New Living Translation
Jeremiah 5:21
21Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear.
Jeremiah 5:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
- New International Version (NIV)Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear:
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not.
- New King James Version (NKJV)‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not:
Context of Jeremiah 5:21
19“And when your people ask, ‘Why did the Lord our God do all this to us?’ you must reply, ‘You rejected him and gave yourselves to foreign gods in your own land. Now you will serve foreigners in a land that is not your own.’ 20“Make this announcement to Israel, and say this to Judah: Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear. 22Have you no respect for me? Why don’t you tremble in my presence? I, the Lord, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries I set. 23But my people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned away and abandoned me.
Read all of Jeremiah 5Jeremiah 5:21 word by word
שִׁמְעוּ־נָ֣א זֹ֔את עַ֥ם סָכָ֖ל וְאֵ֣ין לֵ֑ב עֵינַ֤יִם לָהֶם֙ וְלֹ֣א יִרְא֔וּ אָזְנַ֥יִם לָהֶ֖ם וְלֹ֥א יִשְׁמָֽעוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 5:21
- Jeremiah 5:4Then 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.
- Jeremiah 4:22“My people are foolish and do not know me,” says the Lord. “They are stupid children who have no understanding. They are clever enough at doing wrong, but they have no idea how to do right!”
- Jeremiah 8:7Even the stork that flies across the sky knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane. They all return at the proper time each year. But not my people! They do not know the Lord’s laws.
- Jeremiah 10:8People who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood!
- Deuteronomy 29:4But to this day the Lord has not given you minds that understand, nor eyes that see, nor ears that hear!
- Deuteronomy 32:6Is this the way you repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Isn’t he your Father who created you? Has he not made you and established you?
- Psalms 94:8Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on?
- Isaiah 6:9And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’
- Isaiah 27:11The people are like the dead branches of a tree, broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots. Israel is a foolish and stupid nation, for its people have turned away from God. Therefore, the one who made them will show them no pity or mercy.
- Isaiah 44:18Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.
- Ezekiel 12:1Again a message came to me from the Lord:
- Matthew 13:13That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
- John 12:40“The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts— so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and have me heal them.”
- Acts 28:26‘Go and say to this people: When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.
- Romans 11:8As the Scriptures say, “God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.”
- Proverbs 17:16It is senseless to pay to educate a fool, since he has no heart for learning.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 5:21
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20-31Verses 20-31 Against the God (1) of Creation Jeremiah 5:22, and (2) of Providence Jeremiah 5:24, They sin, not merely by apostasy, but by a general immorality extending to all classes Jeremiah 5:25-28. It is in this immorality that their idolatry has its root. Jeremiah 5:22 The sea is the symbol of restless and indomitable energy, chafing against all resistance, and dashing to pieces the works whereby man endeavors to restrain its fury. Yet God has…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-31Verses 19-31 Unhumbled hearts are ready to charge God with being unjust in their afflictions. But they may read their sin in their punishment. If men will inquire wherefore the Lord doeth hard things unto them, let them think of their sins. The restless waves obeyed the Divine decree, that they should not pass the sandy shores, which were as much a restraint as lofty mountains; but they burst all restraints of God's law, and were wholly gone into…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-21in the house of Jacob: In the Old Testament, "Jacob" and "Israel" are often used interchangeably. They can refer to the patriarch or the nation. To be foolish means to act rashly and immorally, ignoring consequences. senseless: This literally means no heart. When "heart" is negative, it means a person or group does not want to do moral acts and rejects intelligent behavior that pleases God. The people's ears and eyes worked (see study note on Jeremiah…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. eyes ... ears, and--Translate, "and yet" (compare De 29:4; Is 6:9). Having powers of perception, they did not use them: still they were responsible for the exercise of them.Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 5:21
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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