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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Then I said, “But what can we expect from the poor? They are ignorant. They don’t know the ways of the Lord. They don’t understand God’s laws.

Context of Jeremiah 5:4

2Although 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. 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. 5So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God.” But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds. 6Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great and their backslidings many.

Jeremiah 5:4 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Therefore I saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• poorדַּלdal · poorH1800
• they are foolishיָאַלyâ'al · be foolishH2973
• for they knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• not the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• the judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
• of their Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430

Cross-references for Jeremiah 5:4

• Jeremiah 4:22“My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.”
• Jeremiah 7:8But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.
• Jeremiah 8:7Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.
• Isaiah 27:11When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For this is a people without understanding; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
• Isaiah 28:9“Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast?
• Hosea 4:6my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.
• Matthew 11:5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.
• John 7:48“Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?

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