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Selected Verse: Jeremiah 5:1 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Jer 5:1	Strong Concordance	Run ye to and fro [07751] through the streets [02351] of Jerusalem [03389], and see [07200] now, and know [03045], and seek [01245] in the broad places [07339] thereof, if ye can find [04672] a man [0376], if there be [03426] any that executeth [06213] judgment [04941], that seeketh [01245] the truth [0530]; and I will pardon [05545] it.
	King James	Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
THE CAUSE OF THE JUDGMENTS TO BE INFLICTED IS THE UNIVERSAL CORRUPTION OF THE PEOPLE. (Jer. 5:1-31) a man--As the pious Josiah, Baruch, and Zephaniah lived in Jerusalem at that time, Jeremiah must here mean the mass of the people, the king, his counsellors, the false prophets, and the priests, as distinguished from the faithful few, whom God had openly separated from the reprobate people; among the latter not even one just person was to be found (Isa 9:16) [CALVIN]; the godly, moreover, were forbidden to intercede for them (Jer 7:16; compare Gen 18:23, &c.; Psa 12:1; Eze 22:30). see . . . know--look . . . ascertain. judgment--justice, righteousness. pardon it--rather, her.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

THE CAUSE OF THE JUDGMENTS TO BE INFLICTED IS THE UNIVERSAL CORRUPTION OF THE PEOPLE. (Jer. 5:1-31)

a man--As the pious Josiah, Baruch, and Zephaniah lived in Jerusalem at that time, Jeremiah must here mean the mass of the people, the king, his counsellors, the false prophets, and the priests, as distinguished from the faithful few, whom God had openly separated from the reprobate people; among the latter not even one just person was to be found (Isa 9:16) [CALVIN]; the godly, moreover, were forbidden to intercede for them (Jer 7:16; compare Gen 18:23, &c.; Psa 12:1; Eze 22:30).

see . . . know--look . . . ascertain.

judgment--justice, righteousness.

pardon it--rather, her.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
The broad places - The open spaces next the gates, and other places of concourse. A man - Or, anyone. That executeth - "That" practiceth. Truth - uprightness, probity (so in Jer 5:3).

