God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 5:21
21Hear this, you stupid and senseless people! You have eyes, but you cannot see. You have ears, but you cannot hear.
Jeremiah 5:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
- New International Version (NIV)Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear:
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not.
- New King James Version (NKJV)‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not:
Context of Jeremiah 5:21
19They will ask, “Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?” Answer them, “You have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land. So you will serve foreigners in a land that isn’t yours.” 20“Tell this to the descendants of Jacob, and make this heard in Judah: Hear this, you stupid and senseless people! You have eyes, but you cannot see. You have ears, but you cannot hear. 22Don’t you fear me?” asks the Lord. “Don’t you tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, a permanent barrier that it cannot cross. Although the waves toss continuously, they can’t break through. Although they roar, they can’t cross it. 23But these people are stubborn and rebellious. They have turned aside and wandered away from me.
Read all of Jeremiah 5Jeremiah 5:21 word by word
שִׁמְעוּ־נָ֣א זֹ֔את עַ֥ם סָכָ֖ל וְאֵ֣ין לֵ֑ב עֵינַ֤יִם לָהֶם֙ וְלֹ֣א יִרְא֔וּ אָזְנַ֥יִם לָהֶ֖ם וְלֹ֥א יִשְׁמָֽעוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 5:21
- Jeremiah 5:4I thought, “These are poor, foolish people. They don’t know the way of the Lord and the justice that God demands.
- Jeremiah 4:22“My people are fools. They don’t know me. They are stupid people. They don’t understand. They are experts in doing wrong, and they don’t know how to do good.”
- Jeremiah 8:7Even storks know when it’s time to return. Mourning doves, swallows, and cranes know when it’s time to migrate. But my people don’t know that I, the Lord, am urging them to return.
- Jeremiah 10:8They are complete idiots. They learn nonsense from wooden idols.
- Deuteronomy 29:4But to this day the Lord hasn’t given you a mind that understands, eyes that see, or ears that hear.
- Deuteronomy 32:6Is this how you repay the Lord, you foolish and silly people? Isn’t he your Father and Owner, who made you and formed you?
- Psalms 94:8Pay attention, you stupid people! When will you become wise, you fools?
- Isaiah 6:9And he said, “Go and tell these people, ‘No matter how closely you listen, you’ll never understand. No matter how closely you look, you’ll never see.’
- Isaiah 27:11When the branches are dried up, they will be broken off. Women will come and build a fire with them. These people don’t understand ⌞these things⌟. That is why their maker won’t have compassion on them, and their Creator won’t have pity on them.
- Isaiah 44:18They don’t know or understand anything. Their eyes are plastered shut, so they can’t see. And their minds are closed, so they can’t understand.
- Ezekiel 12:1The Lord spoke his word to me. He said,
- Matthew 13:13This is why I speak to them this way. They see, but they’re blind. They hear, but they don’t listen. They don’t even try to understand.
- John 12:40“God blinded them and made them close-minded so that their eyes don’t see and their minds don’t understand. And they never turn to me for healing!”
- Acts 28:26The Spirit said: ‘Go to these people and say, “You will hear clearly but never understand. You will see clearly but never comprehend.
- Romans 11:8as Scripture says, “To this day God has given them a spirit of deep sleep. Their eyes don’t see, and their ears don’t hear!”
- Proverbs 17:16Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom when he doesn’t have a mind to grasp anything?
Commentaries on Jeremiah 5:21
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20-31Verses 20-31 Against the God (1) of Creation Jeremiah 5:22, and (2) of Providence Jeremiah 5:24, They sin, not merely by apostasy, but by a general immorality extending to all classes Jeremiah 5:25-28. It is in this immorality that their idolatry has its root. Jeremiah 5:22 The sea is the symbol of restless and indomitable energy, chafing against all resistance, and dashing to pieces the works whereby man endeavors to restrain its fury. Yet God has…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-31Verses 19-31 Unhumbled hearts are ready to charge God with being unjust in their afflictions. But they may read their sin in their punishment. If men will inquire wherefore the Lord doeth hard things unto them, let them think of their sins. The restless waves obeyed the Divine decree, that they should not pass the sandy shores, which were as much a restraint as lofty mountains; but they burst all restraints of God's law, and were wholly gone into…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-21in the house of Jacob: In the Old Testament, "Jacob" and "Israel" are often used interchangeably. They can refer to the patriarch or the nation. To be foolish means to act rashly and immorally, ignoring consequences. senseless: This literally means no heart. When "heart" is negative, it means a person or group does not want to do moral acts and rejects intelligent behavior that pleases God. The people's ears and eyes worked (see study note on Jeremiah…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. eyes ... ears, and--Translate, "and yet" (compare De 29:4; Is 6:9). Having powers of perception, they did not use them: still they were responsible for the exercise of them.Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 5:21
In the dictionaries
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
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