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.
Parallel translations
- 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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 shall not look at the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and butter.
- Deut 29:23and that all of its land is sulfur, salt, and burning, that it is not sown, doesn’t produce, nor does any grass grow in it, like the overthrow of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath;
- Ps 1:4The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
- Job 8:11–13“Can the papyrus grow up without mire? Can the rushes grow without water?
- Job 15:30–34He shall not depart out of darkness. The flame shall dry up his branches. By the breath of God’s mouth shall he go away.
- Jer 48:6Flee! Save your lives! Be like the juniper bush in the wilderness.
- Job 39:6Whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place?
- Zeph 2:9Therefore as I live, says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, surely Moab will be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The remnant of my people will plunder them, and the survivors of my nation will inherit them.
- Ps 129:6–8Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up;
- Judg 9:45Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and killed the people in it. He beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
- Ps 92:7though the wicked spring up as the grass, and all the evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
- Isa 1:30For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water.
- 2 Kgs 7:19–20and that captain answered the man of God, and said, “Now, behold, if Yahweh made windows in heaven, might such a thing be?” and he said, “Behold, you will see it with your eyes, but will not eat of it.”
- 2 Kgs 7:2Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, “Behold, if Yahweh made windows in heaven, could this thing be?” He said, “Behold, you will see it with your eyes, but will not eat of it.”
- Ezek 47:11But the miry places of it, and its marshes, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt.
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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.