Jeremiah 6:7 Meaning: When Wickedness Flows Like Water
As a well produces its waters, so she produces her wickedness. Violence and destruction is heard in her. Sickness and wounds are continually before me.
As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds.
As a well casteth forth its waters, so she casteth forth her wickedness: violence and destruction is heard in her; before me continually is sickness and wounds.
As the digging of a well, is for its waters, So she hath digged for her wickedness, Violence and spoil is heard in her, Before My face continually are sickness and smiting.
As a well poureth forth her waters, so she poureth forth her wickedness: violence and destruction are heard in her; before me continually are grief and wounds.
Meaning in one sentence
Jeremiah says Jerusalem pours out evil like a well pours water. This verse shows how sin becomes a natural, constant part of us, and that God sees it all.
Context
The book of Jeremiah opens with a young prophet called to announce judgment against Judah and Jerusalem. By chapter 6, the danger is no longer distant. A foreign army approaches from the north, and God gives the reason why: Jerusalem has filled itself with oppression. The verse right before this one says the city is full of oppression within itself. Now verse 7 makes the point sharper. The people do not just commit sin now and then. Their wickedness flows from them as constantly as water gushes from a spring. Violence and its painful results are what God sees every day, without a break.
Key Words
The Hebrew word for well here is be'er, a pit or spring that holds water. But the verb that follows is more curious. The word haqir literally means “keeps cool”, like a cistern that stores water to stay cold. But this well does not keep cool water. It “keeps cool” its wickedness, or as many translations read, it produces or casts out evil. The play on words is disturbing: what the city preserves inside is what it finally releases.
Then two words appear together for the crime: chamas (violence, wrong, cruelty) and shod (havoc, destruction, ruin). These are not just mistakes or minor sins. They are oppressive acts that break people, and the city is full of the sound of them. God hears it all, and what He sees is continuous: choli (sickness) and makkah (wounds). The root of the problem is not on the surface. It is in the heart, as deep and constant as the water in a well.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians have read this verse with slightly different emphasis. Reformed teachers like John Calvin saw the fountain image as proof that sin is not occasional but innate: “they are like a fountain, which ever bubbles up, and cannot contain its own waters.” Baptist commentator John Gill agreed, pointing to the corrupt fountain of the human heart. The Cambridge Bible (Anglican) noted a debate: some read the Hebrew as meaning sin is stored in the heart like water in a cistern, while others think the image shows sin springing up naturally from within. Each tradition takes the image seriously, agreeing that the wickedness described is not a one-time failure but a steady, ongoing stream that comes from deep inside.
A common misunderstanding
A common misreading is to think sickness and wounds refer only to physical illness that God sees in the city. In fact, these words describe the results of the violence and oppression listed just before them. The “sickness” is the social and physical brokenness caused by cruelty. And “wounds” are the scars of robbery and abuse. God sees not just the bloody act but every bruised life that follows.
Living This Out
This verse asks a hard question: what is your heart producing? The image of a well is not about an occasional struggle, it is about what comes naturally, constantly, when no one is watching. This week, pay attention to what flows out of you when you are tired, frustrated, or overlooked. Is it impatience, sarcasm, indifference? Or compassion, patience, honesty? The water that comes out tells you what is stored inside. And the verse reminds you that God sees it all, not to condemn you but to invite you to let Him clean the well.
Main takeaway: The wickedness that pours out of us reveals what has been stored inside our hearts, and God sees it all without pause.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
Imagine a water fountain that never stops. It keeps pouring and pouring. Jeremiah said Jerusalem’s bad choices kept coming like that, all the time. God wants us to let good things flow from our hearts, not bad.
For ages 9, 12
Jeremiah used a picture of a well to describe Jerusalem. A well always has water; it never runs dry. But Jerusalem’s heart was like a well that never stopped producing evil: violence, cheating, hurting others. The verse says God saw sickness and wounds every single day. It is a warning to check what is flowing out of your own life. If you see unkind words or habits coming out again and again, it may be time to ask God to change what is inside you.
Questions People Ask
What does it mean that Jerusalem casts out wickedness like a well?
It means sin was not occasional for them, it flowed constantly and naturally, as water flows from a spring. The well does not force itself to produce water; it simply does. Jerusalem’s evil had become just as automatic.
Does this verse mean God is angry about sickness and wounds?
The verse shows that God sees the suffering caused by violence. Sickness and wounds are the painful results of the oppression the people committed. God notices every hurt, and He does not ignore it.
Is Jeremiah 6:7 about individuals or the whole nation?
The verse uses a feminine singular pronoun for Jerusalem and the city, so it is directed at the nation as a community. But the image of a well producing wickedness also applies to the human heart on an individual level.
How does this verse connect to what comes before it?
Verse 6 says Jerusalem is to be punished because she is full of oppression. Verse 7 uses the well image to explain that the oppression is not a one-time thing but a constant stream. Then verse 8 calls Jerusalem to be instructed before it is too late.
Why does the Bible use water as a picture of both good and evil?
Water can mean life and refreshment (like a wellspring of wisdom) or unstoppable force (like a flood of sin). Here the image shows that evil can be as natural and persistent as a spring. But elsewhere in Jeremiah, God calls Himself the fountain of living water, which His people have abandoned.
For pastors & researchers
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