Jeremiah 5:20

20 "Tell the house of Jacob this, put out this bulletin in Judah:

Jeremiah 5:20 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 5:20

Declare this in the house of Jacob
That a mighty nation should come and destroy them, and they should be servants in a strange land; or rather the words seem to be an order to declare war against the Jews, and even in their own land; and do not seem to be addressed to the prophet, but to others, seeing the words are in the plural number; see ( Jeremiah 4:5 ) : and publish it in Judah:
the house of Jacob and Judah are the same, namely, the two tribes of Benjamin and Judah; for, as for the ten tribes, as observed on ( Jeremiah 5:15 ) , they had been carried captive before this time: saying:
as follows:

Jeremiah 5:20 In-Context

18 "Even then, as bad as it will be" - God's Decree! - "it will not be the end of the world for you.
19 And when people ask, 'Why did our God do all this to us?' you must say to them, 'It's tit for tat. Just as you left me and served foreign gods in your own country, so now you must serve foreigners in their own country.'
20 "Tell the house of Jacob this, put out this bulletin in Judah:
21 Listen to this, you scatterbrains, airheads, With eyes that see but don't really look, and ears that hear but don't really listen.
22 Why don't you honor me? Why aren't you in awe before me? Yes, me, who made the shorelines to contain the ocean waters. I drew a line in the sand that cannot be crossed. Waves roll in but cannot get through; breakers crash but that's the end of them.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.