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Texts -- Jeremiah 5:2-31 (NET)

Context
5:2 These people make promises in the name of the Lord . But the fact is , what they swear to is really a lie .” 5:3 Lord , I know you look for faithfulness . But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse . Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected . They have become as hardheaded as a rock . They refuse to change their ways . 5:4 I thought , “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands . They do not know what their God requires of them. 5:5 I will go to the leaders and speak with them. Surely they know what the Lord demands . Surely they know what their God requires of them.” Yet all of them , too , have rejected his authority and refuse to submit to him . 5:6 So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them. Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them. Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities and totally destroy anyone who ventures out . For they have rebelled so much and done so many unfaithful things . 5:7 The Lord asked, “How can I leave you unpunished , Jerusalem ? Your people have rejected me and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all . Even though I supplied all their needs, they were like an unfaithful wife to me. They went flocking to the houses of prostitutes . 5:8 They are like lusty , well-fed stallions . Each of them lusts after his neighbor’s wife . 5:9 I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord . “I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this !” 5:10 The Lord commanded the enemy, “March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them. But do not destroy them completely . Strip off their branches for these people do not belong to the Lord . 5:11 For the nations of Israel and Judah have been very unfaithful to me,” says the Lord . 5:12 “These people have denied what the Lord says. They have said , ‘That is not so! No harm will come to us. We will not experience war and famine . 5:13 The prophets will prove to be full of wind . The Lord has not spoken through them. So, let what they say happen to them.’” 5:14 Because of that , the Lord , the God who rules over all , said to me, “Because these people have spoken like this , I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire . And I will make this people like wood which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up .” 5:15 The Lord says , “Listen , nation of Israel ! I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you. It will be a nation that was founded long ago and has lasted for a long time. It will be a nation whose language you will not know . Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand . 5:16 All of its soldiers are strong and mighty . Their arrows will send you to your grave . 5:17 They will eat up your crops and your food . They will kill off your sons and your daughters . They will eat up your sheep and your cattle . They will destroy your vines and your fig trees . Their weapons will batter down the fortified cities you trust in. 5:18 Yet even then I will not completely destroy destroy you ,” says the Lord . 5:19 “So then , Jeremiah, when your people ask , ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ tell them, ‘It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land . So you must serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.’ 5:20 “Proclaim this message among the descendants of Jacob . Make it known throughout Judah . 5:21 Tell them: ‘Hear this , you foolish people who have no understanding , who have eyes but do not discern , who have ears but do not perceive : 5:22 “You should fear me!” says the Lord . “You should tremble in awe before me! I made the sand to be a boundary for the sea , a permanent barrier that it can never cross . Its waves may roll , but they can never prevail . They may roar , but they can never cross beyond that boundary.” 5:23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts . They have turned aside and gone their own way. 5:24 They do not say to themselves , “Let us revere the Lord our God . It is he who gives us the autumn rains and the spring rains at the proper time . It is he who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest .” 5:25 Your misdeeds have stopped these things from coming. Your sins have deprived you of my bounty .’ 5:26 “Indeed , there are wicked scoundrels among my people . They lie in wait like bird catchers hiding in ambush . They set deadly traps to catch people . 5:27 Like a cage filled with the birds that have been caught, their houses are filled with the gains of their fraud and deceit . That is how they have gotten so rich and powerful . 5:28 That is how they have grown fat and sleek . There is no limit to the evil things they do . They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it. They do not defend the rights of the poor . 5:29 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord . “I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this ! 5:30 “Something horrible and shocking is going on in the land of Judah: 5:31 The prophets prophesy lies . The priests exercise power by their own authority . And my people love to have it this way . But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes !

Pericope

NET
  • Jer 5:1-31 -- Judah is Justly Deserving of Coming Judgment

Bible Dictionary

  • Sin

    [nave] SIN. Index of Sub-Topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to, Defining, and Illustrating; Confession of; Consequences of, Entailed Upon Children; Conviction of; Forgiveness of; Fruits of; Kn...

  • Backsliders

    [nave] BACKSLIDERS. Lev. 26:14-42; Deut. 4:9; Deut. 8:11-14; Deut. 28:58, 59, 63 vs. 15-68;; 1 Kin. 9:6-9; Deut. 29:18 vs. 18-28.; Deut. 32:15-30; Josh. 24:27 vs. 20-27.; 2 Chr. 15:2-4; Ezra 8:22; Job 34:26, 27; Psa. 44:20, 21; Ps...

