I turn from you in disgust, lest I make you a desolation, an uninhabited land.”

Berean Standard Bible
Be forewarned, O Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you; I will make you a desolation, a land without inhabitant.”

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

New King James Version
Be instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest My soul depart from you; Lest I make you desolate, A land not inhabited.”

New American Standard Bible
“Be warned, Jerusalem, Or I shall be alienated from you, And make you a desolation, An uninhabited land.”

NASB 1995
“Be warned, O Jerusalem, Or I shall be alienated from you, And make you a desolation, A land not inhabited.”

NASB 1977
“Be warned, O Jerusalem, Lest I be alienated from you; Lest I make you a desolation, A land not inhabited.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Heed discipline, O Jerusalem, Lest My soul become disgusted at you, Lest I make you a desolation, A land not inhabited.”

Amplified Bible
“Be wise and be warned, O Jerusalem, Or I will be alienated from you, And make you a desolation, An uninhabited land.”

Christian Standard Bible
Be warned, Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you; I will make you a desolation, a land without inhabitants.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Be warned, Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you; I will make you a desolation, a land without inhabitants.

American Standard Version
Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from thee; lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited.

Contemporary English Version
Listen to me, you people of Jerusalem and Judah. I will abandon you, and your land will become an empty desert.

English Revised Version
Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from thee; lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Pay attention to my warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you. I will make your land desolate, a land where no one will live.

Good News Translation
People of Jerusalem, let these troubles be a warning to you, or else I will abandon you; I will turn your city into a desert, a place where no one lives."

International Standard Version
Be warned, Jerusalem, or I'll be alienated from you. I'll make you desolate, a land not inhabited."

Majority Standard Bible
Be forewarned, O Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you; I will make you a desolation, a land without inhabitant.”

NET Bible
So take warning, Jerusalem, or I will abandon you in disgust and make you desolate, a place where no one can live."

New Heart English Bible
Be instructed, Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from you; lest I make you a desolation, a land not inhabited."

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

World English Bible
Be instructed, Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from you, lest I make you a desolation, an uninhabited land.”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Be instructed, O Jerusalem, "" Lest My soul be alienated from you, "" Lest I make you a desolation, "" A land [that is] not inhabited.”

Young's Literal Translation
Be instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest My soul be alienated from thee, Lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited.

Smith's Literal Translation
Be admonished, O Jerusalem, lest thy soul shall be alienated from thee; lest I shall set thee a desolation, a land not inhabited.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee, lest I make thee desolate, a land uninhabited.

Catholic Public Domain Version
O Jerusalem, accept instruction, lest perhaps my soul may withdraw from you; lest perhaps I may set you in a desert, in an uninhabitable land.”

New American Bible
Be warned, Jerusalem, or I will be estranged from you, And I will turn you into a wilderness, a land where no one dwells.

New Revised Standard Version
Take warning, O Jerusalem, or I shall turn from you in disgust, and make you a desolation, an uninhabited land.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Be chastised, O Jerusalem, lest my soul abhor you; lest I make you desolate like an uninhabited land.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
In sorrows and with scourgings be instructed, Jerusalem, lest my soul will turn from you, lest I shall make you a wilderness, as a land that is uninhabited’”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Be thou corrected, O Jerusalem, Lest My soul be alienated from thee, Lest I make thee desolate, A land not inhabited.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Thou shalt be chastened, O Jerusalem, with pain and the scourge, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee a desert land, which shall not be inhabited.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jerusalem's Final Warning
7As a well gushes its water, so she pours out her evil. Violence and destruction resound in her; sickness and wounds are ever before Me. 8Be forewarned, O Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you; I will make you a desolation, a land without inhabitant.” 9This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as a vine. Pass your hand once more like a grape gatherer over the branches.”…

Cross References
Isaiah 1:16-20
Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil! / Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.” / “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool. ...

Zephaniah 2:1-3
Gather yourselves, gather together, O shameful nation, / before the decree takes effect and the day passes like chaff, before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the Day of the LORD’s anger comes upon you. / Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.

Amos 4:6-12
“I afflicted all your cities with cleanness of teeth and all your towns with lack of bread, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD. / “I also withheld the rain from you when the harvest was three months away. I sent rain on one city but withheld it from another. One field received rain; another without rain withered. / People staggered from city to city for water to drink, but they were not satisfied; yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD. ...

Hosea 4:1-3
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land! / Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. / Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.

Isaiah 55:6-7
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. / Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.

Ezekiel 18:30-32
Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that your iniquity will not become your downfall. / Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel? / For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord GOD. So repent and live!

2 Chronicles 7:14
and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Lamentations 3:40-42
Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD. / Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: / “We have sinned and rebelled; You have not forgiven.”

Joel 2:12-14
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” / So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster. / Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him—grain and drink offerings for the LORD your God.

Micah 6:8-9
He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? / The voice of the LORD calls out to the city (and it is sound wisdom to fear Your name): “Heed the rod and the One who ordained it.

Matthew 23:37-39
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! / Look, your house is left to you desolate. / For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Luke 13:34-35
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! / Look, your house is left to you desolate. And I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Hebrews 12:25
See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns us from heaven?

