Old Testament Commentary - Jeremiah 5

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 5 Judgments shall be poured out upon the Jews because of their sins—Their iniquities cause blessings to be withheld from them.
1 RUN ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, *if ye can find a man, if there be any* that ^aexecuteth judgment^a**, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it. 2 And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they ^aswear falsely.	*1^a if ye can find a man, if there be andy* that executeth judgement** Now Jeremiah was a man of Benjamin and his home was not in Jerusalem. Lehi lived all of his days in Jerusalem or at least the land of Jerusalem and the Book of Mormon seems to imply that while his lands and properties of inheritance were beyond the city walls, Lehi seems to have maintained a 'town house' also in the city. If this is the case then what does it say about Jeremiah's statement in chapter 5? Had Lehi left and was Jerusalem now with Lehi and Ishmael gone in such a state that not even one just man could be found? If such be the case then certainly was Jerusalem ripened in iniquity and ready for destruction. Now if Lehi had not a house in Jerusalem then it could have been at any time during the ministry of Jeremiah. Either that or Jeremiah was pointing out in the prophetic present that when the day came or was that there was not left free in the streets of Jerusalem a single just man, then Jerusalem would be destoryed. And at that point Jeremiah could not be found in the streets as he was locked up in jail. Or it might even be a play on the concept of 'executing judgment' which is the role of the high priest and the 70 princes of Israel, the 'Sanhedrin' of the law of Moses. Even in the days of Christ there seemed as least two men of the Sanhedrin which were just, Joseph of Arimathea an Nicodeamus.
3 O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. 4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they ^aknow not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.
5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the ^ayoke, and burst the bonds. 6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a ^awolf of the ^bevenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their ^ctransgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
7 ¶ 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 ^afull, they then committed ^badultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. 8 They were as ^afed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife. 9 Shall I not ^avisit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be ^bavenged on such a nation as this?
10 ¶ Go ye up upon her walls, and ^adestroy; but make not a full ^bend: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD's. 11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.
12 They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see ^asword nor famine: 13 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy ^amouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. 15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose ^alanguage thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. 16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.
17 And they shall ^aeat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. 18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you.
19 ¶ And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have ^aforsaken me, and served strange ^bgods in your land, so shall ye ^cserve ^dstrangers in a land that is not yours. 20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, 21 Hear now this, O ^afoolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and ^bsee not; which have ears, and ^chear not:
22 Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? 23 But this people hath a revolting and a ^arebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. 24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both ^athe former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
25 ¶ Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. 26 For among my people are found ^awicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they ^bcatch men.
27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become ^agreat, and waxen rich. 28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they ^ajudge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. 29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
30 ¶ A wonderful and ^ahorrible thing is committed in the land; 31 The ^aprophets prophesy ^bfalsely, and the^c priests bear rule by their means; and my people ^dlove to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?