  • Idolatry

    [nave] IDOLATRY. Wicked Practices of Human sacrifices, Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5; Deut. 12:31; 18:10; 2 Kin. 3:26, 27; 16:3; 17:17, 18; 21:6; 23:10; 2 Chr. 28:3; 33:6; Psa. 106:37, 38; Isa. 57:5; Jer. 7:31; 19:4-7; 32:35; Ezek. 16:20, 2...

  • Rich, The

    [nave] RICH, THE: Neh. 5:1-13; Job 21:7-15; Job 27:13-23; Job 31:24, 25, 28; Psa. 49:16-18; Psa. 52:1-7; Psa. 73:3-22; Prov. 14:20; Prov. 18:11, 23; Prov. 28:11; Eccl. 5:13, 14, 19, 20; Jer. 5:7-9, 27-29; Jer. 9:23; Jer. 17:11; Je...

  • Wicked

    [nave] WICKED Compared with: Abominable branches, Isa. 14:19; ashes under the feet, Mal. 4:3; bad fishes, Matt. 13:48; beasts, Psa. 49:12; 2 Pet. 2:12; the blind, Zeph. 1:17; Matt. 15:14; bronze and iron, Jer. 6:28; Ezek. 22:18; br...

  • Minister

    [nave] MINISTER, a sacred teacher. Index of Sub-topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-topics; Call of; Character and Qualifications of; Charge Delivered to; Courage of; Duties of; Duties of the Church to; Emoluments of; Faithful, Instanc...

  • Wolf

    [ebd] Heb. zeeb, frequently referred to in Scripture as an emblem of treachery and cruelty. Jacob's prophecy, "Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf" (Gen. 49:27), represents the warlike character of that tribe (see Judg. 19-21). Isaiah ...
    [isbe] WOLF - woolf ((1) ze'ebh (Gen 49:27; 11:6; 65:25; Jer 5:6; Ezek 22:27; Hab 1:8; Zeph 3:3; also as proper name, Zeeb, prince of Midian, Jdg 7:25; 8:3; Ps 83:11); compare Arabic dhi'b, colloquial dhib, or dib; (2) lukos (Mt 7:...
    [smith] There can be little doubt that the wolf of Palestine is the common Canis lupus , and that this is the animal so frequently mentioned in the Bible. (The wolf is a fierce animal of the same species as the dog, which it resemble...
    [nave] WOLF, ravenous, Gen. 49:27; Jer. 5:6; Ezek. 22:27; Zeph. 3:3; John 10:12. Figurative Of the enemies of the righteous, Matt. 7:15; 10:16; John 10:12; Acts 20:29. Of the reconciling power of the gospel, Isa. 11:6.

  • Impenitence

    [nave] IMPENITENCE. Lev. 23:26-29; Lev. 26:21 vs. 22-24.; Deut. 29:19-21; 1 Sam. 15:23; Job 9:2, 4; Job 24:13; Job 33:14; Psa. 7:11, 12 v. 13.; Psa. 10:3; Psa. 32:9; Psa. 50:17, 21; Psa. 52:1, 7; Psa. 58:3-5; Psa. 68:21; Psa. 78:8...

  • Leopard

    [ebd] (Heb. namer, so called because spotted, Cant. 4:8), was that great spotted feline which anciently infested the mountains of Syria, more appropriately called a panther (Felis pardus). Its fierceness (Isa. 11:6), its watching ...
    [isbe] LEOPARD - lep'-erd ((1) namer (Song 4:8; Isa 11:6; Jer 5:6; 13:23; Hos 13:7; Hab 1:8); compare Arabic nimr, "leopard." (2) Chaldaic nemar (Dan 7:6). (3) pardalis (Rev 13:2; Ecclesiasticus 28:23); compare nimrim Nimrim (Isa 1...
    [smith] (Heb. namer) is invariably given by the Authorized Version as the translation of the Hebrew word, which occurs in the seven following passages: (Solomon 4:8; Isaiah 11:6; Jeremiah 5:6; 13:23; Daniel 7:6; Hosea 13:7); Habb 1:8...
    [nave] LEOPARD A carnivorous animal, Song 4:8. Fierceness of, Jer. 5:6; 13:23; Hos. 13:7; Hab. 1:8. Figurative Dan. 7:6. Taming of, the triumph of the gospel, Isa. 11:6.

