Jeremiah 5:4

Jeremiah 5:4 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)I thought, “These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor. They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the Lord, The judgment of their God.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Then I said, “But what can we expect from the poor? They are ignorant. They don’t know the ways of the Lord. They don’t understand God’s laws.

Context of Jeremiah 5:4

2Though they say, "As the Lord lives," yet they swear falsely. 3O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent. Then I said, "These are only the poor; they have no sense; for they do not know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God. 5I will go to the great and will speak to them, for they know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God." But they all alike had broken the yoke; they had burst the bonds. 6Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great.

Jeremiah 5:4 word by word

וַאֲנִ֣י אָמַ֔רְתִּי אַךְ־דַּלִּ֖ים הֵ֑ם נוֹאֲל֕וּ כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יָדְעוּ֙ דֶּ֣רֶךְ יְהוָ֔ה מִשְׁפַּ֖ט אֱלֹהֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Therefore I saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• poorדַּלdal · poorH1800
• they are foolishיָאַלyâ'al · be foolishH2973
• for they knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• not the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• the judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
• of their Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430

Cross-references for Jeremiah 5:4

• Jeremiah 4:22"For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are 'wise'—in doing evil! But how to do good they know not."
• Jeremiah 7:8"Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail.
• Jeremiah 8:7Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the Lord.
• Isaiah 27:11When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and make a fire of them. For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them; he who formed them will show them no favor.
• Isaiah 28:9"To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast?
• Hosea 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
• Matthew 11:5the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
• John 7:48Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?

Commentaries on Jeremiah 5:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4These are poor - They are ignorant; they have no education; they know no better.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Therefore - More simply “and.” They are foolish - Or, they act foolishly (see Numbers 12:11), not having that knowledge which would enable them to guide their ways with discretion.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5Jeremiah looked for an economic reason for Jerusalem’s rebellion. He discovered that the leaders, despite their advantages, were as rebellious as the uneducated poor. A wooden yoke was placed on a farm animal's neck. Chains attached it to a plow or another tool for fieldwork (compare Jeremiah 27:2–12; Psalm 2:3).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. poor--rather, "the poor." He supposes for the moment that this utter depravity is confined to the uninstructed poor, and that he would find a different state of things in the higher ranks: but there he finds unbridled profligacy.Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 5:4

• Backsliders
• Blindness
• Idolatry
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Correction
• Deceit
• Exodus, the Book of
• Fool; Folly
• 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