Jeremiah 5:26

26 'For wicked men are found among My people, They ¹watch like fowlers lying in wait; They set a trap, They catch men.

Jeremiah 5:26 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 5:26

For among my people are found wicked men
Not a few only, but in general they appeared to be so, upon an inquiry into their character and conduct; for otherwise it would not have been so difficult to find a good man among them, as is suggested ( Jeremiah 5:1 ) , they lay wait as he that setteth snares;
or, "they look about" ^F3; that is, as Kimchi interprets it, every man looks in the ways, to see if a man passed by, that he might rob him of what he had; as a man that lays snares, or sets a trap to catch birds in: or, "everyone looks out, when they that lay snares rest" ^F4; and so they are more diligent and constant in catching men than such persons are in catching birds: they set a trap;
or "dig a pit, or ditch" ^F5; for men to fall in; see ( Psalms 7:15 ) : they catch men;
and rob them of their substance; or by their ill examples and counsels draw them into sin, and so into ruin; or circumvent them in trade and business.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 (rwvy) "aspicit", Vatablus, i. e. "quisque eorum", Piscator; "aspicient", Pagninus.
F4 (Myvwqy Kvk rwvy) "contemplatur quisque, cum quiescunt aucupes", De Dieu; so Ben Melech; "et cum resident aucupes", Piscator, Gataker; "sit quiet and unmoved, that they may not frighten the birds by any noise, watching and expecting when they would get into the net"; so Gussetius.
F5 (tyxvm wbyuh) "fodiunt foveas", Tigurine version.

Jeremiah 5:26 In-Context

24 'They do not say in their heart, "Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain in its season, Both the autumn rain and the spring rain, Who keeps for us The appointed weeks of the harvest."

25 'Your iniquities have turned these away, And your sins have withheld good from you.

26 'For wicked men are found among My people, They watch like fowlers lying in wait; They set a trap, They catch men.

27 'Like a cage full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit; Therefore they have become great and rich.

28 'They are fat, they are sleek, They also excel in deeds of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper; And they do not defend the rights of the poor.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 10:9; Proverbs 1:11; Jeremiah 18:22; Habakkuk 1:15

Footnotes

• [a]. Perhaps, "crouching down"