Jeremiah5

Jeremiah 5 opens with God's search for a single righteous person in Jerusalem, finding none who execute judgment or seek truth, leading to a declaration of widespread corruption. The people, from the poor to the great, have forsaken the Lord, engaging in idolatry and immorality, and refusing correction. Consequently, God promises to bring a mighty, foreign nation to devastate Judah as a just punishment for their treachery and rebellion.
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The Search for a Righteous Man

1
Run 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. ​
2
And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely. ​
3
O 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. ​
4
Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God. ​
5
I 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. ​
6
Wherefore 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. ​
7
How 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. ​
8
They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife. ​
9
Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

Judgment Declared: The Treachery of Judah

10
Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD'S. ​
11
For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.
12
They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: ​
13
And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. ​
14
Wherefore 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. ​
15
Lo, 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. ​
16
Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. ​
17
And 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. ​
18
Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you. ​
19
And 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. ​

Spiritual Blindness and Refusal to Fear God

20
Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,
21
Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: ​
22
Fear 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? ​
23
But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.
24
Neither 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. ​
25
Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. ​

Social Injustice and Corrupt Leadership

26
For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. ​
27
As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. ​
28
They 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. ​
29
Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
30
A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;
31
The 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 Notes for Jeremiah 5

Verse 1

This challenge echoes the negotiations over Sodom (Gen. 18:23–32), where God agreed to spare the city if a few righteous people could be found. Jeremiah’s search reveals that righteousness has vanished entirely from Jerusalem.

Verse 2

The people maintain the outward form of religion by swearing oaths in the LORD’s name, yet their hearts are deceitful, demonstrating profound hypocrisy and disrespect for the covenant.

Verse 3

The Hebrew word for 'truth' (*’emeth*) implies faithfulness and steadfastness. Despite God’s corrective discipline ('stricken them'), the people have resisted correction, hardening their hearts like stone.

Verse 4

Jeremiah initially assumes that the poor are simply ignorant of the covenant law (*Torah*) and God’s requirements for justice.

Verse 5

Turning to the educated leaders ('great men'), Jeremiah finds that their transgression is willful and deliberate. 'Broken the yoke' and 'burst the bonds' refers metaphorically to shaking off the obligations of the covenant law.

Verse 6

The images of the lion, wolf, and leopard are common prophetic metaphors for the cruel and swift invading armies that God will send to execute judgment.

Verse 7

The chapter links spiritual adultery (idolatry, 'sworn by them that are no gods') directly with gross physical immorality, demonstrating the complete breakdown of moral order.

Verse 8

This vivid imagery compares the men's uncontrolled lust to well-fed, highly energized stallions, underscoring the depth and shamelessness of their depravity.

Verse 10

The command to 'make not a full end' is crucial. While devastating judgment will occur (destruction of defenses), God promises to preserve a remnant, upholding the covenant despite the people’s treachery.

Verse 12

The people engage in theological denial, rejecting the prophetic warnings and asserting that God is passive or non-existent, believing judgment will never come upon them.

Verse 13

They dismiss the genuine word of the prophet as 'wind,' an empty and powerless utterance, ironically showing their disregard for the very message that could save them.

Verse 14

God responds to the insult of v. 13 by transforming Jeremiah's word into a consuming fire, indicating that the prophecy will not be mere wind but a powerful, destructive force.

Verse 15

This description points clearly to the Babylonian empire, a distant, ancient, and militarily powerful nation whose foreign language symbolizes the complete alienation and terror of the invasion.

Verse 16

The comparison of the enemy’s quiver to an 'open sepulchre' is a horrific metaphor, meaning that every arrow they shoot will bring death and burial.

Verse 17

The invaders will destroy the economic foundation of the nation, reversing the blessings of the land promised in the covenant (Deut. 28:30–33).

Verse 18

This reiteration of the promise not to make a 'full end' (cf. v. 10) provides a necessary theological anchor, assuring Israel that the covenant will ultimately prevail through the survival of a remnant.

Verse 19

The punishment fits the crime: serving foreign gods in their own land means they will be forced to serve foreign masters in a land that is not theirs (exile).

Verse 21

This indictment highlights the people’s deliberate spiritual dullness—they possess the means to perceive God’s truth but willfully refuse to acknowledge it.

Verse 22

God contrasts His absolute power over creation (setting the unchangeable boundary of the sea) with the people’s rebellious hearts; if the chaotic sea obeys Him, how much more should they?

Verse 24

The people fail to acknowledge God as the source of essential life blessings, such as the seasonal rains ('former and the latter') necessary for successful harvest, demonstrating profound ingratitude.

Verse 25

This verse establishes the prophetic principle that sin creates a barrier between God and His people, resulting in the withholding of blessings and good things.

Verse 26

The focus shifts from general rebellion to specific social evils. The wicked are compared to hunters who deliberately set traps to exploit and ensnare the vulnerable.

Verse 27

Their prosperity and wealth are not signs of God’s favor, but the result of houses filled with deceit and ill-gotten gains derived from trapping the poor.

Verse 28

The corrupt leaders are 'fat' and prosperous, yet they neglect the central covenant mandate to protect the poor and defenseless (the fatherless and needy), prioritizing self-enrichment over justice.

Verse 31

This is the climax of the indictment: the religious and political structures are entirely corrupt (false prophets and ruling priests), and tragically, the people consent to and 'love to have it so,' making the national guilt complete.

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