John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 6:13

"For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely." — Jeremiah 6:13 (ASV)

The Prophet now declares again that it was not strange that God resolved to deal so severely with that people and to execute extreme vengeance on them, for no part was whole and sound; instead, impiety had pervaded all ranks. It might, indeed, be ascribed to the young as well as to the old, for he says, From the small to the great; but I prefer to understand the first clause as referring to the poor and the lower orders, and the second as referring to the higher ranks, who excelled in power and wealth among the people.

He says, then, that contempt of God and every kind of wickedness prevailed, not only in one part but in the whole community, so that there was no soundness from the head to the soles of the feet. We now perceive, then, what the Prophet means by saying, From the small to the great.

This appears even clearer from the end of the verse, where he says, From the prophet to the priest. He amplifies here what he had said about "the small and the great." Therefore, we see that by "the great" he does not mean those of mature or advanced age, but those who held positions of dignity and honor, who were esteemed on account of their wealth or other endowments.

Likewise, on the other hand, he does not call those small who were young, but those who were despised, who were of the lowest order, and formed, so to speak, the dregs of society. For as I have said, he amplifies what he had previously stated by citing the prophets and the priests.

Even though the king and his court were extremely wicked, some concern for religion should have prevailed among the prophets and the priests; there should at least have been some decency among them, for they were appointed for the purpose of carrying light for others. Since, then, even these individuals were apostates and had degenerated from the true worship of God, what could have been found among the rest of the people?

We see now, then, that the mouths of the ungodly were closed here, so that they could not reason earnestly with God or blame his severity, for they had all reached the height of impiety, since the prophets and the priests were no less corrupt than the common people.

By saying that all coveted covetousness, he refers to fraud and dishonest gain; by this, he includes every kind of avarice. By saying that the priests and the prophets practiced deceit, or acted fraudulently, he means the same thing, but in other words—namely, that there was no integrity in those teachers who should have been guides for the blind. For God had ordained them so that they might, as I have said, carry light to all others and show them the way of salvation.