Jeremiah 17:6 (GNV)

Passage

For he shall be like the heath in the wildernesse, and shall not see when any good commeth, but shall inhabite the parched places in the wildernesse, in a salt land, and not inhabited.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 17:4 And thou shalt rest, and in thee shall be a rest from thine heritage that I gaue thee, and I will cause thee to serue thine enemies in the land, which thou knowest not: for yee haue kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burne for euer.

Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arme, and withdraweth his heart from the Lord.

Jeremiah 17:6 For he shall be like the heath in the wildernesse, and shall not see when any good commeth, but shall inhabite the parched places in the wildernesse, in a salt land, and not inhabited.

Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed be the man, that trusteth in ye Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

Jeremiah 17:8 For he shall be as a tree that is planted by the water, which spreadeth out her rootes by the riuer, and shall not feele when the heate commeth, but her leafe shall be greene, and shall not care for the yeere of drought, neyther shall cease from yeelding fruit.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "like", "heath", "wildernesse", "good", and "commeth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "like", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Thus saith the Lord Cursed be the..." into verse 7's "Blessed be the man that trusteth in...", so "shall" and "like" belong inside that flow. In Jeremiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "like" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.