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The Causes which Called Down the Judgment Pronounced: The Total Corruption of the People. - Chr. B. Mich. has excellently summed up thus the contents of this chapter: Deus judicia sua, quae cap. IV praedixerat, justificat ostendens, se quamvis invitum, tamen non aliter posse quam punire Judaeos propter praefractam ipsorum malitiam. The train of thought in this chapter is the following: God would pardon if there were to be found in Jerusalem but one who practised righteousness and strove to keep good faith; but high and low have forsaken God and His law, and serve the false gods. This the Lord must punish (Jer 5:1-9). Judah, like Israel, disowns the Lord, and despises the words of His prophets; therefore the Lord must affirm His word by deeds of judgment (Jer 5:10-18). Because they serve the gods of strangers, He will throw them into bondage to strange peoples, that they may learn to fear Him as the Almighty God and Lord of the world, who withholds His benefits from them because their sins keep them far from Him (Jer 5:19-25); for wickedness and crime have acquired a frightful predominance (Jer 5:26-31). Jer 5:1-2 By reason of the universal godlessness and moral corruption the Lord cannot pardon. - Jer 5:1. "Range through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek upon her thoroughfares, if ye find any, if any doth judgment, seeketh after faithfulness, and I will pardon her. Jer 5:2. And if they say, 'As Jahveh liveth,' then in this they swear falsely. Jer 5:3. Jahveh, are not Thine yes upon faithfulness? Thou smitest them, an they are not pained; thou consumest them, they will take no correction; they make their face harder than rock, they will not turn. Jer 5:4. And I thought, It is but the baser sort, they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jahveh, the judgment of their God. Jer 5:5. I will get me then to the great, and will speak with them, for they know the way of Jahveh, the judgment of their God; yet together have they broken the yoke, burst the bonds. Jer 5:6. Therefore a lion out of the wood smiteth them, a wolf of the deserts spoileth them, a leopard lieth in wait against their cities: every one that goeth out thence is torn in pieces; because many are their transgressions, many their backslidings. Jer 5:7. Wherefore should I pardon thee? thy sons have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods. I caused them to sear, but they committed adultery, and crowd into the house of the harlot. Jer 5:8. Like well-fed horses, they are roaming about; each neigheth after the other's wife. Jer 5:9. Shall I not punish this? saith Jahveh; or shall not my soul be avenged on such a people as this?" The thought of Jer 5:1, that in Jerusalem there is not to be found one solitary soul who concerns himself about uprightness and sincerity, does not, though rhetorically expressed, contain any rhetorical hyperbole or exaggeration such as may have arisen from the prophet's righteous indignation, or have been inferred from the severity of the expected judgment (Hitz.); it gives but the simple truth, as is seen when we consider that it is not Jeremiah who speaks according to the best of his judgment, but God, the searcher of hearts. Before the all-seeing eye of God no man is pure and good. They are all gone astray, and there is none that doeth good, Psa 14:2-3. And if anywhere the fear of God is the ruling principle, yet when the look falls on the mighty hosts of the wicked, even the human eye loses sight of the small company of the godly, since they are in no case to exert an influence on the moral standing of the whole mass. "If ye find any" is defined by, "if there is a worker of right;" and the doing of right or judgment is made more complete by "that seeketh faithfulness," the doing of right or judgment is made more complete by "that seeketh faithfulness," the doing being given as the outcome of the disposition. אמוּנה is not truth (אמת), but sincerity and good faith. On this state of affairs, cf. Hos 4:1; Mic 7:2; Isa 64:5. The pledge that God would pardon Jerusalem if He found but one righteous man in it, recalls Abraham's dealing with God on behalf of Sodom, Gen 18:23. In support of what has been said, it is added in Jer 5:2, that they even abuse God's name for lying purposes; cf. Lev 19:12. Making oath by the life of Jahveh is not looked on here as a confession of faith in the Lord, giving thus as the sense, that even their worship of God was but the work of the lips, not of the heart (Ros.); but the solemn appeal to the living God for the purpose of setting the impress of truth on the face of a life, is brought forward as evidence that there is none that strives after sincerity. the antithesis forced in here by Hitz. and Graf is foreign to text and context both, viz., that between swearing by Jahveh and by the false gods, or any other indifferent name. The emphasis lies on swearing לשׁקר, as opposed to swearing in the way demanded by God, בּאמת וּבמשׁפּט וּבצדקה, Jer 4:2. לכן, therein, i.e., yet even in this, or nevertheless. Jer 5:3 The eye of the Lord is directed towards faithfulness, which is not to be found in Jerusalem (Jer 5:1), ל showing the direction toward person or thing, as in Psa 33:18, where ל alternates with אל. Hitz. is wrong in translating: are not thine eyes faithful, i.e., directed according to faithfulness; a sense quite unsuitable here, since the matter in hand is not the character or direction of the eye of God, but that on which God looks. But because God desired sincerity, and there was none in the people of Jerusalem, He has smitten them, chastised them, but they felt no pain (חלוּ from חלה, the tone being drawn back by reason of the '); the chastisement made no impression. Thou consumedst them, exterminatedst them, i.e., "Thou hast utterly exterminated multitudes and swarms of them" (Hitz.), but they refused to receive correction; cf. Jer 2:30. They made their face harder than rock, i.e., hardened themselves by obstinately setting the divine chastisements at naught; cf. Eze 3:7-8. Jer 5:4-5 This total want of good faith and uprightness is found not only in the lower orders of the populace, amongst the mean and ignorant rabble, but in the higher ranks of the educated. This is rhetorically put in this shape, that Jeremiah, believing that only the common people are so deeply sunk in immorality, turns to the great to speak to them, and amongst them discovers a thorough-going renunciation of the law of God. דּלּים, weak, are the mean and poor of the people, who