Jeremiah 6:9 · Bible study
Jeremiah 6:9 Commentary: The Relentless Gleaning of God's Judgment
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the imagery of thorough gleaning in Jeremiah 6:9, revealing God's complete and repeated judgment on Judah.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God commands the Babylonian army to strip Judah bare through repeated invasions, leaving no one untouched.
- Key words: ʿŌlēl yəʿōləlû (glean thoroughly), an intensified verb form stressing completion; šəʾērît (remnant), what is left after earlier judgment; śalśillôt, probably “branches” or “tendrils,” emphasizing hidden places.
- Main debate: The addressee of the command “turn again your hand.” Options: the Chaldean army (Gill, Clarke), Nebuchadnezzar (Barnes, JFB), the attacking leader (Cambridge), or the prophet (some modern readings).
- Theological theme: God’s sovereignty in judgment, He uses pagan nations as instruments to discipline His people, and judgment can be both thorough and repeated.
- Best use: A sobering call to examine whether we have responded to God’s earlier warnings, and a comfort that even judgment is under His control.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as a vine. Pass your hand once more like a grape gatherer over the branches.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
Yahweh of Armies says, “They will thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel like a vine. Turn again your hand as a grape gatherer into the baskets.”
KJV King James Version 1769
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn again thy hand as a grape-gatherer into the baskets.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: They surely glean, as a vine, the remnant of Israel, Put back thy hand, as a gatherer to the baskets.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: They shall thoroughly glean like a vine the remnant of Israel: turn back thy hand, as a grape-gatherer unto the baskets.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Thus saith the Lord of hosts: They shall gather the remains of Israel, as in a vine, even to one cluster: turn back thy hand, as a grapegatherer into the basket.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Así dijo Jehová de los ejércitos: Del todo rebuscarán como á vid el resto de Israel: torna tu mano como vendimiador á los cestos.
Assim diz o SENHOR dos exércitos: Sacudirão por completo o restante de Israel tal como a vide; volta tua mão aos cestos como alguém que colhe uvas.
Ainsi parle l’ Éternel des armées:
So spricht der HERR Zebaoth: Was übriggeblieben ist von Israel, das muß nachgelesen werden wie am Weinstock. Der Weinleser wird eins nach dem andern in die Butten werfen.
Zo zegt de HEERE der heirscharen: Zij zullen Israels overblijfsel vlijtiglijk nalezen, gelijk een wijnstok; breng uw hand weder, gelijk een wijnlezer, aan de korven.
Così parla l’Eterno degli eserciti: Il resto d’Israele sarà interamente racimolato come una vigna; mettivi e rimettivi la mano, come fa il vendemmiatore sui tralci.
Tak mówi Pan zastępów: Ostatek Izraela aż do grona wyzbierają, jako winnicę, i rzeką: Sięgaj ręką twoją, jako ten, co zbiera wino do kosza.
Так говорит Господь Саваоф: до конца доберут остаток Израиля, как виноград; работай рукою твоею, как обиратель винограда, наполняя корзины.
萬軍 之耶和華 曾如此 說：敵人必 擄盡 以色列 剩下的民，如同摘淨葡萄一樣。你要像摘葡萄的人摘了又摘，回 手 放在 筐子裡。
This is what the Lord of armies has said: Everything will be taken from the rest of Israel as the last grapes are taken from the vine; let your hand be turned to the small branches, like one pulling off grapes.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Jeremiah 6:9
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Jeremiah 6:9 announces a judgment so complete it leaves nothing behind. The Hebrew double verb ʿōlēl yəʿōləlû (“thoroughly glean”) intensifies the action: gleaning again and again until the vine is bare. Barnes and JFB note that each word underscores Judah’s total ruin. Keil and Delitzsch point out that the image contradicts God’s earlier promises not to make a full end (Jer 4:27; 5:10,18) only if one forgets that even after gleaning, odd clusters may remain, but here the focus is on the enemy’s relentless thoroughness. The command “turn again your hand” is understood by most as addressed to the invading army or its leader (Nebuchadnezzar, God’s servant per Jer 25:9). Gill and Calvin see the Chaldeans being exhorted to go back over the vine a second and third time, carrying away captives in waves (cf. Jer 52:28-30). The vine metaphor is drawn from Israel’s own agricultural law (Lev 19:10; Deut 24:21), which reserved leftover grapes for the poor; here the law is inverted, no mercy is extended. As Clarke summarizes, even the remnant that survived earlier judgment will not escape.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Command to the invading army (Nebuchadnezzar): God designates Babylon as His servant in Jer 25:9; the phrasing fits a military order.
- Command to the attacking leader alone: Cambridge Bible suggests the singular 'your hand' points to the commander on the ground.
- Exhortation to the prophet to search for a remnant: Some read 'turn back your hand' as a command to examine whether any repentant are left (cf. Gen 18:32).
