21 Hear H8085 now this, O foolish H5530 people, H5971 and without understanding; H3820 which have eyes, H5869 and see H7200 not; which have ears, H241 and hear H8085 not:
Saying, G3004 Go G4198 unto G4314 this G5126 people, G2992 and G2532 say, G2036 Hearing G189 ye shall hear, G191 and G2532 shall G4920 not G3364 understand; G4920 and G2532 seeing G991 ye shall see, G991 and G2532 not G3364 perceive: G1492
Son H1121 of man, H120 thou dwellest H3427 in the midst H8432 of a rebellious H4805 house, H1004 which have eyes H5869 to see, H7200 and see H7200 not; they have ears H241 to hear, H8085 and hear H8085 not: for they are a rebellious H4805 house. H1004
And he said, H559 Go, H3212 and tell H559 this people, H5971 Hear H8085 ye indeed, H8085 but understand H995 not; and see H7200 ye indeed, H7200 but perceive H3045 not. Make the heart H3820 of this people H5971 fat, H8080 and make their ears H241 heavy, H3513 and shut H8173 their eyes; H5869 lest they see H7200 with their eyes, H5869 and hear H8085 with their ears, H241 and understand H995 with their heart, H3824 and convert, H7725 and be healed. H7495
(According as G2531 it is written, G1125 God G2316 hath given G1325 them G846 the spirit G4151 of slumber, G2659 eyes G3788 that they should G991 not G3361 see, G991 and G2532 ears G3775 that they should G191 not G3361 hear;) G191 unto G2193 this G4594 day. G2250
He hath blinded G5186 their G846 eyes, G3788 and G2532 hardened G4456 their G846 heart; G2588 that G3363 they should G1492 not G3363 see G1492 with their eyes, G3788 nor G2532 understand G3539 with their heart, G2588 and G2532 be converted, G1994 and G2532 I should heal G2390 them. G846
Having G2192 eyes, G3788 see ye G991 not? G3756 and G2532 having G2192 ears, G3775 hear ye G191 not? G3756 and G2532 do ye G3421 not G3756 remember? G3421
Therefore G1223 G5124 speak I G2980 to them G846 in G1722 parables: G3850 because G3754 they seeing G991 see G991 not; G3756 and G2532 hearing G191 they hear G191 not, G3756 neither G3761 do they understand. G4920 And G2532 in G1909 them G846 is fulfilled G378 the prophecy G4394 of Esaias, G2268 which G3588 saith, G3004 By hearing G189 ye shall hear, G191 and G2532 shall G4920 not G3364 understand; G4920 and G2532 seeing G991 ye shall see, G991 and G2532 shall G1492 not G3364 perceive: G1492 For G1063 this G5127 people's G2992 heart G2588 is waxed gross, G3975 and G2532 their ears G3775 are dull G917 of hearing, G191 and G2532 their G846 eyes G3788 they have closed; G2576 lest at any time G3379 they should see G1492 with their eyes, G3788 and G2532 hear G191 with their ears, G3775 and G2532 should understand G4920 with their heart, G2588 and G2532 should be converted, G1994 and G2532 I should heal G2390 them. G846
For my people H5971 is foolish, H191 they have not known H3045 me; they are sottish H5530 children, H1121 and they have none understanding: H995 they are wise H2450 to do evil, H7489 but to do good H3190 they have no knowledge. H3045
Do ye thus requite H1580 the LORD, H3068 O foolish H5036 people H5971 and unwise? H2450 is not he thy father H1 that hath bought H7069 thee? hath he not made H6213 thee, and established H3559 thee?
But they are altogether H259 brutish H1197 and foolish: H3688 the stock H6086 is a doctrine H4148 of vanities. H1892
When the boughs H7105 thereof are withered, H3001 they shall be broken off: H7665 the women H802 come, H935 and set them on fire: H215 for it is a people H5971 of no understanding: H998 therefore he that made H6213 them will not have mercy H7355 on them, and he that formed H3335 them will shew them no favour. H2603
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Jeremiah 5
Commentary on Jeremiah 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 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). By their idolatry they virtually denied Him. Or, referring to what 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). By God's special providence no rain fell in Palestine during the 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.