Jeremiah 5

Jer 5:1-31.

THE

CAUSE OF THE

JUDGMENTS TO

BE

INFLICTED

IS THE

UNIVERSAL

CORRUPTION OF THE

PEOPLE.

1. a man--As the pious Josiah, Baruch, and Zephaniah lived in

Jerusalem at that time, Jeremiah must here mean the mass of the people,

the king, his counsellors, the false prophets, and the priests, as

distinguished from the faithful few, whom God had openly separated from

the reprobate people; among the latter not even one just person was

to be found

(Isa 9:16)

[CALVIN]; the godly, moreover, were forbidden to

intercede for them

(Jer 7:16;

compare

Ge 18:23,

&c.; Ps 12:1;

Eze 22:30).

see . . . know--look . . . ascertain.

judgment--justice, righteousness.

pardon it--rather, her.

2.

(Tit 1:16).

swear falsely--not a judicial oath; but their profession of the worship

of Jehovah is insincere

(Jer 5:7;

Jer 4:2).

The reformation under Josiah was merely superficial in the case of the

majority.

3. eyes upon the truth--

(De 32:4;

2Ch 16:9).

"Truth" is in contrast with "swear falsely"

(Jer 5:2).

The false-professing Jews could expect nothing but judgments from the

God of truth.

stricken . . . not grieved--

(Jer 2:30;

Isa 1:5; 9:13).

refused . . . correction--

(Jer 7:28;

Zep 3:2).

4. 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.

5. they have known--rather, "they must know." The prophet

supposes it as probable, considering their position.

but these--I found the very reverse to be the case.

burst . . . bonds--set God's law at defiance

(Ps 2:3).

6. lion . . . wolf . . . leopard--the strongest, the most ravenous,

and the swiftest, respectively, of beasts: illustrating the formidable

character of the Babylonians.

of the evenings--Others not so well translate, of the deserts. The plural means that it goes forth every evening to seek its

prey

(Ps 104:20;

Hab 1:8;

Zep 3:3).

leopard . . . watch . . . cities--

(Ho 13:7).

It shall lie in wait about their cities.

7. It would not be consistent with God's holiness to let such

wickedness pass unpunished.

sworn by--

(Jer 5:2;

Jer 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 marriage

covenant, sealed at Sinai between God and Israel; in contrast to

which stands their "adultery"; the antithesis favors this.

adultery . . . harlots' houses--spiritually: idolatry in temples of

idols; but literal prostitution is also included, being frequently part

of idol-worship: for example, in the worship of the Babylonian Mylitta.

8. in the morning--

(Isa 5:11).

"Rising early in the morning" is a phrase for unceasing eagerness in

any pursuit; such was the Jews' avidity after idol-worship. MAURER translates from a different Hebrew root,

"continually wander to and fro," inflamed with lust

(Jer 2:23).

But English Version is simpler (compare

Jer 13:27;

Eze 22:11).

9.

(Jer 5:29;

Jer 9:9; 44:22).

10. Abrupt apostrophe to the Babylonians, to take Jerusalem, but

not to destroy the nation utterly

(see on

Jer 4:27).

battlements--rather, tendrils

[MAURER]: the state being compared

to a vine

(Jer 12:10),

the stem of which was to be spared, while the tendrils (the chief men)

were to be removed.

11.

(Jer 3:20).

12. belied--denied.

It is not he--rather, "(Jehovah) is not

HE," that is, the true and only God

(Jer 14:22;

De 32:39;

Isa 43:10, 13).

follows, and to

Jer 5:9,

"(Jehovah) is not," namely, about to be the punisher of our sins

(Jer 14:13;

Isa 28:15).

13. Continuation of the unbelieving language of the Jews.

the prophets--who prophesy punishment coming on us.

the word--the Holy Spirit, who speaks through true prophets, is not

in them [MAURER]. Or else, "There is no word (divine communication) in

them"

(Ho 1:2)

[ROSENMULLER].

thus, &c.--Their ill-omened prophecies shall fall on themselves.

