Ch. Jeremiah 5:1-31. Jerusalem is ripe for judgement

We may summarize the contents as follows:

Jeremiah 5:1-9. Even one righteous man would procure forgiveness. But moral obliquity and obstinacy in sin are universal among the enlightened no less than the ignorant. Retribution cannot but be the result.

Jeremiah 5:10-19. The people have refused to credit the forecasts of the true prophets. Therefore shall city and country alike be laid waste by a mighty nation of unknown tongue. Israel has chosen to serve foreign gods at home. Now she shall be compelled to serve foreign masters in exile.

Jeremiah 5:20-29. They fear not Jehovah, who is absolute in His control of nature’s forces, whether beneficent or destructive. By craft, like that of the fowler, who fills his cage with trapped birds, rich men lay up wealth at the expense of the needy and the orphan. Divine vengeance must ensue.

Jeremiah 5:30-31. Prophets teach falsely, and support priestly rule. The people welcome this state of things. What shall the end be?

1. Run ye to and fro] The prophet challenges his hearers to find a single righteous man by a thorough and extensive search. Cp. Genesis 18:23-33. The little good that was left in the land was driven out of sight by the prevailing wickedness, and exercised no appreciable effect upon it.

broad places] the market-places and other chief places of resort.

truth] mg. faithfulness, and so in Jeremiah 5:3; by no means confined to truth in words. The word is the same as that rendered “faithfully,” e.g. 2 Kings 12:15; 2 Kings 22:7. Jeremiah lays special stress on this quality, which with him “unites in itself faithfulness towards God (constancy), towards man (integrity), towards oneself (genuineness),” Co. Cp. Hosea 4:1.

2. Though, as professed servants of Jehovah, they take the most solemn form of oath, yet they use it to give weight to a lie. Cp. Isaiah 48:1.

surely] This rendering is obtained by the change of one letter in MT., which has “therefore” in defiance of the sense.

3. do not thine eyes look upon, etc.] Dost thou not look for faithfulness in men?

they have made their faces harder than a rock] Cp. Ezekiel 3:7 ff.

4. The prophet thinks, Surely it is poverty and ignorance that mislead them. Cp. Hosea 4:6.

the way of the Lord] the way prescribed by God to man.

judgement] primarily a decision given by a judge, and hence an ordinance, or a prescribed system of ordinances (so in Jeremiah 8:7). See Dr. pp. 334 f. and cp. note on Jeremiah 10:24. The sense here is well illustrated by 2 Kings 17:26 f., where, however, “manner” in E. VV. is an inadequate rendering.

5. they know] As experts they have leisure to study the Law, and to learn therefrom the will of God.

broken the yoke, and burst the bands] of the Law and of obedience. The bands are the fastenings of the yoke upon the neck of the beasts that bear it.

For the phrase cp. Jeremiah 2:20. As oxen which have broken loose, and are straying, so have the rebellious leaders of the people cast off obedience and service.

This verse suggested images to Dante:

“A lion’s aspect, which appeared to me,

He seemed as if against me he were coming

With head uplifted, and with ravenous hunger,

So that it seemed the air was afraid of him;

And a she-wolf, that with all hungerings

Seemed to be laden in her meagreness,

And many folk has caused to live forlorn!”

Inferno, Canto I. ll. 45–51. Longfellow’s Trans.

6. For the danger from actual wild beasts in Palestine cp. 1 Samuel 17:34; 1 Kings 13:24; 1 Kings 20:36. Here the description “spoiling,” “watching over” (i.e. lying in wait) shews that the passage is metaphorical. Cp. Jeremiah 4:7.

evenings] deserts, as mg., thus preserving the parallelism with “forest.” The mistake arose from the similarity of the two words in Hebrew.

leopard] panther.

watch over] Cp. Hosea 13:7.

7. If the MT. be right, the transition to Jehovah’s words is an abrupt one. Du., however, considers that an abbreviation of the common formula “Thus saith Jehovah” was misunderstood and so brought about a corruption of the text. He would accordingly restore thus: How can I pardon them, saith the Lord; they have, etc.

I had fed them to the full] not as mg. made them swear, meaning, had bound them to me by oath. They had made use of their prosperity only as facilitating and inciting to sin. Cp. Deuteronomy 32:15.

