As a well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps fresh her evil; violence and destruction are heard within her; sickness and wounds are ever before me.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jerusalem's evil isn't just a occasional sin, but a constant, overflowing source, like a spring that never runs dry, spewing out violence and destruction. This reveals a deep-seated corruption where wickedness flows naturally and incessantly from the city's very heart.
As a well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps fresh her evil; violence and destruction are heard within her; sickness and wounds are ever before me.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jeremiah is describing Jerusalem's deep-seated corruption, comparing it to a constantly flowing spring that can't help but bubble forth its contents. This isn't just a few bad apples; the city is saturated with violence and exploitation, so much so that these wicked deeds are heard and seen by God daily. This relentless cycle of sin is what God is about to judge.
Jerusalem's sin isn't just occasional bad deeds; it's a constant, overflowing source. What does this relentless nature of sin reveal about the city's heart?
The verse uses a powerful image: 'As a well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps fresh her evil.' This isn't just about having sin, but about it being an inherent, constant outflow.
An Inescapable Source
Think of a natural spring or well. Water bubbles up continuously, fresh and abundant. The prophet Jeremiah uses this to describe Jerusalem. Her wickedness isn't a visitor; it's a resident that never leaves. It flows out relentlessly, just like water from a spring.
Deeper Than Deeds
This imagery suggests that the problem runs deep. It's not just about a few bad actions, but about a corrupt inner nature that produces evil constantly. Like a fountain cannot help but pour out water, Jerusalem cannot help but pour out wickedness. This makes the sin both pervasive and persistent.
God's Perspective
The prophet emphasizes that this relentless evil is 'heard within her' and 'ever before me.' God sees and hears this unending stream of violence and destruction. It’s not hidden; it's a constant, offensive presence to Him.
Jerusalem isn't just producing evil; it's actively creating suffering that echoes loudly. What does this 'sound' tell us about the impact of sin?
The verse declares that 'violence and destruction are heard within her; sickness and wounds are ever before me.' This highlights the audible and visible consequences of Jerusalem's deep-seated wickedness.
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The Cry of the Oppressed
When Jeremiah says 'violence and destruction are heard,' he's painting a picture of a society filled with the sounds of suffering. It's the shouts of attackers, the cries of victims, the chaos of destruction. This isn't a quiet sin; it's a noisy, disruptive force that permeates the city.
God Hears It All
The phrase 'ever before me' powerfully communicates God's awareness. He isn't distant from this suffering. The constant 'grief and wounds' – the sickness and injuries inflicted upon people – are fully in His sight. He hears the lamentations of those wounded by the relentless evil flowing from the city's heart.
A Sign of Judgment
This constant outcry of suffering is a direct indictment. It’s not just a description of their state, but a sign that judgment is deserved and imminent. God’s attention is drawn not by their supposed piety, but by the undeniable evidence of their cruelty.
Understand the original words
ra'ah · Hebrew Noun/Adjective
Moral badness or wickedness; anything contrary to God's character and commands, characterized by active rebellion against the divine standard.
chamas · Hebrew Noun
The act of acting in a violent or unjust manner; it often implies lawlessness and a disregard for the life and rights of others.
shod · Hebrew Noun
The act of ruin or devastation, often used in judgment to describe the result of divine wrath against persistent disobedience.
Jeremiah's vivid imagery of Jerusalem as a perpetually overflowing fountain of wickedness highlights the deep-seated corruption that led to its ultimate destruction. The verse underscores that the city's sins were not isolated incidents but a continuous, ingrained pattern of violence and injustice, a reality God could no longer overlook.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria and the Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian Empire conquers the northern kingdom of Israel, leading to the exile of its people and the settlement of foreign populations. This event serves as a stark warning to Judah about the consequences of disobedience.
c. 609 BC
Josiah's Reforms and Death
King Josiah institutes religious reforms based on the recently discovered Book of the Law, attempting to purify Judah's worship. However, he dies in battle against Egypt, creating political instability.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Under Nebuchadnezzar II, the Babylonian Empire defeats Egypt and then begins deporting elites and skilled workers from Judah to Babylon. This marks the beginning of Judah's subjugation.
597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Following a rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar again deports a significant portion of Judah's population, including King Jehoiachin, to Babylon, further weakening the kingdom.
586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
The Babylonians lay siege to Jerusalem, ultimately destroying the city and its Temple, and exiling the remaining population. This is the catastrophic culmination of Judah's unfaithfulness.
c. 539 BC
Cyrus's Edict and Return from Exile
The Persian Empire under Cyrus conquers Babylon, and an edict allows exiled peoples, including the Judeans, to return to their homelands and rebuild their temples.
This passage describes a city overflowing with violence, injustice, and corruption, mirroring Jeremiah's description of Jerusalem's persistent wickedness and the resulting divine judgment.
Proverbs 4:23This verse speaks to the 'fountain of life' being the heart; Jeremiah uses the metaphor of a fountain to show how Jerusalem's wickedness flowed directly from its corrupted core, just as a fountain naturally produces water.
Matthew 15:18-19Jesus echoes the idea that evil originates from within the heart, stating that 'evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander—also come from the heart,' which aligns with Jeremiah's depiction of Jerusalem's inherent and continuous outflow of wickedness.
Isaiah 57:20This verse describes the wicked as being like a troubled sea that cannot rest, casting up 'mire and dirt,' which provides a parallel image of unchecked, constant outflow of impurity and wrongdoing, similar to Jeremiah's fountain metaphor.
calvinJeremiah 6:7: "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."
- Sicuti scaturire facit puteus aquas suas (hoc est, sicuti scaturiunt aquae ex fonte, vel, puteo,) sic scaturire fecit malitiam suam; violentia et deceptio (aut, vastatio) audita fuit in ea coram facie mea assidue, dolor et percussio (alii vertunt, plagam; sed nomen percussionis melius convenit.)
The Prophet enlarges on what h…
pooleJeremiah 6:7: "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."
In this verse God aggravates their sin of oppression, mentioned in the former. As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness; a metaphor, to express how natural all manner of wickedness is to her, how full she is of it, and how incessant in it, noting her impudence, a fountain being not able to retain it…
Jerusalem's evil isn't just a occasional sin, but a constant, overflowing source, like a spring that never runs dry, spewing out violence and destruction. This reveals a deep-seated corruption where wickedness flows naturally and incessantly from the city's very heart.
Jeremiah is describing Jerusalem's deep-seated corruption, comparing it to a constantly flowing spring that can't help but bubble forth its contents. This isn't just a few bad apples; the city is saturated with violence and exploitation, so much so that these wicked deeds are heard and seen by God daily. This relentless cycle of sin is what God is about to judge.
Jeremiah is describing Jerusalem's deep-seated corruption, comparing it to a constantly flowing spring that can't help but bubble forth its contents. This isn't just a few bad apples; the city is saturated with violence and exploitation, so much so that these wicked deeds are heard and seen by God daily. This relentless cycle of sin is what God is about to judge.
"As a well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps fresh her evil; violence and destruction are heard within her; sickness and wounds are ever before me." — Jerusalem's evil isn't just a occasional sin, but a constant, overflowing source, like a spring that never runs dry, spewing out violence and destruction. This reveals a deep-seated corruption where…
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Last reviewed October 2026