Jeremiah 5:7

Jeremiah 5:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
• New International Version (NIV)“Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of whores.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“How shall I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken Me And sworn by those that are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, Then they committed adultery And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.

Context of Jeremiah 5:7

5I will go to the leaders and speak with them. Surely they know what the Lord demands. Surely they know what their God requires of them.” Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authority and refuse to submit to him. 6So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them. Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them. Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities and totally destroy anyone who ventures out. For they have rebelled so much and done so many unfaithful things. The Lord asked, “How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? Your people have rejected me and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. Even though I supplied all their needs, they were like an unfaithful wife to me. They went flocking to the houses of prostitutes. 8They are like lusty, well-fed stallions. Each of them lusts after his neighbor’s wife. 9I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord. “I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this!”

Jeremiah 5:7 word by word

אֵ֤י לָזֹאת֙ אֶֽסְלַֽח לָ֔ךְ בָּנַ֣יִךְ עֲזָב֔וּנִי וַיִּשָּׁבְע֖וּ בְּלֹ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים וָאַשְׂבִּ֤עַ אוֹתָם֙ וַיִּנְאָ֔פוּ וּבֵ֥ית זוֹנָ֖ה יִתְגֹּדָֽדוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Howאַי'ay · where?H335
• shall I pardonסָלַחsâlach · to forgiveH5545
• thee for thisזֹאתzô'th · thisH2063
• thy childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• have forsakenעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
• me, and swornשָׁבַעshâba‛ · to swearH7650
• noלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• they then committed adulteryנָאַףnâ'aph · to commit adulteryH5003
• and assembled themselves by troopsגָּדַדgâdad · to cutH1413
• in the harlots’זָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
• housesבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004

Cross-references for Jeremiah 5:7

• Jeremiah 3:19“I thought to myself, ‘Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son! What a joy it would be for me to give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!’ I thought you would call me, ‘Father’ and would never cease being loyal to me.
• Hosea 11:8How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart! All my tender compassions are aroused!
• Matthew 23:37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!
• Jeremiah 12:16But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.” If they do these things, then they will be included among the people I call my own.
• Joshua 23:7or associate with these nations that remain near you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods! You must not worship or bow down to them!
• Hosea 4:15Although you, O Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty! Do not journey to Gilgal! Do not go up to Beth Aven! Do not swear, “As surely as the Lord lives!”
• Amos 8:14These are the ones who now take oaths in the name of the sinful idol goddess of Samaria. They vow, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or ‘As surely as your beloved one lives, O Beer Sheba!’ But they will fall down and not get up again.”
• Zephaniah 1:5I will remove those who worship the stars in the sky from their rooftops, those who swear allegiance to the Lord while taking oaths in the name of their ‘king,’
• Jeremiah 2:11Has a nation ever changed its gods (even though they are not really gods at all)? But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, for a god that cannot help them at all!
• Deuteronomy 32:21They have made me jealous with false gods, enraging me with their worthless gods; so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize, with a nation slow to learn I will enrage them.
• 1 Corinthians 8:4With regard then to eating food sacrificed to idols, we know that “an idol in this world is nothing,” and that “there is no God but one.”
• Galatians 4:8Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all.
• Jeremiah 2:31You people of this generation, listen to what the Lord says. “Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel? Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you? Why then do you say, ‘We are free to wander. We will not come to you any more?’
• Deuteronomy 32:15But Jeshurun became fat and kicked, you got fat, thick, and stuffed! Then he deserted the God who made him, and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt.
• Ezekiel 16:49“‘See here – this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help the poor and needy.
• Hosea 13:6When they were fed, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; as a result, they forgot me!

Commentaries on Jeremiah 5:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7In the harlots' houses - In places consecrated to idolatry. In the language of the prophets, adultery generally signifies idolatry. This we have often seen.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Rather, Why, “for what reason” should “I pardon thee?” When … - Or, “though I bound them to me by oath, yet they committed adultery.” The harlots‘ houses - The harlot‘s house, i. e., the temple of an idol; the prophet had also in view (see Jeremiah 5:8) the unchastity which accompanied most forms of nature-worship.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8These verses list the evidence of sins the people committed, such as: rejecting the Lord worshiping pagan gods engaging in sexual misconduct (Jeremiah 7:9; 12:16; Numbers 25:1–3; Deuteronomy 32:21; Joshua 23:7; Zephaniah 1:5; Galatians 4:8) Idolatry and adultery were closely linked in Israel because both broke an exclusive covenant.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. It would not be consistent with God's holiness to let such wickedness pass unpunished. sworn by--(Jr 5:2; Jr 4:2); that is, worshipped. no gods--(De 32:21). fed ... to the full--so the Keri (Hebrew Margin) reads. God's bountifulness is contrasted with their apostasy (De 32:15). Prosperity, the gift of God, designed to lead men to Him, often produces the opposite effect. The Hebrew Chetib (text) reads: "I bound them (to Me) by oath," namely, in the…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 5:7

• Adultery
• Backsliders
• Idolatry
• Ingratitude
• Oath
• Prosperity
• Rich, the
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Correction
• Deceit
• Crime; Crimes
• Exodus, the Book of
• Gods
• Harlot
• 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