Jeremiah 8:4

Yahweh Questions His People

4 "And you shall say to them, 'Thus asks Yahweh: "Do men fall and not stand up? If one turns away does he not return?

Jeremiah 8:4 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 8:4

Moreover, thou shalt say unto them
The Jews, in Jeremiah's time, in order to leave them inexcusable, though the Lord had before assured that they would not hearken to him, ( Jeremiah 7:27 ) : thus saith the Lord, shall they fall, and not rise?
men, when they fall, endeavour to get up again, and generally they do: shall he turn away, and not return?
when a man turns out of the right way into a wrong one, as soon as he is sensible of his mistake, he returns back; this is usually done among men. This is generally the case in a natural sense, and might be expected in a moral sense; that whereas these people had fallen into sin, they would rise again by repentance; and, having turned from the good ways of God, would soon return again to them.

Jeremiah 8:4 In-Context

2 And they shall spread them out before the sun, and before the moon, and before all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and which they have gone after, and which they have inquired about, and to which they have bowed in worship. They shall not be gathered, and they shall not be buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground.

3 And death will be preferred to life by all the remaining of this evil clan in all the remaining places where I have driven them away," {declares} Yahweh.

4 "And you shall say to them, 'Thus asks Yahweh: "Do men fall and not stand up? If one turns away does he not return?

5 Why has this people, Jerusalem, turned away [in] enduring apostasy? They have kept hold of deceit, they have refused to return.

6 I have listened attentively, and I have listened. They do not speak honestly, there is no man [who] regrets his wickedness, saying, 'What have I done?' All of them [are] turning to their ways of running, like a horse plunging into battle.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "says"