Jeremiah 5:9-19

9 Shall I not visit for these things?" saith the LORD. "And shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

10 "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy, but make not a full end; take away her battlements, for they are not the LORD'S.

11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against Me," saith the LORD.

12 They have belied the LORD, and said, "It is not He; neither shall evil come upon us, neither shall we see sword nor famine.

13 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them; thus shall it be done unto them."

14 Therefore, thus saith the LORD God of hosts: "Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make My words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from afar, O house of Israel," saith the LORD. "It is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.

16 Their quiver is as an open sepulcher; they are all mighty men.

17 And they shall eat up thine harvest and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat; they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds; they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees. They shall impoverish thy fortified cities, wherein thou trusted, with the sword.

18 "Nevertheless in those days," saith the LORD, "I will not make a full end with you.

19 And it shall come to pass when ye shall say, `Why doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us?' Then shalt thou answer them, `As ye have forsaken Me and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.'

Jeremiah 5:9-19 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 5

This chapter contains a further account of the destruction of the Jews by the Chaldeans, and the causes of it, the sins of the people, as want of justice and truth; being so corrupt, that a just and faithful man was not to be found among them; could there, the city would have been pardoned for his sake, Jer 5:1, their swearing falsely by the name of the Lord, Jer 5:2, their incorrigibleness by chastisements, which was the case not only of the lower, but higher rank of people, Jer 5:3-5, wherefore the enemy, who for his cruelty is compared to a lion, a wolf, and a leopard, is threatened to be let in among them, Jer 5:6, then other sins are mentioned as the cause of it, as idolatry and adultery, Jer 5:7-9 hence the enemy has a commission to scale their walls, take away their battlements, though not to make a full end, the Lord disowning them for his, Jer 5:10, because of their perfidy against him, their belying of him, contradicting what he had said, and despising the word sent by his prophets, Jer 5:11-13, wherefore it is threatened, that his word like fire should devour them; and that a distant, mighty, and ancient nation, of a foreign speech, should invade them; who, like an open sepulchre, would devour them, and eat up the increase of their fields, vineyards, flocks, and herds, and impoverish their cities, yet not make a full end of them, Jer 5:14-18, and in just retaliation should they serve strangers in a foreign country, who had served strange gods in their own, Jer 5:19 then a declaration is published, and an expostulation is made with them, who are represented as foolish, ignorant, and blind, that they would fear the Lord; which is pressed by arguments taken from the power of God, in restraining the sea, which had no effect upon them; and from the goodness of God, in giving the former and latter rain, and the appointed weeks of the harvest, which their sins turned away and withheld from them, Jer 5:20-25, and then other sins are mentioned as the cause of God's visiting them in a way of vengeance, as the defrauding of men in trade, and the oppression of the fatherless and the poor in judgment; and false prophesying, to the advantage of the priests, and the king of the people, Jer 5:26-31.