The last part of the verse may be understood to include the sense of faithlessness to their Divine Spouse, but Jeremiah 5:8 seems clearly to indicate a reference to the impure rites which accompanied idolatry.

assembled themselves in troops] The verb in MT. suggests bands of marauders (cp. e.g. 2 Kings 5:2). As this is an unsuitable sense here, it is better (with LXX) to read by a slight alteration in the Hebrew (where d and r are very similar letters), made themselves sojourners (yithgorâru for yithgodâdu).

8. The Hebrew of the first clause is obscure. The reading “fed horses,” which is to be preferred, represents the consonants of MT. (K’thibh), though the verb which they form is found elsewhere only in cognate languages (meaning to feed). The mg. of MT. (Ḳ’ri) is of uncertain signification, but probably is from a root giving a sense equivalent to the word dealt with in the next note.

in the morning] Hebrew grammar forbids this rendering, while mg. roaming at large connects it with a root from which it cannot, strictly speaking, be drawn. It is best, with a slight change in MT., to take it as meaning stallions. See Dr. p. 345.

10. Judah is likened to a vineyard. So in Jeremiah 12:10; Isaiah 5:1 ff.

her walls] This sense for the MT. as here vocalised is very questionable. It is best, changing one vowel, to take the meaning to be vinerows (as probably in Job 24:11). So Du., though Co. makes it to denote the walls protecting the vineyards, and Gi. (in spite of the metaphor of the context) the walls of Jerusalem.

make not a full end] See on Jeremiah 4:27.

branches] tendrils, so as to keep up the figure of the vine. Cp. Isaiah 18:5.

10–19. See summary at beginning of section.

12. It is not he] lit. not he! probably corresponding to our own colloquial expression, and used as a rejoinder by those who refused to credit prophetic warnings of disaster. Cp. Zephaniah 1:12.

13. and the prophets shall become wind] the rejoinder continued. As the word is generally used in Jeremiah of the false prophets, Gi. takes it in that sense here, but he is obliged for that purpose to transpose Jeremiah 5:13-14 and attribute the words to God.

shall it] rather, may it. “The Lord do so to you also,” is the people’s imprecation on the prophets who rebuke them. Codex A (Alexandrian) of LXX omits the words, but this may have been done by the translators themselves or by a copyist, as thinking it too much to the national discredit that a formula of cursing should have been used towards the prophets. The metre of the v. is, however, the better for their absence, and, as Co. says, they may well have been added as a gloss, under the erroneous impression that the reference was to false prophets. Du., for metrical reasons, transfers the clause to Jeremiah 5:14, and places it in Jehovah’s mouth, inserting it after “this word.”

14. “Ye” (the people)—“thy” (Jeremiah’s). Cp. Jeremiah 23:39.

15. Although the description suits the Babylonians (cp. Isaiah 5:26 of the Assyrians; also Isaiah 28:11; Isaiah 33:19), we need not suppose that it is altered in phraseology from its original application which was doubtless to the Scythians (see Intr. i. § 3). “Jeremiah may well have thought of the Scythians as a primaeval people like the Nephilim.” Pe.

The LXX shew a considerable amount of omission and variation as compared with MT., but there is hardly sufficient ground for doubting the trustworthiness of the latter.

mighty] The word in MT. is primarily used of a stream which flows continuously. Hence, mg. enduring, imperishable. Cp. Amos 5:24 mg. “overflowing.”

whose language thou knowest not] Cp. Deuteronomy 28:49. Appeals for mercy would be fruitless when made in a tongue not understood by the stranger.

16. Their quiver is an open sepulchre] Their arrows are deadly. Cp. Psalm 5:9.

Their quiver] Cp. Jeremiah 4:29 (“bowmen”).

17. which thy sons and thy daughters should eat] This is the rendering which the Heb. on the whole suggests, though the meaning may be, they shall eat thy sons and thy daughters. Seeing, however, that cannibalism is not to be attributed to the Scythians, it is probable that the clause is either metaphorical (cp. Jeremiah 3:24) or has been inserted through the influence of the closely connected passage, Deuteronomy 28:49-53, where, however, it is the besieged who are driven to this resort.

shall beat down] not, as mg. impoverish.

18. Du. for metre and style excludes the whole remainder of the ch. from Jeremiah’s authorship. Without such drastic treatment of the text, we may yet hesitate to accept this v. as it seems an unwarranted interruption of the sequence of thought. See on Jeremiah 4:27.