What is clear: The imagery undeniably teaches that God’s judgment on Judah will be thorough, repeated, and carried out by human agents under His sovereign command.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Addressee of the command “turn again your hand” | All agree the words command a further action of gleaning; the context involves the Babylonian invasion. | Barnes and Gill regard the addressee as Nebuchadnezzar or the Chaldean army, viewing them as God’s servants. The Cambridge Bible takes the leader of the attack as the recipient. A minority sees the prophet being told to search for any righteous remnant. |
| Completeness of judgment | The double verb and command to return indicate an exhaustive, repeated judgment that leaves almost nothing. | Keil and Delitzsch note that even at gleaning odd clusters remain, so the picture does not contradict promises of a remnant. Others stress that the point is rhetorical hyperbole emphasizing near-total destruction. |
| Identity of “the remnant of Israel” | It refers to the people of Judah who survived earlier judgments (e.g., the fall of the northern kingdom and initial Babylonian invasions). | Some limit it to the two tribes (Gill); others include those already in exile (Calvin). The phrase may also anticipate a faithful residue, though here it describes those left in the land. |
| Sovereignty and human agency | God is the ultimate commander; the enemy acts under His direction. | Reformed commentators emphasize God’s absolute control; others (e.g., Wesley) stress human responsibility, noting that Judah’s refusal to repent brought the judgment. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jeremiah ministered during the final decades of the kingdom of Judah (c. 627, 586 BC), a period of political chaos and spiritual decline. Assyria’s fall had left a power vacuum; Babylonia under Nebuchadnezzar II rose to dominate the ancient Near East. By Jeremiah 6, the prophet has already announced that disaster is coming from the north (Jer 6:1,22), and the siege of Jerusalem is imminent. The city is described as filled with oppression (v.6), and her people refuse to listen (v.10).
“Remnant of Israel” in this verse does not mean a faithful few but the population of Judah already thinned by earlier calamities, perhaps the deportations of 605 BC (Dan 1:1-4) or 597 BC (2 Kgs 24:14-16). The vine image for Israel was a familiar one (Isa 5:1-7; Ps 80:8-16). In the law, gleaning was an act of mercy for the poor (Lev 19:10; Deut 24:21). God himself commanded landowners to leave gleanings for the needy. Here the command is reversed: the gleaning is in the hands of the enemy, and it is exhaustive. The phrase “turn again your hand” reflects the repeated strikes of Babylonian armies. Jeremiah 52:28-30 records three distinct deportations. Wesley and Matthew Henry note that Judah would be “gleaned over and over” until nothing remained.
Grape gathering involved cutting clusters and placing them in baskets. The Hebrew word salṣillôt (translated either “baskets” or “branches”) is rare; the BSB renders it “branches,” suggesting the gleaner searches even the tendrils for hidden fruit. The picture is one of painstaking thoroughness, not a single grape left behind.
Textual Notes
Reception History
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Judgment is exhaustive. The double verb “glean thoroughly” leaves no room for escape. Those who think they are safe because they survived earlier waves of trouble are mistaken. The same vine that once was the object of God’s care (Isa 5) is now stripped bare.
- Judgment can be repeated. “Turn again your hand” signals multiple visitations. History confirms this: Judah faced invasions in 605, 597, and finally 586 BC. God does not always act once; He may bring fresh consequences to press His people toward repentance.
- God commands the storm. The verse opens “Yahweh of Armies says.” The Chaldeans are not acting on their own, they are the gleaners under divine orders. Even in judgment, God is sovereign; His justice is not chaotic but purposeful.
Five-point outline
- God’s patience has a limit. The remnant had been spared but did not repent. Now the gleaning comes.
- Sin has social and national consequences. Corporate wickedness brings corporate collapse, not just individual punishment.
- Repeated warnings are a mercy that can be exhausted. Jeremiah had prophesied for decades; the people refused to listen (v.10).
- The suffering of the remnant is not the final word. Even in the OT gleaning promises, some grapes remain (Isa 17:6; 24:13). Judgment clears the ground for a future planting.
- New Testament echoes point to ultimate separation. Revelation 14:18 shows the same vintage imagery applied to the final harvest of the earth, a sobering call to be found in Christ.
Illustration hooks
- Bankruptcy sale. A store our family loved held a “going out of business” sale. First 50% off, then 75%, then 90%, each round emptied more shelves until nothing was left. That is the progression of judgment here.
- Picking berries. After you pick all the easy berries, you have to lift the leaves and check the hidden spots. The enemy does not stop at the obvious fruit; they search every branch.
- A shipwrecked sailor. After a storm, a man washes ashore on a small island. He thinks he is safe, but the tide is rising, and waves continue to pound the shore. The remnant in Judah thought they had survived the first wave, but more was coming.
