Jeremiah 5:5

5 So I will go to the leaders. I'll speak to them. They should know how the LORD wants them to live. They must know what their God requires of them." But all of them had broken off the yoke the LORD had put on them. They had torn off the ropes he had tied them up with.

Jeremiah 5:5 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 5:5

I will get me unto the great men, and speak unto them
The princes, nobles, and judges, the elders of the people, the scribes and doctors of the law: for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God;
it might be reasonably expected that they had, having had a good education, and being at leisure from worldly business to attend to the law, and the knowledge of it, and whatsoever God had revealed in his word, both in a way of doctrine and duty: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds;
the yoke of the law, and the bonds of his precepts, with which they were bound; these they broke off from them, and would not be obliged and restrained by them, but transgressed and rejected them.

Jeremiah 5:5 In-Context

3 Lord, don't your eyes look for truth? You struck your people down. But they didn't feel any pain. You crushed them. But they refused to be corrected. They made their faces harder than stone. They refused to turn away from their sins.

4 I thought, "The people of Jerusalem are foolish. They don't know how the LORD wants them to live. They don't know what their God requires of them.

5 So I will go to the leaders. I'll speak to them. They should know how the LORD wants them to live. They must know what their God requires of them." But all of them had broken off the yoke the LORD had put on them. They had torn off the ropes he had tied them up with.

6 So a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the desert will destroy them. A leopard will hide and wait near their towns. It will tear to pieces anyone who dares to go out. Again and again they have refused to obey the Lord. They have turned away from him many times.

7 The LORD says, "Jerusalem, why should I forgive you? Your people have deserted me. They have taken their oaths in the names of gods that are not really gods at all. I supplied everything they needed. But they committed adultery. Large crowds went to the houses of prostitutes.