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.

JEREMIAH 6:9KJV
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Jeremiah 6:9 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 6:9 mean?

Jeremiah 6:9 says that God, through His prophet, is announcing a thorough judgment on the remaining people of Israel, comparing it to how a vine is carefully stripped of every last grape by a gatherer. The verse uses the image of a grape picker going back over the vine to make sure nothing is left, showing that the coming judgment will be complete and nothing will be overlooked.

In this verse, the LORD of hosts (God as commander of heavenly armies) is speaking through Jeremiah to warn the people of Judah. The situation is one of looming disaster because the people have not listened to God’s warnings. The picture of gleaning a vine emphasizes that even those who think they might escape—“the remnant”—will not be spared from the consequences of their actions.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 6:9

  • "Throughly glean" (עָלַל, `alam) is a word for picking over a vine again and again, not just a quick harvest. This shows the judgment will be persistent and leave nothing behind.
  • "Remnant" (שְׁאֵרִית, she'erit) means those left over after disaster. Here, even this small group will be subject to the same searching judgment.
  • "Grapegatherer" (בָּצַר, batsar) is the person who collects grapes, and the image is of someone making sure every grape is taken, not leaving any behind.
  • "Baskets" (סַל, sal) are the containers used for gathering grapes, making the image vivid and practical—nothing is left on the vine.

Why Jeremiah 6:9 matters

  • Jeremiah 6:9 clears up the idea that some people might escape judgment just by being overlooked; the verse stresses that God’s searching justice will reach everyone.
  • The verse connects to the wider chapter, where Jeremiah is warning of coming destruction because the people have ignored God’s calls to turn back.
  • The image of the grape gatherer returning to the vine highlights how thorough and intentional God’s actions are, not random or careless.

Where else these words appear

“throughly” Hebrew H5953 · used in 18 verses

  • Exodus 10:2 And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.
  • Judges 20:45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.
  • Isaiah 3:12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

“grapegatherer” Hebrew H1219 · used in 38 verses

  • Genesis 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
  • 2 Kings 18:13 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.
  • Isaiah 27:10 Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.

“vine” Hebrew H1612 · used in 53 verses

  • Genesis 40:9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;
  • Psalms 105:33 He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.
  • Ezekiel 15:2 Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?

“remnant” Hebrew H7611 · used in 66 verses

  • Genesis 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
  • Jeremiah 23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
  • Ezekiel 11:13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?