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

1“If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord, “if you want to come back to me you must get those disgusting idols out of my sight and must no longer go astray. You must be truthful, honest and upright when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ If you do, the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are and will make him the object of their boasting.” 3Yes, the Lord has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. 4Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment, you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the Lord and get rid of everything that hinders your commitment to me, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you do not, my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you that no one will be able to extinguish. That will happen because of the evil you have done.”

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 5:2These people make promises in the name of the Lord. But the fact is, what they swear to is really a lie.”
• Deuteronomy 10:20Revere the Lord your God, serve him, be loyal to him and take oaths only in his name.
• Isaiah 45:23I solemnly make this oath – what I say is true and reliable: ‘Surely every knee will bow to me, every tongue will solemnly affirm;
• Isaiah 48:1Listen to this, O family of Jacob, you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’ and are descended from Judah, who take oaths in the name of the Lord, and invoke the God of Israel – but not in an honest and just manner.
• Isaiah 65:16Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth will do so in the name of the faithful God; whoever makes an oath in the earth will do so in the name of the faithful God. For past problems will be forgotten; I will no longer think about them.
• Jeremiah 9:24If people want to boast, they should boast about this: They should boast that they understand and know me. They should boast that they know and understand that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth and that I desire people to do these things,” says the Lord.
• 1 Kings 3:6Solomon replied, “You demonstrated great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served you faithfully, properly, and sincerely. You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne.
• Psalms 99:4The king is strong; he loves justice. You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly; you promote justice and equity in Jacob.
• Hosea 2:19I will commit myself to you forever; I will commit myself to you in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and tender compassion.
• Zechariah 8:8And I will bring them to settle within Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and righteousness.’
• Genesis 22:18Because you have obeyed me, all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants.’”
• Psalms 72:17May his fame endure! May his dynasty last as long as the sun remains in the sky! May they use his name when they formulate their blessings! May all nations consider him to be favored by God!
• Galatians 3:8And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”
• Isaiah 45:25All the descendants of Israel will be vindicated by the Lord and will boast in him.
• 1 Corinthians 1:31so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
• 2 Corinthians 10:17But the one who boasts must boast in the Lord.

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