Jeremiah5
King James Version · Public Domain
1Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
2And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely.
3O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
4Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God.
5I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.
6Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
7How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.
8They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife.
9Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
10Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's.
11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord.
12They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
13And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
14Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
15Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
16Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.
17And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.
18Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you.
19And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
20Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,
21Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
22Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
23But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.
24Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
25Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.
26For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
27As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
28They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
29Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
30A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;
31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Jeremiah 5.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The Jews' profession of religion was hypocritical. (1-9). The cruel proceedings of their enemies. (10-18). Their apostacy and idolatry. (19-31).
vv1-9
None could be found who behaved as upright and godly men. But the Lord saw the true character of the people through all their disguises. The poor were ignorant, and therefore they were wicked. What can be expected but works of darkness, from people that know nothing of God and religion? There are God's poor, who, notwithstanding poverty, know the way of the Lord, walk in it, and do their duty; but these were willingly ignorant, and their ignorance would not be their excuse. The rich were insolent and haughty, and the abuse of God's favours made their sin worse.
vv10-18
Multitudes are ruined by believing that God will not be so strict as his word says he will; by this artifice Satan undid mankind. Sinners are not willing to own any thing to be God's word, that tends to part them from, or to disquiet them in, their sins. Mocking and misusing the Lord's messengers, filled the measure of their iniquity. God can bring trouble upon us from places and causes very remote. He has mercy in store for his people, therefore will set bounds to this desolating judgment. Let us not overlook the "nevertheless," 18. This is the Lord's covenant with Israel. He thereby proclaims his holiness, and his utter displeasure against sin while sparing the sinner, Ps. 89:30-35.
vv19-31
Unhumbled hearts are ready to charge God with being unjust in their afflictions. But they may read their sin in their punishment. If men will inquire wherefore the Lord doeth hard things unto them, let them think of their sins. The restless waves obeyed the Divine decree, that they should not pass the sandy shores, which were as much a restraint as lofty mountains; but they burst all restraints of God's law, and were wholly gone into wickedness. Neither did they consider their interest. While the Lord, year after year, reserves to us the appointed weeks of harvest, men live on his bounty; yet they transgress against him. Sin deprives us of God's blessings; it makes the heaven as brass, and the earth as iron. Certainly the things of this world are not the best things; and we are not to think, that, because evil men prosper, God allows their practices. Though sentence against evil works is not executed speedily, it will be executed. Shall I not visit for these things? This speaks the certainty and the necessity of God's judgments. Let those who walk in bad ways consider that an end will come, and there will be bitterness in the latter end.
Key Words
שׁוּט: properly, to push forth; (but used only figuratively) to lash, i.e. (the sea with oars) to row; by implication, to travel
חוּץ: properly, separate by awall, i.e. outside, outdoors
יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם: Jerushalaim or Jerushalem, the capital city of Palestine
רָאָה: to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)
יָדַע: to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.)
בָּקַשׁ: to search out (by any method, specifically in worship or prayer); by implication, to strive after
רְחֹב: a width, i.e. (concretely) avenue or area
מָצָא: properly, to come forth to, i.e. appear or exist; transitively, to attain, i.e. find or acquire; figuratively, to occur, meet or be present
אִישׁ: a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)
עָשָׂה: to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
Cross References
Jeremiah 5Sparing of the city conditional on finding an upright man; echoes scarcity of godly men.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Failing to learn or repent from divine affliction; making faces harder than rock.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Rebelling and committing apostasy after being fed to the full with God's bounty.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The curse of a swift, ancient nation of an unknown tongue brought from afar.
Supported by JFB
Searching for a single righteous man to stand in the gap to prevent ruin.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Swearing by the name of the Lord, but hypocritically and not in truth.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Lascivious neighbors described under literal and spiritual adultery in Jerusalem.
Supported by JFB
The command to execute severe judgment while mercifully choosing not to make a full end.
Supported by JFB
God making the word in the prophet's mouth a consuming, devouring fire.
Supported by JFB
God setting the sand as a bound for the proud waves of the sea.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The Lord alone gives rain, both former and latter, as a sign of sovereignty.
Supported by JFB
Professing to know God with their mouths, but in works denying Him.
Supported by JFB
Comparing rapacious, corrupt rulers and enemies to predatory wolves of the evening.
Supported by JFB
Refrain repeating the absolute certainty of divine visitation and vengeance on this nation.
Supported by JFB
The treacherous house of Israel behaving like a wife departing from her husband.
Supported by JFB