Jeremiah 5:12

12 They have contradicted the Lord and insisted, "It won't happen.^[a] Harm won't come to us; we won't see sword or famine."

Jeremiah 5:12 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 5:12

They have belied the Lord, and said, it is not he
Or, "denied the Lord" ^F24, as some render the words, saying that there was no God; which, though they might not deliver in express words, yet inasmuch as they denied his providence, and disbelieved his word by his prophets, it was tacitly denying that there was a God, or that the Lord was God. The meaning of the phrase "not he" may be, he takes no notice of what is done by us; he does not concern himself with our affairs; nor has he given any such orders to our enemies, as above; nor said these things by the prophets which are pretended: neither shall evil come upon us;
they speak of: neither shall we see sword nor famine;
war and sieges, and famine, the consequence of them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 (hwhyb wvxkw) "egaverunt Dominum", V. L. Pagninus; "abnegant", Piscator; "abnegarunt Jehovam", Cocceius, Schmidt.

Jeremiah 5:12 In-Context

10 Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them, but do not finish them off. Prune away her shoots, for they do not belong to the Lord.

11 They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah, have dealt very treacherously with Me. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration.

12 They have contradicted the Lord and insisted, "It won't happen. Harm won't come to us; we won't see sword or famine."

13 The prophets become [only] wind, for the [Lord's] word is not in them. This will in fact happen to them.

14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Hosts says: Because you have spoken this word, I am going to make My words become fire in your mouth. These people are the wood, and the fire will consume them.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit He does not exist