live from hand to mouth in rudeness and ignorance, their anxieties bent on food and clothing (cf. Jer 39:10; Jer 40:7). These do foolishly (נואלוּ as in Num 12:11), from want of religious training. They know not the way of Jahveh, i.e., the way, the manner of life, prescribed to men by God in His word; cf. Kg2 21:22; Psa 25:9, etc. The judgment of their God, i.e., that which God demanded as right and lawful, Kg2 17:26, etc. The great, i.e., the wealthy, distinguished, and educated. Yet even these have broken the yoke of the law, i.e., have emancipated themselves from obedience to the law (Hitz.); cf. Jer 2:20. Therefore they must be visited with punishment. Jer 5:6-8 This verse is neither a threatening of future punishments, nor is to be taken figuratively (lion, bear, leopard, as figures for dreadful enemies). The change from the perf. הכּם to the imperf. ישׁדדם and יטּרף tells against the future construction, showing as it does that the verbs are used aoristically of chastisements which have partly already taken place, which may be partly yet to come. And the figurative explanation of the beasts of prey by hostile peoples - found so early as the Chald. - is not in the least called for by the text; nor is it easy to reconcile it with the specification of various kinds of wild beasts. The words are a case of the threatening of the law in Lev 26:22, that God will chasten the transgressors of His law by sending beasts of prey which shall rob them of their children. Cf. with the promise, that if they keep His commandments, He will destroy the wild beasts out of the land. Cf. also the fact given in Kg2 17:25, that God sent lions amongst the heathen colonists who had been transplanted into the depopulated kingdom of the ten tribes, lions which slew some of them, because they served not Jahveh. The true conception of the words is confirmed by Eze 14:15, when in like manner the sending of evil (ravening) beasts is mentioned as an example of God's punishments. הכּה, smite, is a standing expression for the lion's way of striking down his prey with his paws; cf. Kg1 20:36. זאב ערבות is not wolf of the evening, as Chald. Syr., Hitz. explain it, following Hab 1:8 and Zep 3:3; for ערבות is not the plural of ערב, but of ערבה, steppe: the wolf that lives in the steppe, and thence makes its raids on inhabited spots. The reference of the words to place is suggested plainly by the parallel, the lion out of the wood. The leopard (panther) watches, i.e., lies lurking in wait against their cities, to tear those that come out. The panther is wont to lie in wait for his prey, and to spring suddenly out on it; cf. Hos 13:7. With "because many are thy transgressions," cf. Jer 30:14. Since these chastisements have profited nothing God cannot pardon the people. This is the meaning of the question in Jer 5:7, אי לזאת, wherefore should I then pardon? not, should I then pardon for this? for אי by itself does not stand for ה interrog., but is set before the pronom. demonstr. to give it the force of an interrogative adjective; cf. Ew. 326, a. The Cheth. אסלוחest obsoletum adeoque genuinum (Ros.); the Keri substitutes the usual form. To justify the question with a negative answer implied, the people's fall into idolatry is again set up before it in strong colours. Thy sons (the sons of the daughter of Zion, i.e., of the national congregation, and so the individual members of the nation; cf. Lev 19:18) have forsaken me, and swear by them that are not gods, i.e., the idols; cf. Jer 2:11. For אשׁבּיע אותם, I caused them to swear, the old translators have אשׂבּיע , I filled them to the full, and so it is read in many codd. and edd. This reading is preferred by most of the ancient commentators, and they appeal for a parallel to Jer 5:28, and Deu 32:15 ("when Jeshurun waxed fat, he kicked"), Hos 13:6; Neh 9:25, etc., where apostasy from God is chidden as a consequence of superfluity of earthly goods. So Luther: "and now that I have filled them full, they committed adultery." Now possibly it is just the recollection of the passages cited that has suggested the reading אשׂביע. The apodosis, they committed adultery, forms no antithesis to filling full. Adultery presupposes a marriage vow, or troth plighted by an oath. God caused Israel to swear fidelity when He made the covenant with it at Sinai, Ex 24. This oath Israel repeated at each renewal of the covenant, and last under Josiah: Kg2 23:3; Ch2 34:31. Hence we must not wholly restrict the searing to the conclusion of the covenant at Sinai, nor wholly to the renewal of it under Josiah. We must refer it to both acts, or rather to the solemnity at Sinai, together with all solemn renewals of it in after times; while at the same time the reference to the renewal under Josiah, this being still fresh in memory, may have been the foremost. We must not confine the reference of ינאפוּ to spiritual adultery (= a fall away from Jahveh into idolatry); the context, especially the next clause, and yet more unmistakeably Jer 5:8, refers to carnal uncleanness. This too was a breach of the covenant, since in taking it the people bound itself not only to be faithful to God, but to keep and follow all the laws of His covenant. That the words, crowd into the house of the harlot, i.e., go thither in crowds, are to be taken of carnal uncleanness, may be gathered from Jer 5:8: each neighs after the wife of his neighbour. Fornication is denounced as a desecration of the name of the Lord in Amo 2:7. The first clause of Jer 5:8 suggests a comparison: well-fed horses are they, i.e., they resemble such. On the lechery of horses, see on Eze 23:20. The Cheth. מוזנים is partic. Hoph. of זוּן, in Aram. feed, fatten, here most suitable. The Keri מיזנים would be the partic. Pu. from יזן, the meaning of which is doubtful, given arbitrarily by Kimchi and others as armati sc. membro genitali. משׁכּים, too, is derived from משׁך, and given by Jerome sensu obscaeno: trahentes sc. genitalia; but משׁכּים cannot come from משׁך, משׁכּים being the only possible form in that case. Nor does trahentes, "draught-horses" (Hitz.), give a sense at all in point for the comparison. A better view is that of those who follow Simonis, in holding it to be partic. Hiph. of שׁכה, in Aethiop. oberravit, vagatus est. The participle is not to be joined with "horses" as a second qualifying word, but to be taken with היוּ, the periphrastic form being chosen to indicate the enduring chronic character of the roaming. Jer 5:9 Such abandoned behaviour the Lord must punish.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

