Jeremiah 22:6

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

For this is what the LORD says about the house of the king of Judah: Though you are like Gilead to me, like the peak of Lebanon, yet I will surely make you into a wilderness, uninhabited cities.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

׃22 6 כִּֽי־כֹ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה עַל־בֵּית֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֔ה גִּלְעָ֥ד אַתָּ֛ה לִ֖י רֹ֣אשׁ הַלְּבָנ֑וֹן אִם־לֹ֤א אֲשִֽׁיתְךָ֙ מִדְבָּ֔ר עָרִ֖ים לֹ֥א *נושבה **נוֹשָֽׁבוּ׃

Transliteration

For thus ʾāmar YHWH concerning bêt melek Yᵉhûdāh, Gilʿād you to me rōʾš hallᵉbānôn, if not ʾăšîtᵉkā midbār, ʿārîm not nôšābû.

Grammar Details

• *kî-kōh*: conjunction + adverb - for thus
• *ʾāmar*: perfect, 3rd masculine singular, qal - he said/spoke
• *YHWH*: proper noun - divine name
• *ʿal-bêt*: preposition + noun, masculine singular construct - concerning house of
• *melek*: noun, masculine singular construct - king of
• *Yᵉhûdāh*: proper noun - Judah
• *Gilʿād*: proper noun - Gilead
• *ʾattāh*: 2nd person masculine singular pronoun - you
• *lî*: preposition with 1st person singular suffix - to me
• *rōʾš*: noun, masculine singular construct - head of
• *ha-llᵉbānôn*: definite article + proper noun - the Lebanon
• *ʾim-lōʾ*: conditional particle + negative particle - if not (formula for oath)
• *ʾăšîtᵉkā*: imperfect, 1st singular with 2nd masculine singular suffix, qal - I will make you
• *midbār*: noun, masculine singular - wilderness/desert
• *ʿārîm*: noun, feminine plural - cities
• *lōʾ*: negative particle - not
• *nôšābû*: perfect, 3rd common plural, niphal - they are inhabited

Word Meanings

• *rōʾš*: head/top/summit
• *ʾăšîtᵉkā*: I will make you/set you/place you
• *midbār*: wilderness/desert/uninhabited land
• *nôšābû*: they are inhabited/settled/occupied

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  For thus says the LORD to the house of the king of Judah; You are Gilead to me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make you a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  For thus saith{H559} Jehovah{H3068} concerning the house{H1004} of the king{H4428} of Judah:{H3063} Thou art Gilead{H1568} unto me, [and] the head{H7218} of Lebanon;{H3844} [yet] surely I will make{H7896} thee a wilderness,{H4057} [and] cities{H5892} which are not inhabited.{H3427}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  For thus saith{H559}{(H8804)} the LORD{H3068} unto the king's{H4428} house{H1004} of Judah{H3063}; Thou art Gilead{H1568} unto me, and the head{H7218} of Lebanon{H3844}: yet surely I will make{H7896}{(H8799)} thee a wilderness{H4057}, and cities{H5892} which are not inhabited{H3427}{(H8738)}{(H8675)}{H3427}{(H8737)}.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  For thus hath the LORDE spoken vpon the kinges house of Iuda: Thou art the heade, as Galaad is in Libanus: What wilt thou laye of it, yf I make the not so waist (& thy cities also) that no man shal dwell there in?

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  For thus hath the Lorde spoken vpon the Kings house of Iudah, Thou art Gilead vnto me, & the head of Lebanon, yet surely I wil make thee a wildernes and as cities not inhabited,

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  For thus hath the Lorde spoken vppon the kynges of Iuda: Thou Gilead art vnto me the head of Libanus: Shall I not make thee so waste as the cities that no man dwell in?

