Jeremiah 4:2

Jeremiah 4:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
• New International Version (NIV)and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)and if you swear, 'As the Lord lives,' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’ In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory.”

Context of Jeremiah 4:2

1The Lord says this: ‘People of Israel, you should return to me. If you want to do that, you must throw away your idols. Remove those disgusting things and do not turn away from me again. You must be honest and do what is right. You must do what you promise to do. You can show that your promise is true when you add, “As surely as the Lord is alive.” Then other nations will see that I have blessed you. They will pray that I will bless them too. and they will praise me.’ 3The Lord says this to the people of Jerusalem and all Judah: ‘Prepare yourselves, like a farmer who ploughs his fields. Do not plant your seeds where weeds are growing. 4Give yourselves to me, the Lord, and agree to serve me faithfully. Remove from your lives everything that is not right, so that you obey my covenant. If you do not do that, I will be very angry with you. I will punish you like a hot fire that destroys things. Nobody will be able to stop my anger. People of Judah and Jerusalem, if you continue to do wicked things, I will certainly punish you.’

Jeremiah 4:2 word by word

וְנִשְׁבַּ֙עְתָּ֙ חַי־יְהוָ֔ה בֶּאֱמֶ֖ת בְּמִשְׁפָּ֣ט וּבִצְדָקָ֑ה וְהִתְבָּ֥רְכוּ ב֛וֹ גּוֹיִ֖ם וּב֥וֹ יִתְהַלָּֽלוּ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And thou shalt swearשָׁבַעshâba‛ · to swearH7650
• The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• livethחַיchay · aliveH2416
• in truthאֱמֶת'emeth · truth: trueH571
• in judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
• and in righteousnessצְדָקָהtsedâqâh · righteousnessH6666
• and the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• shall blessבָּרַךְbârak · to blessH1288
• themselves in him, and in him shall they gloryהָלַלhâlal · to boast: boastH1984

Cross-references for Jeremiah 4:2

• Jeremiah 5:2They make promises and they say, “I will do it, as surely as the Lord lives.” But what they say is all lies.’
• Deuteronomy 10:20Respect and obey the Lord your God. Serve him faithfully. If you make a promise, only use his name to do that.
• Isaiah 45:23This is my promise that I say is true. I have spoken it honestly and I will not change it. I promise this: Everybody will go down on their knees in front of me. Everybody will promise to serve me.
• Isaiah 48:1Listen to this, family of Jacob. You are called ‘Israel’, and you are Judah's descendants. You use the name of the Lord when you make promises. You pray to Israel's God. But you do not do those things honestly and fairly.
• Isaiah 65:16People in the land will use the name of the true God, when they want to say a blessing. People in the land who want to make a strong promise will also use the name of the true God. I will forget the troubles that happened in past years. I will no longer even think about them.
• Jeremiah 9:24If they want to be proud about something, they should be proud that they know me. They should boast that they understand who I am. I am the Lord. I am faithful in my love for my people. I always do what is right and fair. It makes me happy when people live in that way too.’
• 1 Kings 3:6Solomon answered, ‘You always showed your faithful love to your servant, my father David. He served you faithfully as a good, honest man. You have continued to show your faithful love to him even now. You have given him a son to rule as king on his throne.
• Psalms 99:4You are a strong king who loves justice. You have made fair rules, so that people in Israel do what is right.
• Hosea 2:19Israel, I will make you my wife for ever. I will promise to help you in a way that is right and fair. I will be kind to you with a faithful love.
• Zechariah 8:8‘I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will be their God. I will do for them what I promised to do.’
• Genesis 22:18I will bless all the nations on the earth through your descendants. I will do this because you have obeyed me.’
• Psalms 72:17May the king be famous for ever! May people remember him for as long as the sun continues to shine. May people from all nations use his name when they bless one another. May they all say that God has blessed the king!
• Galatians 3:8The Bible already said what would happen at a future time. It said that God would make the Gentiles right with himself, if they believed in him. God showed this good news to Abraham a long time before it happened. He said to Abraham, ‘I will bless people from all countries because of you.’
• Isaiah 45:25The Lord will bring justice for all the descendants of Israel. They will say that the Lord is great!
• 1 Corinthians 1:31Remember what is written in the Bible: ‘If you want to be proud about something, be proud of what the Lord has done.’
• 2 Corinthians 10:17The Bible says this: ‘If you want to be proud about something, be proud of what the Lord has done.’

Commentaries on Jeremiah 4:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth - Thou shalt not bind thyself by any false god; thou shalt acknowledge Me as the Supreme. Bind thyself By me, and To me; and do this in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness. The nations shall bless themselves in him - They shall be so fully convinced of the power and goodness of Jehovah in seeing the change wrought on thee, and the mercies heaped upon thee, that their usual mode of benediction shall be, May the God of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2As surely as the Lord lives: When offering a prayer of confession and making oaths, the right attitude shows truth, justice, and righteousness. Truth means that the thoughts and feelings of those praying match their words. Justice means living by the Lord's laws, as He will judge the earth. Righteousness means treating others according to the Lord’s Spirit and His moral standards. This prayer requires a deep change in people's inner lives and outer…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. And thou--rather, "And if (carried on from Jr 4:1) thou shalt swear, 'Jehovah liveth,' in truth, &c.", that is, if thou shalt worship Him (for we swear by the God whom we worship; compare De 6:13; 10:20; Is 19:18; Am 8:14) in sincerity, &c. and the nations--Rather, this is apodosis to the "if"; then shall the nations bless themselves in (by) Him" (Is 65:16). The conversion of the nations will be the consequence of Israel's conversion (Psa 102:13, 15…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 4:2

• Backsliders
• Church
• Condescension of God
• Gentiles
• Oath
• Repentance

In the dictionaries

• Bless
• Fallow
• Oath
• Pain
• Wise
• Backslide
• Genesis
• Jeremiah (2)

Commentaries on Jeremiah 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings