1. Jeremiah 6:9 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Who will “glean thoroughly as a vine”?

Jeremiah 6:9 (ESV)

9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “They shall glean thoroughly as a vine the remnant of Israel; like a grape gatherer pass your hand again over its branches.”

There is a dialogue between the Lord and Jeremiah in this section ( Jeremiah 6:9–15). The Lord seems to speak in Jeremiah 6:9, then Jeremiah in Jeremiah 6:10–11a and then the Lord again in Jeremiah 6:11–15.1

The section begins with the Lord speaking to Jeremiah about the enemy from the north that will invade Judah. It is this enemy that shall glean thoroughly as a vine. The Lord’s people are often likened to a vine or a vineyard (Isaiah 5:1–2; Psalm 80:9–10; Genesis 49:11–12, Genesis 49:22). Jeremiah has already spoken of the Lord’s planted vine becoming wild ( Jeremiah 2:21) and the Lord has therefore spoken of destroying the vine ( Jeremiah 5:10). So, the analogy is clear, the invading enemy is sent by the Lord to pour out his judgment on Judah.