  • God

    [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...

  • Harvest

    [isbe] HARVEST - har'-vest (qatsir; therismos): To many of us, harvest time is of little concern, because in our complex life we are far removed from the actual production of our food supplies, but for the Hebrew people, as for tho...
    [nave] HARVEST Sabbath to be observed in, Ex. 34:21. Sabbath desecrated in, Neh. 13:15-22. Of wheat at Pentecost, in Palestine, Ex. 34:22; Lev. 23:15-17; and before vintage, Lev. 26:5. Of barley, before wheat, Ex. 9:31, 32. Cel...

  • Blindness

    [nave] BLINDNESS Disqualified for priestly office, Lev. 21:18. Of animals, disqualified for a sacrifice, Lev. 22:22; Deut. 15:21; Mal. 1:8. Miraculously inflicted upon the Sodomites, Gen. 19:11; Syrians, 2 Kin. 6:18-23; Saul of T...

  • Ingratitude

    [nave] INGRATITUDE. Of Mankind to God Num. 16:9, 10; Deut. 8:12-14 Deut. 6:11, 12. Deut. 28:47, 48; Deut. 31:16; Deut. 32:6, 15, 18 v. 13.; Judg. 2:10-12; Judg. 8:34, 35; Judg. 10:11, 13, 14 Neh. 9:25, 35; Psa. 106:7, 21; Jer. 2:...

  • Cage

    [ebd] (Heb. kelub', Jer. 5:27, marg. "coop;" rendered "basket" in Amos 8:1), a basket of wicker-work in which birds were placed after being caught. In Rev. 18:2 it is the rendering of the Greek phulake, properly a prison or place ...
    [smith] The term so rendered in (Jeremiah 5:27) is more properly a trap in which decoy birds were placed. In (Revelation 18:2) the (Greek term means a prison.
    [nave] CAGE, for birds, unclean, Jer. 5:27; Rev. 18:2.

  • Agriculture

    [ebd] Tilling the ground (Gen. 2:15; 4:2, 3, 12) and rearing cattle were the chief employments in ancient times. The Egyptians excelled in agriculture. And after the Israelites entered into the possession of the Promised Land, the...
    [smith] This was little cared for by the patriarchs. The pastoral life, however, was the means of keeping the sacred race, whilst yet a family, distinct from mixture and locally unattached, especially whilst in Egypt. When grown into...
    [nave] AGRICULTURE Divine institution of, Gen. 2:15; 3:19, 23. Practiced by Cain, Gen. 4:2; Noah, Gen. 9:20; Elisha, 1 Kin. 19:19; David, 1 Chr. 27:26-31; Uzziah, 2 Chr. 26:10; Solomon, Eccl. 2:4-6. God to be acknowledged in, Jer...

  • Unbelief

    [nave] UNBELIEF See: Skepticism. Ex. 4:1; Num. 11:21-23; Num. 20:12, 13; Psa. 78:19, 21, 22, 32; Psa. 95:8-11; Psa. 106:7, 24; Isa. 7:9; Isa. 53:1 [John 12:38.] Isa. 53:2, 3; Isa. 58:3; Jer. 5:12-14; Mal. 1:2, 7; Matt. 10:14, 15; ...

  • Yoke

    [isbe] YOKE - yok: (1) The usual word is `ol (Gen 27:40, etc.), less commonly the (apparently later) form moTah (Isa 58:6, etc.; in Nab 1:13 moT), which the Revised Version (British and American) in Jer 27; 28 translates "bar" (a m...
    [smith] A well-known implement of husbandry, frequently used metaphorically for subjection , e.g. (1 Kings 12:4,9-11; Isaiah 9:4; Jeremiah 5:5) hence an "iron yoke" represents an unusually galling bondage. (28:48; Jeremiah 28:13)...
    [nave] YOKE. Figurative Lev. 26:13; Isa. 9:4; 10:27; Jer. 2:20; 5:5; 28:2, 4, 10; 30:8; Lam. 1:14; 3:27; Matt. 11:29, 30; Acts 15:10.

  • Net

    [ebd] in use among the Hebrews for fishing, hunting, and fowling. The fishing-net was probably constructed after the form of that used by the Egyptians (Isa. 19:8). There were three kinds of nets. (1.) The drag-net or hauling-net ...