The Causes which Called Down the Judgment Pronounced: The Total Corruption of the People. - Chr. B. Mich. has excellently summed up thus the contents of this chapter: Deus judicia sua, quae cap. IV praedixerat, justificat ostendens, se quamvis invitum, tamen non aliter posse quam punire Judaeos propter praefractam ipsorum malitiam. The train of thought in this chapter is the following: God would pardon if there were to be found in Jerusalem but one who practised righteousness and strove to keep good faith; but high and low have forsaken God and His law, and serve the false gods. This the Lord must punish (Jer 5:1-9). Judah, like Israel, disowns the Lord, and despises the words of His prophets; therefore the Lord must affirm His word by deeds of judgment (Jer 5:10-18). Because they serve the gods of strangers, He will throw them into bondage to strange peoples, that they may learn to fear Him as the Almighty God and Lord of the world, who withholds His benefits from them because their sins keep them far from Him (Jer 5:19-25); for wickedness and crime have acquired a frightful predominance (Jer 5:26-31).

Jer 5:1-2

By reason of the universal godlessness and moral corruption the Lord cannot pardon. - Jer 5:1. "Range through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek upon her thoroughfares, if ye find any, if any doth judgment, seeketh after faithfulness, and I will pardon her. Jer 5:2. And if they say, 'As Jahveh liveth,' then in this they swear falsely. Jer 5:3. Jahveh, are not Thine yes upon faithfulness? Thou smitest them, an they are not pained; thou consumest them, they will take no correction; they make their face harder than rock, they will not turn. Jer 5:4. And I thought, It is but the baser sort, they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jahveh, the judgment of their God. Jer 5:5. I will get me then to the great, and will speak with them, for they know the way of Jahveh, the judgment of their God; yet together have they broken the yoke, burst the bonds. Jer 5:6. Therefore a lion out of the wood smiteth them, a wolf of the deserts spoileth them, a leopard lieth in wait against their cities: every one that goeth out thence is torn in pieces; because many are their transgressions, many their backslidings. Jer 5:7. Wherefore should I pardon thee? thy sons have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods. I caused them to sear, but they committed adultery, and crowd into the house of the harlot. Jer 5:8. Like well-fed horses, they are roaming about; each neigheth after the other's wife. Jer 5:9. Shall I not punish this? saith Jahveh; or shall not my soul be avenged on such a people as this?"

The thought of Jer 5:1, that in Jerusalem there is not to be found one solitary soul who concerns himself about uprightness and sincerity, does not, though rhetorically expressed, contain any rhetorical hyperbole or exaggeration such as may have arisen from the prophet's righteous indignation, or have been inferred from the severity of the expected judgment (Hitz.); it gives but the simple truth, as is seen when we consider that it is not Jeremiah who speaks according to the best of his judgment, but God, the searcher of hearts. Before the all-seeing eye of God no man is pure and good. They are all gone astray, and there is none that doeth good, Psa 14:2-3. And if anywhere the fear of God is the ruling principle, yet when the look falls on the mighty hosts of the wicked, even the human eye loses sight of the small company of the godly, since they are in no case to exert an influence on the moral standing of the whole mass. "If ye find any" is defined by, "if there is a worker of right;" and the doing of right or judgment is made more complete by "that seeketh faithfulness," the doing of right or judgment is made more complete by "that seeketh faithfulness," the doing being given as the outcome of the disposition. אמוּנה is not truth (אמת), but sincerity and good faith. On this state of affairs, cf. Hos 4:1; Mic 7:2; Isa 64:5. The pledge that God would pardon Jerusalem if He found but one righteous man in it, recalls Abraham's dealing with God on behalf of Sodom, Gen 18:23. In support of what has been said, it is added in Jer 5:2, that they even abuse God's name for lying purposes; cf. Lev 19:12. Making oath by the life of Jahveh is not looked on here as a confession of faith in the Lord, giving thus as the sense, that even their worship of God was but the work of the lips, not of the heart (Ros.); but the solemn appeal to the living God for the purpose of setting the impress of truth on the face of a life, is brought forward as evidence that there is none that strives after sincerity. the antithesis forced in here by Hitz. and Graf is foreign to text and context both, viz., that between swearing by Jahveh and by the false gods, or any other indifferent name. The emphasis lies on swearing לשׁקר, as opposed to swearing in the way demanded by God, בּאמת וּבמשׁפּט וּבצדקה, Jer 4:2. לכן, therein, i.e., yet even in this, or nevertheless.

