Jeremiah 18:17

Judgment

¹⁵ Yet My people have forgotten Me. They burn incense to worthless idols that make them stumble in their ways, leaving the ancient roads to walk on rutted bypaths instead of on the highway.

¹⁶ They have made their land a desolation, a perpetual object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and shake their heads.

I will scatter them before the enemy like the east wind. I will show them My back and not My face in the day of their calamity.”

¹⁸ Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”

¹⁹ Attend to me, O LORD. Hear what my accusers are saying!

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: I will scatter them before the enemy like the east wind. I will show them My back and not My face in the day of their calamity.”
KJV: I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
WEB: I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy. I will show them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
ASV: I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
DARBY: As with an east wind will I scatter them before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
BLB: I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; and I will show them the back and not the face, in the day of their calamity!”

ÅB: Som østenvinden vil jeg adsprede dem for fiendens åsyn; med nakken og ikke med ansiktet vil jeg se på dem på deres ulykkes dag.
OTB: Som en sterk østlig vind vil jeg spre dem foran fienden; jeg vil vende meg bort fra dem og ikke vise Mitt ansikt på deres ulykkes dag.
B1930: Som østenvinden vil jeg adsprede dem for fiendens åsyn; med nakken og ikke med ansiktet vil jeg se på dem på deres ulykkes dag.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Jeremiah 13:24
“I will scatter you like chaff driven by the desert wind.
Read in context
Jeremiah 2:27
say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their backs to Me and not their faces, yet in the time of trouble they beg, ‘Rise up and save us!’
Read in context
Hosea 13:15
Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come— a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder his treasury of every precious article.
Read in context
Job 27:21
The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place.
Read in context
Psalms 48:7
With a wind from the east You wrecked the ships of Tarshish.
Read in context
Jeremiah 46:21
Even the mercenaries among her are like fattened calves. They too will turn back; together they will flee, they will not stand their ground, for the day of calamity is coming upon them— the time of their punishment.
Read in context
Jeremiah 32:33
They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.
Read in context
Judges 10:13–14
But you have forsaken Me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you.
Read in context