Jeremiah 5:12

12 They have spoken falsely of the LORD, and have said, 'He will do nothing; no evil will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine.

Jeremiah 5:12 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 5:12

They have belied the Lord, and said, it is not he
Or, "denied the Lord" ^F24, as some render the words, saying that there was no God; which, though they might not deliver in express words, yet inasmuch as they denied his providence, and disbelieved his word by his prophets, it was tacitly denying that there was a God, or that the Lord was God. The meaning of the phrase "not he" may be, he takes no notice of what is done by us; he does not concern himself with our affairs; nor has he given any such orders to our enemies, as above; nor said these things by the prophets which are pretended: neither shall evil come upon us;
they speak of: neither shall we see sword nor famine;
war and sieges, and famine, the consequence of them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 (hwhyb wvxkw) "egaverunt Dominum", V. L. Pagninus; "abnegant", Piscator; "abnegarunt Jehovam", Cocceius, Schmidt.

Jeremiah 5:12 In-Context

10 "Go up through her vine-rows and destroy, but make not a full end; strip away her branches, for they are not the LORD's.

11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly faithless to me, says the LORD.

12 They have spoken falsely of the LORD, and have said, 'He will do nothing; no evil will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine.

13 The prophets will become wind; the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them!'"

14 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts: "Because they have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall devour them.