Jer 5:3

The eye of the Lord is directed towards faithfulness, which is not to be found in Jerusalem (Jer 5:1), ל showing the direction toward person or thing, as in Psa 33:18, where ל alternates with אל. Hitz. is wrong in translating: are not thine eyes faithful, i.e., directed according to faithfulness; a sense quite unsuitable here, since the matter in hand is not the character or direction of the eye of God, but that on which God looks. But because God desired sincerity, and there was none in the people of Jerusalem, He has smitten them, chastised them, but they felt no pain (חלוּ from חלה, the tone being drawn back by reason of the '); the chastisement made no impression. Thou consumedst them, exterminatedst them, i.e., "Thou hast utterly exterminated multitudes and swarms of them" (Hitz.), but they refused to receive correction; cf. Jer 2:30. They made their face harder than rock, i.e., hardened themselves by obstinately setting the divine chastisements at naught; cf. Eze 3:7-8.

Jer 5:4-5

This total want of good faith and uprightness is found not only in the lower orders of the populace, amongst the mean and ignorant rabble, but in the higher ranks of the educated. This is rhetorically put in this shape, that Jeremiah, believing that only the common people are so deeply sunk in immorality, turns to the great to speak to them, and amongst them discovers a thorough-going renunciation of the law of God. דּלּים, weak, are the mean and poor of the people, who live from hand to mouth in rudeness and ignorance, their anxieties bent on food and clothing (cf. Jer 39:10; Jer 40:7). These do foolishly (נואלוּ as in Num 12:11), from want of religious training. They know not the way of Jahveh, i.e., the way, the manner of life, prescribed to men by God in His word; cf. Kg2 21:22; Psa 25:9, etc. The judgment of their God, i.e., that which God demanded as right and lawful, Kg2 17:26, etc. The great, i.e., the wealthy, distinguished, and educated. Yet even these have broken the yoke of the law, i.e., have emancipated themselves from obedience to the law (Hitz.); cf. Jer 2:20. Therefore they must be visited with punishment.

Jer 5:6-8

This verse is neither a threatening of future punishments, nor is to be taken figuratively (lion, bear, leopard, as figures for dreadful enemies). The change from the perf. הכּם to the imperf. ישׁדדם and יטּרף tells against the future construction, showing as it does that the verbs are used aoristically of chastisements which have partly already taken place, which may be partly yet to come. And the figurative explanation of the beasts of prey by hostile peoples - found so early as the Chald. - is not in the least called for by the text; nor is it easy to reconcile it with the specification of various kinds of wild beasts. The words are a case of the threatening of the law in Lev 26:22, that God will chasten the transgressors of His law by sending beasts of prey which shall rob them of their children. Cf. with the promise, that if they keep His commandments, He will destroy the wild beasts out of the land. Cf. also the fact given in Kg2 17:25, that God sent lions amongst the heathen colonists who had been transplanted into the depopulated kingdom of the ten tribes, lions which slew some of them, because they served not Jahveh. The true conception of the words is confirmed by Eze 14:15, when in like manner the sending of evil (ravening) beasts is mentioned as an example of God's punishments. הכּה, smite, is a standing expression for the lion's way of striking down his prey with his paws; cf. Kg1 20:36. זאב ערבות is not wolf of the evening, as Chald. Syr., Hitz. explain it, following Hab 1:8 and Zep 3:3; for ערבות is not the plural of ערב, but of ערבה, steppe: the wolf that lives in the steppe, and thence makes its raids on inhabited spots. The reference of the words to place is suggested plainly by the parallel, the lion out of the wood. The leopard (panther) watches, i.e., lies lurking in wait against their cities, to tear those that come out. The panther is wont to lie in wait for his prey, and to spring suddenly out on it; cf. Hos 13:7. With "because many are thy transgressions," cf. Jer 30:14.

