Jeremiah 5:12

Jeremiah 5:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
• New International Version (NIV)They have lied about the Lord; they said, “He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They have spoken falsely of the Lord and have said, 'He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They have lied about the Lord, And said, “It is not He. Neither will evil come upon us, Nor shall we see sword or famine.

Context of Jeremiah 5:12

10The Lord says this to Judah's enemies: ‘March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah, and destroy the vines. But do not destroy them completely. Pull the branches from the trees. Do this, because these people do not belong to the Lord. 11The people of Israel and Judah have turned against me. They have told lies about the Lord. They have said, “He will not punish us! No trouble will come to us. There will be no war. There will be no famine. 13The prophets speak empty words. They do not speak the Lord's messages. The troubles that they talk about should happen to them, not us!” ’ 14Because of that, the Lord God Almighty said to me, ‘That is what the people are saying. So I will give you a strong message to speak to them. It will be like fire that comes out of your mouth. And the people will burn like wood in that fire.’

Jeremiah 5:12 word by word

כִּֽחֲשׁוּ֙ בַּיהוָ֔ה וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ לֹא־ה֑וּא וְלֹא־תָב֤וֹא עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙ רָעָ֔ה וְחֶ֥רֶב וְרָעָ֖ב ל֥וֹא נִרְאֶֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They have beliedכָּחַשׁkâchash · to deceiveH3584
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• not he; neither shall evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
• comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• upon us; neither shall we seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• nor famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458

Cross-references for Jeremiah 5:12

• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets speak messages that are not true. The priests make their own rules for people to obey. And my people love to live like this! But when all this comes to an end, my people will be helpless!’
• Jeremiah 4:10Then I said, ‘Lord God, that is terrible! You have deceived the people of Judah and Jerusalem. You told them, “You will live in peace.” But now an enemy is ready to attack us!’
• Jeremiah 14:13I said, ‘Lord God, the prophets are deceiving the people. They say that there will not be any war or famine or disease that will hurt the people. Instead, they say that you have promised peace in our land.’
• Jeremiah 23:14But now some prophets in Jerusalem do even worse things! They are not faithful to their wives. They always deceive people. They encourage people to do evil things. They do not try to stop them. They are as bad as the people of Sodom long ago. The people of Jerusalem are as bad as the people of Gomorrah.
• Jeremiah 28:15Then Jeremiah said to Hananiah, ‘Listen to me, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you as his prophet. You have spoken lies to these people and they have believed you.
• Jeremiah 43:2Then Hoshaiah's son Azariah and Kareah's son Johanan and some other proud men said to Jeremiah, ‘You are speaking lies! The Lord our God has not sent you to say to us, “You must not go to Egypt to live there.”
• Deuteronomy 29:19Nobody who hears the message of this covenant should think that they can go against it. Someone might say to himself, ‘I do not have to obey this covenant. I will be safe, whatever happens. God will still bless me.’ A person who thinks like that will bring trouble on everyone and on everything.
• 1 Samuel 6:9But continue to watch it carefully. The cows may pull it across our border to Beth Shemesh in Israel. If that happens, we will know that the God of Israel has punished us with this great trouble. But if the cart goes somewhere else, we will know that it was not their God who did this to us. We will know that our disease happened only by chance.’
• 2 Chronicles 36:16But they laughed at the men that God sent to them. They did not think that his messages were important. They insulted his prophets. Finally, the Lord became very angry with his people. Nothing could stop him from punishing them.
• Isaiah 28:14So listen to the Lord's message, you leaders in Jerusalem who rule these people. Do not laugh at what the Lord is doing.
• Ezekiel 12:22‘Son of man, you have this proverb in the land of Israel: “A long time passes and visions never truly happen.”
• Ezekiel 13:6The visions that these prophets see are false. They tell lies about what will happen. They say, ‘The Lord says this,’ when I have not sent them with any message. But they still think that what they say will really happen.
• Micah 2:11When a person speaks false messages to you, then you believe them. They might say that you would have plenty of wine and strong drink. That is the message that you would like!’
• Micah 3:11You are the city's rulers, but you accept bribes. Then you do not judge people in a fair way. You priests teach people only if they pay you. You prophets speak about what will happen in future times. But you only speak if you receive money. But you still say that you trust the Lord. You say, ‘The Lord is with us, so nothing bad will happen to us.’
• Habakkuk 1:5‘All of you, look carefully at the other nations. You will be very surprised at what is happening. While you are still alive, I will do a very surprising thing. You would not believe it even if someone told you.
• 1 John 5:10Anyone who believes in Jesus, the Son of God, will know that what God says is true. But anyone who does not believe God is saying that God tells lies. He does not believe the message that God has told us clearly about his Son.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 5:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12They have belied the Lord - כחשו kichashu . They have denied or disavowed the Lord. It is not he - הוא לוא lo hu, he is not; there is no such being; therefore this evil shall not come upon us. On their premises, this conclusion was just. There is no judge; therefore there shall be no judgment. Thus they denied the Lord. They were atheists at heart.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12It is not he - i. e., Who speaks by the prophets.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-18Verses 10-18 Multitudes are ruined by believing that God will not be so strict as his word says he will; by this artifice Satan undid mankind. Sinners are not willing to own any thing to be God's word, that tends to part them from, or to disquiet them in, their sins. Mocking and misusing the Lord's messengers, filled the measure of their iniquity. God can bring trouble upon us from places and causes very remote. He has mercy in store for his people…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-13Even with the enemy approaching from the north, the people believed nothing bad would happen to them (Jeremiah 14:13; Isaiah 47:8). They did not respect God’s prophets (literally the prophets). Some interpreters end the people’s quote with Jeremiah 5:12 and attribute 5:13 to the Lord. The term "for the wind" would then refer to false prophets.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. belied--denied. It is not he--rather, "(Jehovah) is not He," that is, the true and only God (Jr 14:22; De 32:39; Is 43:10, 13). By their idolatry they virtually denied Him. Or, referring to what follows, and to Jr 5:9, "(Jehovah) is not," namely, about to be the punisher of our sins (Jr 14:13; Is 28:15).Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 5:12

• Backsliders
• Idolatry
• Infidelity
• Self-Delusion
• Unbelief

In the dictionaries

• Correction
• Deceit
• Belie
• Exodus, the Book of
• Jeremiah (2)

Commentaries on Jeremiah 5

• 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