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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• 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.

Context of Jeremiah 5:4

2And although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.” 3O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth? You have smitten them, But they did not weaken; 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, “They are only the poor, They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the Lord Or the ordinance of their God. 5I will go to the great And will speak to them, For they know the way of the Lord And the ordinance of their God.” But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke And burst the bonds. 6Therefore a lion from the forest will slay them, A wolf of the deserts will destroy them, A leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many, Their apostasies are numerous.

Jeremiah 5:4 word by word

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

• Then I saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• They are onlyאַךְ'ak · surelyH389
• They are foolishיָאַלyâ'al · be foolishH2973
• do not knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• the ordinanceמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · 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 And have no understanding. They are shrewd to do evil, But to do good they do not know.”
• Jeremiah 7:8“Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail.
• Jeremiah 8:7Even the stork in the sky Knows her seasons; And the turtledove and the swift and the thrush Observe the time of their migration; But My people do not know The ordinance of the Lord.
• Isaiah 27:11When its limbs are dry, they are broken off; Women come and make a fire with them, For they are not a people of discernment, Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them. And their Creator will not be gracious to them.
• Isaiah 28:9“To whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?
• Hosea 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
• Matthew 11:5the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
• John 7:48No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he?

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