New International Version
Jeremiah 5:2
2Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ still they are swearing falsely.”
Jeremiah 5:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Though they say, "As the Lord lives," yet they swear falsely.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)But even when they are under oath, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ they are still telling lies!”
Context of Jeremiah 5:2
1“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city. Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ still they are swearing falsely.” 3Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent. 4I thought, “These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God.
Read all of Jeremiah 5Jeremiah 5:2 word by word
וְאִ֥ם חַי־יְהֹוָ֖ה יֹאמֵ֑רוּ לָכֵ֥ן לַשֶּׁ֖קֶר יִשָּׁבֵֽעוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 5:2
- Jeremiah 4:2and 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.”
- Jeremiah 7:9“ ‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known,
- Leviticus 19:12“ ‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
- Isaiah 48:1“Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and invoke the God of Israel— but not in truth or righteousness—
- Hosea 4:1Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.
- Hosea 10:4They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
- Zechariah 5:3And he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished.
- Malachi 3:5“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.
- 1 Timothy 1:10for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine
- 2 Timothy 3:5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 5:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The Lord liveth - Though they profess to bind themselves by Jehovah, as if they acknowledged him their God and only Lord, yet they swore falsely; for not believing in him, they took a false oath; one by which they did not believe themselves bound, not acknowledging him as their Lord. See on Jeremiah 4:2; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Though they take the most binding form of oath, they do so only as a means of deceiving others.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2A just person follows God's laws and treats others fairly. An honest person is reliable, truthful, and loyal to God. Jeremiah found neither justice nor honesty. Although some people were under oath, their claims of innocence were false. Their actions showed they had lied under oath (Genesis 4:2; 7:9; Genesis 18:23–32; Isaiah 48:1; Ezekiel 22:30; Titus 1:15–16).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. (Tit 1:16). swear falsely--not a judicial oath; but their profession of the worship of Jehovah is insincere (Jr 5:7; Jr 4:2). The reformation under Josiah was merely superficial in the case of the majority.Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 5:2
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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