Jeremiah 5

This chapter is one of the judgment warnings in the early part of Jeremiah and continues the warnings of invasion and destruction from Jeremiah 4. Here the reasons for that judgment are set out in specific terms.

Outline

• Verses 1–6 The Lord declares that He will pardon the city if even one person who acts justly can be found in the streets of Jerusalem. Because neither the poor nor the great know the way of the Lord, a lion, a wolf, and a leopard will tear them to pieces.
• Verses 7–9 The people swear by those that are no gods and commit adultery; the Lord asks whether He should not punish them for these things.
• Verses 10–13 The Lord commands that the walls be torn down, but not completely. The people deny the Lord and say that the prophets are but wind.
• Verses 14–19 The Lord will make His words in the prophet's mouth fire and the people wood. A distant nation whose language they do not understand will come and devour their food and their cities, yet even then the Lord will not make a full end of them.
• Verses 20–25 The people, who have eyes but do not see, are rebuked. They do not fear the God who placed the sand as the boundary of the sea and who gives the former and the latter rain.
• Verses 26–29 Those who set traps to catch men and grow rich by deceit do not judge rightly the cause of the fatherless and the needy.
• Verses 30–31 The prophets prophesy falsely and the priests bear rule by their own means, and the people love to have it so.

Key Verses

• Jeremiah 5:1 "if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth" — This shows a corruption so deep that not even one righteous person remains.
• Jeremiah 5:22 "which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea" — This contrasts the Creator who governs the natural order with a people who do not fear Him.
• Jeremiah 5:31 "and my people love to have it so" — This indicts the people for accepting the corruption of their leaders.

Persons and Places

• The Lord: The One who pronounces judgment. Some passages, such as verses 3–6, are the prophet's words addressed to the Lord.
• Jeremiah: "Thy mouth" in verse 14 is understood to refer to the prophet.
• Jerusalem: The city in which a righteous person is to be sought.
• The nation from far: The text does not name it. It is commonly understood to be Babylon.
• Prophets and priests: In verse 31 they appear as the leaders who lead the people astray.

Points for Reflection

• Verse 1 is often compared with the account of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18), in which Abraham interceded for the city on the basis of ten righteous people. The text of Jeremiah itself, however, does not mention that account.
• The phrase "I will not make a full end" in verses 10 and 18 is sometimes read in connection with the idea of the remnant.
• The language of verse 21 resembles Isaiah 6. A similar expression also appears in Jesus' words to His disciples (Mark 8:18).
• "The former and the latter rain" in verse 24 also appears in James 5:7.
• The theme that there is none righteous is compared with Romans 3:10–12, though the text Paul directly quotes there is from the Psalms.