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou [art] Gilead unto me, [and] the head of Lebanon: [yet] surely I will make thee a wilderness, [and] cities [which] are not inhabited.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  For thus says Yahweh concerning the house of the king of Judah: You are Gilead to me, [and] the head of Lebanon; [yet] surely I will make you a wilderness, [and] cities which are not inhabited.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  For thus said Jehovah, Concerning the house of the king of Judah: Gilead `art' thou to Me -- head of Lebanon, If not -- I make thee a wilderness, Cities not inhabited.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  For thus saith Jehovah concerning the house of the king of Judah: Thou art Gilead unto me, `and' the head of Lebanon; `yet' surely I will make thee a wilderness, `and' cities which are not inhabited.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  For thus saith Jehovah concerning the house of the king of Judah: Thou art Gilead unto me, [and] the head of Lebanon; [yet] surely I will make thee a wilderness, [and] cities which are not inhabited.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  For this is what the Lord has said about the family of the king of Judah: You are Gilead to me, and the top of Lebanon: but, truly, I will make you waste, with towns unpeopled.

• World English Bible (2000)

  For thus says Yahweh concerning the house of the king of Judah: You are Gilead to me, [and] the head of Lebanon; [yet] surely I will make you a wilderness, [and] cities which are not inhabited.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  “‘For the LORD says concerning the palace of the king of Judah,“This place looks like a veritable forest of Gilead to me. It is like the wooded heights of Lebanon in my eyes. But I swear that I will make it like a wilderness whose towns have all been deserted.

Referenced Verses

• Ps 107:34 : 34 and a fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who dwell there.
• Isa 6:11 : 11 Then I said, "For how long, Lord?" And He replied, "Until cities lie ruined without inhabitants, houses are unoccupied, and the land is desolate and devastated.
• Isa 27:10 : 10 The fortified city is desolate, a desert place, abandoned and forsaken like the wilderness. There, calves will graze, lie down, and strip its branches bare.
• Mic 3:12 : 12 Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the temple will become a high place overgrown with thickets.
• Jer 26:18 : 18 'Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah, “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a pile of ruins, and the temple mount will become overgrown with thickets.”'
• Gen 37:25 : 25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm, and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
• Jer 7:34 : 34 I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and groom, in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate.
• Jer 9:11 : 11 Who is the wise person who may understand this? And to whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may declare it? Why has the land perished, been scorched like a desert with no one passing through?
• Jer 19:7-8 : 7 In this place, I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies and at the hands of those who seek their lives. I will give their dead bodies as food to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth. 8 I will make this city desolate and an object of scorn. Everyone who passes by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds.
• Jer 21:11 : 11 To the house of the king of Judah: Hear the word of the LORD.
• Jer 21:14 : 14 I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds, declares the LORD. I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it will consume everything around her.
• Jer 22:24 : 24 As surely as I live, declares the LORD, even if Coniah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off.
• Jer 25:9-9 : 9 I am about to send for all the clans of the north,' declares the LORD, 'and for my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, its inhabitants, and all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them, making them an object of horror, scorn, and perpetual ruins. 10 I will banish from them the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the bride, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp.
• Jer 26:6-9 : 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city an object of cursing among all the nations on earth.' 7 And the priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. 8 And when Jeremiah finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests, the prophets, and all the people seized him, saying, 'You shall surely die!' 9 'Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, “This house will become like Shiloh, and this city will be desolate, without inhabitants”?' And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the LORD's house.
• Deut 3:25 : 25 ‘Please let me cross over and see the good land on the other side of the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.’
• Song 5:15 : 15 His legs are pillars of marble, set on bases of fine gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
• Jer 4:20 : 20 Disaster upon disaster is announced, for the whole land is devastated. Suddenly, my tents are ruined, my curtains in a moment.
• Isa 24:1-6 : 1 Behold, the Lord lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. 2 It will be the same for the people as for the priest, the servant as for his master, the maid as for her mistress, the buyer as for the seller, the lender as for the borrower, the creditor as for the debtor. 3 The earth will be utterly laid waste and completely plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word. 4 The earth mourns and withers; the world fades and withers; the exalted of the earth languish. 5 The earth is defiled by its inhabitants, for they have transgressed laws, violated statutes, and broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants bear the guilt. Therefore, the earth’s inhabitants are burned, and few people are left.
• Ezek 33:27-28 : 27 Tell them this: 'This is what the Lord GOD says: As surely as I live, those who are in the ruins will fall by the sword, those who are in the open field I will give to wild animals to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and caves will die of plague.' 28 I will make the land a desolate waste, and its proud strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will become desolate, with no one passing through.