14. ye . . . thy . . . this people--He turns away from addressing

the people to the prophet; implying that He puts them to a distance from

Him, and only communicates with them through His prophet

(Jer 5:19).

fire . . . wood--Thy denunciations of judgments shall be fulfilled

and shall consume them as fire does wood. In

Jer 23:29

it is the penetrating energy of fire which is the point of

comparison.

15.

(Jer 1:15; 6:22).

Alluding to

De 28:49,

&c.

Israel--that is, Judah.

mighty--from an Arabic root, "enduring." The fourfold repetition

of "nation" heightens the force.

ancient--The Chaldeans came originally from the Carduchian and

Armenian mountains north of Mesopotamia, whence they immigrated into

Babylonia; like all mountaineers, they were brave and hardy

(see on

Isa 23:13).

language . . . knowest not--

Isa 36:11

shows that Aramaic was not understood by the "multitude," but

only by the educated classes [MAURER]. HENDERSON refers it to the original language of

the Babylonians, which, he thinks, they brought with them from their

native hills, akin to the Persic, not to the Aramaic, or any

other Semitic tongue, the parent of the modern Kurd.

16. open sepulchre--(Compare

Ps 5:9).

Their quiver is all-devouring, as the grave opened to receive the dead:

as many as are the arrows, so many are the deaths.

17.

(Le 26:16).

18. Not even in those days of judgments, will God utterly

exterminate His people.

I will not make a full end with you--

(Jer 5:10;

Jer 4:27).

19. Retribution in kind. As ye have forsaken Me

(Jer 2:13),

so shall ye be forsaken by Me. As ye have served strange (foreign) gods

in your land, so shall ye serve strangers (foreigners) in a land not

yours. Compare the similar retribution in

De 28:47, 48.

21. eyes . . . ears, and--Translate, "and yet" (compare

De 29:4;

Isa 6:9).

Having powers of perception, they did not use them: still they were

responsible for the exercise of them.

22. sand--Though made up of particles easily shifting about, I render

it sufficient to curb the violence of the sea. Such is your monstrous

perversity, that the raging, senseless sea sooner obeys Me, than ye do

who profess to be intelligent [CALVIN],

(Job 26:10; 38:10, 11;

Pr 8:29;

Re 15:4).

23.

(Jer 6:28).

24. rain . . . former . . . latter--The "former" falls from the middle

of October to the beginning of December. The "latter," or spring rain

in Palestine, falls before harvest in March and April, and is essential

for ripening the crops

(De 11:14;

Joe 2:23).

weeks of . . . harvest--the seven weeks between passover and pentecost,

beginning on the sixteenth of Nisan

(De 16:9).

harvest weeks, so that harvest work went on without interruption (see

Ge 8:22).

25. National guilt had caused the suspension of these national mercies

mentioned in

Jer 5:24

(compare

Jer 3:3).

26.

(Pr 1:11, 17, 18;

Hab 1:15).

as he that setteth snares--rather, "as fowlers crouch"

[MAURER].

trap--literally, "destruction": the instrument of destruction.

catch men--not as Peter, to save

(Lu 5:10),

but to destroy men.

27. full of deceit--full of treasures got by deceit.

rich--

(Ps 73:12, 18-20).

28. shine--the effect of fatness on the skin

(De 32:15).

They live a life of self-indulgence.

overpass . . . the wicked--exceed even the Gentiles in wickedness

(Jer 2:33;

Eze 5:6, 7).

judge not . . . fatherless--

(Isa 1:23).

yet . . . prosper--

(Jer 12:1).

29.

(Jer 5:9;

Mal 3:5).

30.

(Jer 23:14;

Ho 6:10).

31. bear rule by their means--literally, "according to their hands,"

that is, under their guidance

(1Ch 25:3).

As a sample of the priests lending themselves to the deceits of the

false prophets, to gain influence over the people, see

Jer 29:24-32.

love to have it so--

(Mic 2:11).

end thereof--the fatal issue of this sinful course when divine

judgments shall come.