  • QUIVER

    [ebd] the sheath for arrows. The Hebrew word (aspah) thus commonly rendered is found in Job 39:23; Ps. 127:5; Isa. 22:6; 49:2; Jer. 5:16; Lam. 3:13. In Gen. 27:3 this word is the rendering of the Hebrew teli, which is supposed rat...
    [isbe] QUIVER - kwiv'-er (ashpah, teli; pharetra (Sirach 26:12)): A case or sheath for carrying arrows, a part of the ordinary equipment of the warrior, both foot-soldier and charioteer (Job 39:23; Isa 22:6), and also of the huntsm...

  • War

    [nave] WAR Divine approval of, 2 Sam. 22:35. Civil, Judg. 12:1-6; 20; 2 Sam. 2:12-31; 3:1; 20; 1 Kin. 14:30; 16:21; Isa. 19:2; forbidden, 2 Chr. 11:4; averted, Josh. 22:11-34. Enemy harangued by general of opposing side, 2 Kin. 1...
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Arts

Questions

  • "But unto others in parables that seeing they might not see and hearing they might not understand" Luke 8:10. Dean Farrar says on this passage: "Lord Bacon says, 'A parable has a double use; it tends to veil and it tends to i...
  • The following material from The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia should be helpful here: III. Significant numbers Numbers are also used with a symbolical or theological significance. One is used to convey th...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The previous ordinance guarded a son from a capricious father. This one maintained the rights of parents whose son (or daughter, presumably) was incorrigible. While the problem in view was one of lack of respect for parents (...
  • Isaiah continued to show that Yahweh was both willing and able to deliver His people, a theme begun in 42:10. He confronted the gods, again (cf. 41:21-29), but this time he challenged them to bring forth witnesses to their de...
  • "This passage describes the appalling moral breakdown of Jewish society--which perfectly accords with what we know of the degeneracy of Manasseh's reign."670The prophet resumed his accusations against God's people (cf. 58:1-5...
  • Jeremiah's purpose was to call his hearers to repentance in view of God's judgment on Judah, which would come soon from an army from the north (chs. 2-45). Judgment was coming because God's people had forsaken Yahweh and had ...
  • I. Introduction ch. 1A. The introduction of Jeremiah 1:1-3B. The call of Jeremiah 1:4-191. The promise of divine enablement 1:4-102. Two confirming visions 1:11-19II. Prophecies about Judah chs. 2-45A. Warnings of judgment on...
  • 1:4 The prophet now began speaking to his readers and telling them what the Lord had said to him. Throughout this book, an indication that the Lord had told Jeremiah something is often the sign of a new pericope, as here (cf....
  • Chapters 2-25 contain warnings and appeals to the Judahites in view of their sins and the consequences of those sins.
  • Most of the material in this section is prophetic oracles that are poetic in form. There are three messages, the first indicting Judah for her evil (ch. 2), the second pleading for repentance (3:1-4:4), and the third declarin...
  • 3:11 Yahweh instructed His prophet that though both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms had committed spiritual harlotry, Judah's sin was worse than Israel's. Here the Lord personified Judah as "Treachery"as he again personifi...
  • Now God gave His people reasons for the coming judgment. He stressed social and personal sins particularly."Jeremiah now appreciates the moral necessity for God's judgment of His people, as he sees clearly with his own eyes t...
  • 5:10 Speaking to the invading soldiers that He would use to judge Judah, the Lord instructed them to prune His vine (cf. Isa. 5:1-7). However, they were to leave a remnant (cf. v. 18). They were to take many branches away bec...
  • There were three aspects to Judah's failure: the people's perversity (vv. 20-25), their injustice (vv. 26-29), and their leaders (vv. 30-31).143"Jeremiah rebukes the Judeans as a whole for their utter stupidity and lack of mo...
  • 6:9 The sovereign Lord promised that the coming enemy would remove the people of Judah from their land as a grape harvester removed the grapes from his vines (cf. 5:10; Isa. 5:1-6). The harvest would be so thorough that even ...
  • 6:27 Yahweh informed Jeremiah that He had given the prophet a roll in Judah that was similar to that of an assayer of metals. He would be able and be responsible to test the "mettle"of the Lord's people (cf. 5:1).6:28 The Jud...
  • All the messages in this section deal with departure from the Lord in religious practices, either in pagan rites or in the perversion of the proper worship of Yahweh that the Mosaic Law specified. All the material in this sec...
