“Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.”
My Notes
What Does Jeremiah 44:6 Mean?
"Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day." God explains the desolation of Jerusalem: His fury and anger were POURED out and KINDLED — two forms of divine wrath acting simultaneously. The pouring is a flood. The kindling is a fire. The cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem received both. The result: wasted and desolate 'as at this day' — the devastation is present-tense and ongoing.
The phrase "poured forth, and kindled" (nittekah vattivbar — was poured and was burned/kindled) uses two destruction metaphors simultaneously: fury POURED like liquid (flooding, overwhelming, drowning) and anger KINDLED like fire (burning, consuming, spreading). The judgment is both flood and fire — two elements that are normally incompatible working together against the same target.
The "as at this day" (kayyom hazzeh — like this day, as it is today) makes the judgment CURRENT: the wasting and desolation aren't historical. They're present. 'As at this day' means: look outside. This is what the poured-out fury looks like. The streets you can see right now — empty, ruined, desolate — are the evidence. The judgment is ongoing, visible, and undeniable.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What desolation around you is current, visible, and undeniable — 'as at this day'?
- 2.How does fury being both 'poured' (flood) and 'kindled' (fire) describe comprehensive judgment?
- 3.What does 'as at this day' — judgment you can see from your window — change about treating consequences as abstract?
- 4.What caused the poured fury and kindled anger — and is the cause still operating?
Devotional
My fury was POURED. My anger was KINDLED. And the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem are wasted and desolate — as they are TODAY. God explains what everyone can see: the ruins around you are the evidence of poured-out fury and kindled anger. The judgment isn't historical memory. It's the view from your window.
The 'poured forth and kindled' combines flood and fire: two forms of destruction that normally can't coexist. Fury poured like water — flooding, drowning, overwhelming. Anger kindled like fire — burning, consuming, spreading. Both hit the same target simultaneously. The cities received the flood of wrath AND the fire of anger. The two elements that should extinguish each other instead amplified each other.
The 'cities of Judah and streets of Jerusalem' specifies that the judgment was EVERYWHERE: not just the capital. The CITIES — plural, across the entire territory. Not just the big picture. The STREETS — the specific, walkable, daily-life paths of Jerusalem. The fury reached everywhere. The kindling burned everything. The national and the local both received the same judgment.
The 'as at this day' is the present-tense punch: the desolation isn't something you read about. It's something you see RIGHT NOW. The ruins are current. The emptiness is today's reality. The wasting isn't a prophecy. It's a fact. The 'as at this day' says: stop pretending this is abstract theology. Look outside. This is what poured-out fury looks like.
What desolation around you is God saying 'as at this day' — current, visible, undeniable?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth,.... Like melted metal, scalding lead, liquefied pitch, or anything of…
The Jews in Egypt were now dispersed into various parts of the country, into Migdol, and Noph, and other places, and…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture