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.
Parallel translations
- WEB For he shall be like a bush 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.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV 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.
- NASB “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.
- NLT 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The one who trusts in man is like a stunted bush in the desert, unable to sense good when it comes, dwelling in barren, uninhabited salt flats. Trusting in human strength leaves the soul fruitless and parched.
Overview
The image of a scrubby desert shrub portrays the barrenness of a life cut off from God by misplaced trust; it cannot recognize or enjoy good. This spiritual desolation is the fruit of departing from the LORD. It stands as a sober warning that self-reliance leads to lasting emptiness, in contrast to the abundant life God gives to those who trust Him through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Job 20:17He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
- Deut 29:23All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.
- Ps 1:4Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.
- Job 8:11–13Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water?
- Job 15:30–34He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
- Jer 48:6‘Flee! Run for your lives! Become like a juniper in the desert.’
- Job 39:6I made the wilderness his home and the salt flats his dwelling.
- Zeph 2:9Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah—a place of weeds and salt pits, a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of My people will plunder them; the remainder of My nation will dispossess them.”
- Ps 129:6–8May they be like grass on the rooftops, which withers before it can grow,
- Judg 9:45And all that day Abimelech fought against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.
- Ps 92:7that though the wicked sprout like grass, and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.
- Isa 1:30For you will become like an oak whose leaves are withered, like a garden without water.
- 2 Kgs 7:19–20And the officer had answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” So Elisha had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!”
- 2 Kgs 7:2But the officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” replied Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it.”
- Ezek 47:11But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 17:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.