  • This seems to be a new message from the Lord. It is a good example of prophetic indictments of Israel's sacrificial institutions (cf. 6:20; 1 Sam. 15:22; Ps. 51:16-17; Isa. 1:4-15; Hos. 6:6; Amos 5:21-24; Mic. 6:6-8).7:21 Yah...
  • 8:4 The Lord commanded Jeremiah to ask the people if it was not normal for people to repent after sinning. After all, when someone falls down, the natural thing to do is to get up. When he gets lost, he tries to get back on t...
  • 8:13 The Lord also declared that He would snatch the Judahites from their land. He had gone forth among His people to gather a harvest of righteousness, but all He found on His vines and fig trees was withered leaves, no grap...
  • 9:10 The Lord took up a lamentation on behalf of the land that suffered because of His people's sin. The coming invasion would leave the land deserted even by beasts and birds. The rest of this message indicates that the inva...
  • 13:20 The Lord called Jerusalem to look north and she would see people coming.238The city was about to lose the flock of special people over whom the Lord had made her responsible, namely, His people of Judah.13:21 What would...
  • 14:1 A message came to Jeremiah from Yahweh concerning some droughts (Heb. plural) that overtook Judah.241Droughts were a punishment for covenant violation in Israel (cf. Lev. 26:18-19; Deut. 28:23-24).14:2 Judah was in mourn...
  • This section of the book contains some of Jeremiah's messages concerning Judah's kings (21:1-23:8) and false prophets (23:9-40) that he delivered closer to the time of Jerusalem's invasion than the previous chapters.300Beginn...
  • 25:30 Jeremiah was also to announce that God would prepare to judge all the inhabitants of the earth (v. 29). As a lion announces its intent to attack with a roar, so Yahweh would one day announce His attack on earth dwellers...
  • These chapters contrast the true prophet of Yahweh with the false prophets. Distinguishing between them was difficult for Jeremiah's contemporaries, but their essential difference is clear. The true prophets proclaimed the Lo...
  • The Book of Consolation contained messages of future hope for Judah (chs. 30-33). Now Jeremiah returned to document her present judgment. Chapters 34-45 continue the theme of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem from chapters 2-29...
  • This chapter belongs after chapter 36 chronologically, either after 36:8 or 36:32. It serves as an appendix to the historical incidents recorded there. Perhaps the writer or final editor placed it here to show that Yahweh exe...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. London: Collier Macmillan Publishers; and New York: Macmillan Publishers Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The Archaeology of Palestine. Revis...
  • 12:1-2 The Lord came to Ezekiel with another message.190He told His servant that the people among whom he lived, the house of Israel, were rebellious against Him (cf. 2:3-8). Their blindness to the things that they saw and th...
  • 23:11-13 Oholibah observed her sister's behavior and fate, but she did not learn from them. As many historians have observed, the one thing we learn from history is that most people do not learn from history. Oholibah became ...
  • 7:1 We have already read of two dreams that Nebuchadnezzar had (2:1; 4:5). Now God gave one to Daniel. It too was a vision from God that came to Daniel as he slept."In referring to the experience as a dream' (sing.) Daniel wa...
  • 1:4 Jonah subjected himself to dangers that Israel and the entire ancient Near East viewed as directly under divine control when he launched out on the sea. The sea to them was the embodiment of the chaotic forces that humans...
  • Though God had not responded to the prophet's questions previously, He did eventually, and Habakkuk recorded His answer. The form of this revelation is an oracle.1:5 The Lord told Habakkuk and his people (plural "you"in Hebre...
  • James proceeded to explain in 1:26-2:13 what a doer of works (1:25) does.1:26 "Religious"(Gr. threskos, used here only in the New Testament) describes someone who fears or worships God. In particular, it refers to the outward...
  • 2:1 "The people"in view are God's people in Old Testament times, the times to which Peter had just been referring (1:19-22). False prophets in Old Testament times sought to lead God's people away from the revelations of the t...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • What will ye do in the end?'--Jer. 5:31.I FIND that I preached to the young from this text just thirty years since--nearly a generation ago. How few of my then congregation are here to-night! how changed they and I are! and h...
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