Jeremiah 5:4
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.
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.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Then I said, “They are only the poor; they have played the fool, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.
- KJV
- 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.
- WEB
- Then I said, “Surely these are poor. They are foolish; for they don’t know the LORD’s way, nor the law of their God.
- ASV
- Then I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jehovah, nor the law of their God:
- DARBY
- And I said, Surely these are the wretched ones, they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jehovah, the judgment of their God.
- BLB
- And I said, “Surely these [are] poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of YHWH, the justice of their God.
- ÅB
- Da sa jeg: Det er bare småfolk[^1]; de er uforstandige, for de kjenner ikke Herrens vei, sin Guds rett;
- OTB
- Jeg tenkte, “Disse er bare de fattige; de er tåpelige, for de kjenner ikke Herrens vei, deres Guds dom.
- B1930
- Da sa jeg: Det er bare småfolk; de er uforstandige, for de kjenner ikke Herrens vei, sin Guds rett; / < som har båret sig således at; JER 5, 3.>
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Read in contextJeremiah 8:7
Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.
Read in contextIsaiah 28:9–13
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
Read in contextMatthew 11:5
The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Read in contextJeremiah 4:22
For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
Read in contextJeremiah 7:8
Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
Read in contextIsaiah 27:11
When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
Read in contextJohn 7:48–49
Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?
Read in context