Revelation 2:4-5
But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. / Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Acts 3:19
Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,


Treasury of Scripture

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

Be thou.

Jeremiah 4:14
O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

Jeremiah 7:3-7
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place…

Jeremiah 17:23
But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

lest.

Ezekiel 23:18
So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.

Hosea 9:12
Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!

Zechariah 11:8,9
Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me…

depart.

Jeremiah 2:15
The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.

Jeremiah 7:20,34
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched…

Jeremiah 9:11
And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.

Jump to Previous
Alienated Corrected Depart Desolate Desolation Inhabited Instructed Jerusalem Soul Teaching Turn Turned Undergo Uninhabited Unpeopled Warned Warning Waste
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Alienated Corrected Depart Desolate Desolation Inhabited Instructed Jerusalem Soul Teaching Turn Turned Undergo Uninhabited Unpeopled Warned Warning Waste
Jeremiah 6
1. The enemies sent against Judah,
4. encourage themselves.
6. God sets them on work because of their sins.
9. The prophet laments the judgments of God because of their sins.
18. He proclaims God's wrath.
26. He calls the people to mourn for the judgment on their sins.














Be warned
The phrase "Be warned" is a call to heed and take notice. In Hebrew, the root word is "yasar," which means to discipline or instruct. This is not merely a suggestion but a divine imperative. God, through Jeremiah, is urging Jerusalem to pay attention to His warnings. The historical context here is crucial; Jerusalem was repeatedly warned by prophets about the consequences of their disobedience. This is a call to repentance, a chance to turn back to God before it's too late.

O Jerusalem
"Jerusalem" is not just a city but the heart of the Jewish nation, the center of worship, and the dwelling place of God's temple. The name itself means "foundation of peace," yet the city was anything but peaceful due to its people's rebellion. Historically, Jerusalem was the focal point of God's covenant with Israel, and its mention here underscores the gravity of the warning. The city's spiritual significance makes its potential desolation even more poignant.

or I will turn away from you
The phrase "or I will turn away from you" indicates a conditional statement. The Hebrew root "suwr" means to turn aside or depart. This is a sobering reminder of the consequences of persistent disobedience. God's presence is a blessing, and His departure signifies judgment. In the broader scriptural context, God's turning away is not His desire but a response to the people's choices. It reflects the covenantal relationship where blessings and curses are contingent on obedience.

I will make you a desolation
"A desolation" comes from the Hebrew word "shemamah," meaning ruin or waste. This is a vivid image of what awaits if Jerusalem does not heed the warning. Historically, this prophecy was fulfilled when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C. The desolation is both physical and spiritual, symbolizing the loss of God's favor and protection. It serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of forsaking God.

a land without inhabitants
The phrase "a land without inhabitants" paints a picture of complete devastation. The Hebrew word "yashab" means to dwell or inhabit, and its absence signifies total abandonment. This is not just a loss of population but a loss of life, culture, and divine presence. In the biblical narrative, the land is a gift from God, and its desolation is a direct result of the people's failure to uphold their covenant with Him. This serves as a powerful warning to remain faithful and obedient to God's commands.

(8) Be thou instructed.--Better, Be thou corrected, or, chastened. Comp. Psalm 2:10; Leviticus 26:23 (where we have "reformed"); and Proverbs 29:19.

Lest my soul.--As in Jeremiah 4:19, the Hebrew formula for emphasised personality. The word for "depart" may be better rendered tear itself away.

Verse 8. - Be thou instructed; rather, Let thyself be corrected (Authorized Version misses the sense, a very important one, of the conjugation, which is Nifal tolerativum (comp. Psalm 2:10; Isaiah 53:12). The phrase equivalent to "receive correction" (Jeremiah 2:30; Jeremiah 5:3), and means to accept the warning conveyed in the Divine chastisement. Lest my soul, etc.; rather, lest my soul be rent from thee (Authorized Version renders the same verb in Ezekiel 23:17, "be alienated").

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Be warned,
הִוָּסְרִי֙ (hiw·wā·sə·rî)
Verb - Nifal - Imperative - feminine singular
Strong's 3256: To discipline, chasten, admonish

O Jerusalem,
יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם (yə·rū·šā·lim)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3389: Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel

or
פֶּן־ (pen-)
Conjunction
Strong's 6435: Removal, lest

I
נַפְשִׁ֖י (nap̄·šî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

will turn away
תֵּקַ֥ע (tê·qa‘)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3363: To sever oneself, to be dislocated, to abandon, to impale

from you;
מִמֵּ֑ךְ (mim·mêḵ)
Preposition | second person feminine singular
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

I will make
אֲשִׂימֵ֣ךְ (’ă·śî·mêḵ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular | second person feminine singular
Strong's 7760: Put -- to put, place, set

you a desolation,
שְׁמָמָ֔ה (šə·mā·māh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8077: Devastation, astonishment

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

without
ל֥וֹא (lō·w)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

inhabitants.”
נוֹשָֽׁבָה׃ (nō·wō·šā·ḇāh)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - 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 6:8 Be instructed Jerusalem lest my soul be (Jer.)
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