Questions your congregation is asking
- “Is God’s judgment really this severe? How does this fit with His love?”
- “What does it mean that God commands the enemy to destroy? Does that make God cruel?”
- “If even the remnant is judged, is there any hope for us when we fail?”
Leading a Discussion
In a culture that often imagines God as endlessly patient without consequence, Jeremiah 6:9 confronts us with the seriousness of persistent sin. The image of gleaning, usually an act of mercy for the poor, is turned into an act of exhaustive judgment. This passage invites a group to consider both God’s justice and His sovereignty over the nations.
Discussion questions
- Read Jeremiah 6:9 aloud. What stands out to you about the repetition in the phrase “they will thoroughly glean” and “turn again your hand”?
- Who do you think is being addressed in the command “turn again your hand”? What difference does it make if the speaker is God, the prophet, or the enemy commander?
- How does the law of gleaning (Lev 19:10; Deut 24:21) shape your understanding of this verse? Why would God use a mercy-practice to describe judgment?
- Why does God call Judah “the remnant of Israel” here? What does that title imply about their history and their present condition?
- Compare this verse with Jeremiah 4:27 and 5:18, where God promises not to make a full end. Is there a contradiction? How do Keil’s comments about “odd clusters” help resolve it?
- How does this passage challenge the idea that God’s patience always means He will hold back judgment?
- In what ways might God use difficult circumstances in your own life to “glean” away sin or complacency? How can a group help each other respond to such seasons?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Jeremiah 16:16 | “Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says Yahweh, “and they will fish them up. Afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain, from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. |
| Jeremiah 49:9 | If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves came by night, wouldn’t they steal until they had enough? |
| Jeremiah 52:28 | This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, three thousand twenty-three Jews; |
| Jeremiah 52:30 | in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty-five people. All the people numbered four thousand six hundred. |
| Obadiah 1:5 | “If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—oh, what disaster awaits you—wouldn’t they only steal until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn’t they leave some gleaning grapes? |
| Obadiah 1:6 | How Esau will be ransacked! How his hidden treasures are sought out! |
| Revelation of John 14:18 | Another angel came out from the altar, he who has power over fire, and he called with a great voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Send your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for the earth’s grapes are fully ripe!” |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
11 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke understands the command to turn back the hand as directed to the Chaldeans, urging them to go back and glean the surviving inhabitants after Jerusalem's fall. He notes that even this remnant failed to learn from the judgments that had already fallen on the rest.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes sees each word in this verse as stressing the completeness of Judah's ruin. He reads "Turn back thine hand" as a command to Nebuchadnezzar to go over the vine again so no grapes escape. He corrects "baskets" to "tendrils" and notes that while some captives escaped to Babylon, misery gleaned the rest repeatedly.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin stresses that God's use of "gleaning" here signals complete destruction, not the usual provision for the poor. Unlike the law that left leftovers for the needy, this judgment will strip away every last person until nothing remains of the people.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator interprets "turn again thine hand" as an image of the prophet searching thoroughly among the vines for any remaining good grapes, but finding none. The translation "upon the shoots" better conveys this idea of examining the branches. The calamity described will not be a single visitation but will be repeated, like gleaners going over the vineyard again and again.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Bible notes that God commands a complete gathering of Israel's remnant, like a grape harvester who goes back over the vine to make sure no cluster is left. The image stresses thoroughness: no one who belongs to this judgment will escape.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasizes that the Chaldeans would not just conquer Judah once but would return repeatedly, like grape pickers who strip a vine branch by branch. He notes that the remnant of Israel refers to the two tribes left after the northern captivity, and their deportation happened in stages over several years until nothing remained.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
The Jews are the grapes, their enemies the unsparing gleaners. turn back . . . hand —again and again bring freshly gathered handfuls to the baskets; referring to the repeated carrying away of captives to Babylon ( Jer 52:28-30 ; 2 Ki 24:14 ; 2 Ki 25:11 ).
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch stress that the judgment on Jerusalem is not a total annihilation, since the gleaning metaphor leaves odd clusters untouched. The severity comes because the people refuse all warning, their ears uncircumcised, while false prophets and priests heal the nation's wound lightly by crying peace when none exists.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads the passage as a tightly structured cycle where judgment, its reasons, and a call to reform form a single climax. The judgment is so immediate that the prophet urgently warns people to flee, using the image of a carefully tended meadow about to be stripped bare
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry observes that the repeated warnings in this passage mirror the previous one, showing God's patient persistence in calling His people to repent. The people's refusal to hear or take delight in God's word leaves them without excuse, and judgment follows their stubborn unrepentance.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley sees the judgment on Judah as thorough and relentless: they will be stripped again and again until nothing remains. The invaders will not stop after one attack but return repeatedly to carry off every person and every piece of spoil, leaving the land completely empty.