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The Prophets · Old Testament

Jeremiah 5

Jeremiah 5: a search for one just man and a nation from far

General context

The Lord invites a search through the streets of Jerusalem for one man who executes judgment and seeks the truth, promising to pardon the city for him. Those who say The Lord liveth swear falsely. The prophet says the Lord has stricken them but they have not grieved and have made their faces harder than a rock. He turns from the poor to the great men and finds that they too have broken the yoke, so a lion, a wolf and a leopard will tear those who go out. The Lord asks how he can pardon a people who, fed to the full, gathered in the harlots' houses like fed horses neighing after a neighbour's wife. He orders her walls destroyed but not a full end made. Both houses have belied the Lord, saying no sword or famine will come. Because they speak this, the Lord makes his words in the prophet's mouth fire and the people wood. He will bring a mighty, ancient nation from far whose language they do not know, who will eat up harvest, flocks, vines and fig trees and impoverish the fenced cities. When they ask why, they are to be told that as they served strange gods in their land they will serve strangers in a land not theirs. The Lord asks a foolish people with eyes that do not see why they do not fear the one who set the sand as the bound of the sea and gives the rain. Wicked men among the people set traps and catch men, their houses full of deceit like a cage of birds; they grow fat and do not judge the cause of the fatherless. The chapter ends with a wonderful and horrible thing: the prophets prophesy falsely, the priests rule by their means, and the people love to have it so.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 5:1, Jeremiah 5:2, Jeremiah 5:3, Jeremiah 5:4, Jeremiah 5:5, Jeremiah 5:6, Jeremiah 5:7, Jeremiah 5:8, Jeremiah 5:9, Jeremiah 5:10, Jeremiah 5:11, Jeremiah 5:12, Jeremiah 5:14, Jeremiah 5:15, Jeremiah 5:16, Jeremiah 5:17, Jeremiah 5:18, Jeremiah 5:19, Jeremiah 5:21, Jeremiah 5:22, Jeremiah 5:24, Jeremiah 5:25, Jeremiah 5:26, Jeremiah 5:27, Jeremiah 5:28, Jeremiah 5:30, Jeremiah 5:31

Jeremiah 5 (KJV)

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?

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The chapter alternates between the Lord's voice, marked "saith the Lord," and the prophet's. Verse 3 addresses the Lord directly, "O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth?" and verses 4 and 5 report what "I said" about the poor and the great men, so the search of verse 1 is carried out in the prophet's own report. The invading nation of verse 15 is described only as mighty, ancient, from far, and of unknown language; no name is given. Both "the house of Israel and the house of Judah" are charged in verse 11, and the promise in verse 19 pairs serving strange gods in their own land with serving strangers in a land not theirs, without naming that land. Twice the Lord says he will not make a full end, in verses 10 and 18, as in 4:27. The people's denial is quoted: "It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine." Verse 13, "the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them," reads as the continuation of that denial, since verse 14 answers "Because ye speak this word"; the text does not mark where the quotation ends. The closing verse identifies three parties: prophets who prophesy falsely, priests who "bear rule by their means," and the people who "love to have it so." The chapter does not name any prophet or priest. The word "visit" in the repeated question of verses 9 and 29 is the Lord's word for punishment.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 5:1, Jeremiah 5:3, Jeremiah 5:4, Jeremiah 5:5, Jeremiah 5:9, Jeremiah 5:10, Jeremiah 5:11, Jeremiah 5:12, Jeremiah 5:13, Jeremiah 5:15, Jeremiah 5:18, Jeremiah 5:19, Jeremiah 5:29, Jeremiah 5:31

Literary context

The chapter is framed by a search and a verdict. It opens with a search for one just man and closes with the statement that the people love the false prophecy they are given. The refrain "Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" appears in verse 9 and again, nearly word for word, in verse 29, dividing the chapter into two rounds of accusation. Animal images carry judgment: lion, wolf, leopard, fed horses, birds in a cage. Verse 14 turns the prophet's words into fire and the people into wood, a direct answer to their claim that the word is not in the prophets. The description of the far nation in verses 15 through 17 uses repetition, "they shall eat up" three times, to strip the land item by item. The sea held back by sand in verse 22 sets nature's obedience against a people with "a revolting and a rebellious heart," and verse 24 sets the Lord who gives former and latter rain and reserves the appointed weeks of harvest against a people who do not say Let us now fear him. The final line is a question left open, "what will ye do in the end thereof?"

Cited passages: Jeremiah 5:1, Jeremiah 5:6, Jeremiah 5:8, Jeremiah 5:9, Jeremiah 5:13, Jeremiah 5:14, Jeremiah 5:15, Jeremiah 5:17, Jeremiah 5:22, Jeremiah 5:23, Jeremiah 5:24, Jeremiah 5:27, Jeremiah 5:29, Jeremiah 5:31

Key moments

  1. Search the streets (Jeremiah 5:1). The Lord will pardon Jerusalem if one man is found who executes judgment and seeks the truth.
  2. Faces harder than a rock (Jeremiah 5:3). The prophet tells the Lord that the people have been stricken but have refused to return.
  3. Even the great men (Jeremiah 5:5). The prophet goes to the great men and finds they have broken the yoke too.
  4. Fire and wood (Jeremiah 5:14). The Lord makes his words in the prophet's mouth fire and the people wood.
  5. A nation from far (Jeremiah 5:15). The Lord will bring a mighty, ancient nation whose language the people do not know.
  6. The sand bounds the sea (Jeremiah 5:22). The Lord asks why a people will not fear the one who set the sea its bound.
  7. My people love to have it so (Jeremiah 5:31). The prophets prophesy falsely, the priests rule by them, and the people are content.

For reflection

The Lord offers to pardon the whole city for one man who executes judgment and seeks the truth, and the chapter ends with a people who love to have it so. What does it say that the search moves from the poor to the great men and finds the same thing?

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