19. The punishment was to be severe, because the wickedness which had called it forth was gross.

in a land that is not yours] Referring to the approach of exile, and therefore belonging to the time of the Roll (b.c. 604). Cp. Jeremiah 16:10-13, Jeremiah 22:8 f.; Deuteronomy 29:24 ff.; 1 Kings 9:8 f.

20–22. These vv. are in whole or in part rejected as a later addition by Stade, Du., Co., Gi., because (i) “declare” and “publish” are in the plural, which is unusual (but see Jeremiah 4:16); (ii) the illustration of Jehovah’s greatness by the phenomena of nature belongs to the later period, cp. Job 38:8-11 (but see Amos 4:13; Amos 5:8; Amos 9:6); (iii) they resemble the suspicious passages Jeremiah 31:35 ff., Jeremiah 32:17 ff.; (iv) there is a needless embellishment of style. These reasons, however, seem insufficient to warrant the rejection of the whole. Moreover (unless we accept Du.’s view, see note on Jeremiah 5:18), to omit them, and thus join Jeremiah 5:23 immediately to Jeremiah 5:19, involves injury to the sequence of thought. This is obviated by the retention of the first part of Jeremiah 5:21, and of Jeremiah 5:22 to “my presence.” So Co. Jeremiah 5:20 is in any case probably an addition, as there is no parallel in Jeremiah for this kind of introduction to an utterance.

20–29. See summary at beginning of section.

21. understanding] mg. Heb. heart, which was considered as the seat of intelligence. See Jeremiah 24:7 (“an heart to know me”); Hosea 7:11 (mg.).

22. In MT. “the waves” belongs to the next clause. No subject is supplied to “toss themselves,” but Jeremiah 46:7 f. suggests that the waters thereof (which form one word in Hebrew) should be supplied as accidentally omitted.

23. The people are rebellious, even as inanimate nature sometimes is. But Jehovah can control both.

24. God’s grace as shewn in nature illustrated. As the people refused to fear Him in consideration of His power (Jeremiah 5:22), so neither does His bounty prevail with them.

rain, both the former and the latter] Cp. Jeremiah 3:3. The former (= early) rain was between October and December, the latter fell in March and April.

25. these things] the blessings mentioned. For the thought cp. Amos 4:6 ff.

26. are found wicked men] men of such great wickedness as to infect all.

set a trap] lit. a destroyer. For an illustration of a bird-trap see on Amos 3:5 (C.B.). These men stealthily attack the poor and honest. Cp. Isaiah 29:21; Micah 7:2.

they catch men] They by their wiles do as Nimrod is supposed by ancient commentators to have done by force. The Targ. on Genesis 10:9 speaks of him as “a hunter of the sons of men.”

27. cage] The Hebrew word occurs elsewhere only in Amos (Jeremiah 8:1), “a basket of summer fruit.” Here, however, Cheyne (Pulpit Comm., ad loc.), quoting Hitzig, thinks that “the cage was at the same time a trap.” He quotes Sir 11:30 (see note in C.B.), “As a decoy partridge in a cage,” where the Greek word used is that with which LXX render “baskets” in Jeremiah 6:9.

deceit] riches won by craft, as birds by the fowler.

28. waxen fat] Fatness was looked on as a mark of prosperity. Cp. Deuteronomy 32:15; Psalm 92:14; Proverbs 28:25.

shine] referring to their sleekness of skin.

that they should prosper] i.e. that the orphans by their help may receive succour.

29. The refrain taken up again from Jeremiah 5:9.

30. wonderful] appalling. The word properly means desolation, destruction.

30, 31. See introd. summary to section. Leaders and people unite in disaffection.

31. “When Amos and Isaiah attacked the priesthood of Judah, they still felt that there remained the Prophets on whom the nation could fall back. But when Jeremiah mourned for Israel, he felt that there was no reserve in Judah. And when the Priesthood closed in hostile array around him, he felt that, as far as Jerusalem was concerned, the Prophets were no supporters.” (Stanley, J. Ch., II. 441.)

bear rule] possibly, reading a somewhat similar verbal form from the root whence Torah comes, teach, this being an important function of the priests. Cp. Jeremiah 13:18; Ezekiel 7:26; Haggai 2:11; Malachi 2:7. Du.’s rendering (from a rare root of the same consonants, meaning to scrape), “put money into their pockets,” is hardly to be accepted.

by their means] as mg. at their hands, under their guidance, at their pleasure. So Gi. Cp. for this sense 1 Chronicles 25:3; 2 Chronicles 23:18; Ezra 3:10, “after the order of.”