Since these chastisements have profited nothing God cannot pardon the people. This is the meaning of the question in Jer 5:7, אי לזאת, wherefore should I then pardon? not, should I then pardon for this? for אי by itself does not stand for ה interrog., but is set before the pronom. demonstr. to give it the force of an interrogative adjective; cf. Ew. 326, a. The Cheth. אסלוחest obsoletum adeoque genuinum (Ros.); the Keri substitutes the usual form. To justify the question with a negative answer implied, the people's fall into idolatry is again set up before it in strong colours. Thy sons (the sons of the daughter of Zion, i.e., of the national congregation, and so the individual members of the nation; cf. Lev 19:18) have forsaken me, and swear by them that are not gods, i.e., the idols; cf. Jer 2:11. For אשׁבּיע אותם, I caused them to swear, the old translators have אשׂבּיע , I filled them to the full, and so it is read in many codd. and edd. This reading is preferred by most of the ancient commentators, and they appeal for a parallel to Jer 5:28, and Deu 32:15 ("when Jeshurun waxed fat, he kicked"), Hos 13:6; Neh 9:25, etc., where apostasy from God is chidden as a consequence of superfluity of earthly goods. So Luther: "and now that I have filled them full, they committed adultery." Now possibly it is just the recollection of the passages cited that has suggested the reading אשׂביע. The apodosis, they committed adultery, forms no antithesis to filling full. Adultery presupposes a marriage vow, or troth plighted by an oath. God caused Israel to swear fidelity when He made the covenant with it at Sinai, Ex 24. This oath Israel repeated at each renewal of the covenant, and last under Josiah: Kg2 23:3; Ch2 34:31. Hence we must not wholly restrict the searing to the conclusion of the covenant at Sinai, nor wholly to the renewal of it under Josiah. We must refer it to both acts, or rather to the solemnity at Sinai, together with all solemn renewals of it in after times; while at the same time the reference to the renewal under Josiah, this being still fresh in memory, may have been the foremost. We must not confine the reference of ינאפוּ to spiritual adultery (= a fall away from Jahveh into idolatry); the context, especially the next clause, and yet more unmistakeably Jer 5:8, refers to carnal uncleanness. This too was a breach of the covenant, since in taking it the people bound itself not only to be faithful to God, but to keep and follow all the laws of His covenant. That the words, crowd into the house of the harlot, i.e., go thither in crowds, are to be taken of carnal uncleanness, may be gathered from Jer 5:8: each neighs after the wife of his neighbour. Fornication is denounced as a desecration of the name of the Lord in Amo 2:7. The first clause of Jer 5:8 suggests a comparison: well-fed horses are they, i.e., they resemble such. On the lechery of horses, see on Eze 23:20. The Cheth. מוזנים is partic. Hoph. of זוּן, in Aram. feed, fatten, here most suitable. The Keri מיזנים would be the partic. Pu. from יזן, the meaning of which is doubtful, given arbitrarily by Kimchi and others as armati sc. membro genitali. משׁכּים, too, is derived from משׁך, and given by Jerome sensu obscaeno: trahentes sc. genitalia; but משׁכּים cannot come from משׁך, משׁכּים being the only possible form in that case. Nor does trahentes, "draught-horses" (Hitz.), give a sense at all in point for the comparison. A better view is that of those who follow Simonis, in holding it to be partic. Hiph. of שׁכה, in Aethiop. oberravit, vagatus est. The participle is not to be joined with "horses" as a second qualifying word, but to be taken with היוּ, the periphrastic form being chosen to indicate the enduring chronic character of the roaming.

Jer 5:9

Such abandoned behaviour the Lord must punish.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Run - God gives leave to all the earth to look into the state of Jerusalem, by which he vindicates himself in the face of the whole world from all severity towards his people, whatever he brings upon them. In the broad places - Even there, where men meet from all quarters. A man - It seems worse than Sodom and Gomorrah, for God condescends to pardon Jerusalem, if there be but one righteous man found in it; there he came no lower than ten. A man might walk the streets of Jerusalem long enough before he could meet with any one truly religious. Executeth - Among the magistracy. Seeketh - Among the commonalty, that deal faithfully and uprightly.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Broad places - Market-places, and those where there was most public resort. If ye can find a man - A certain philosopher went through the streets of Athens with a lighted lamp in his hand; and being asked what he sought, answered, "I am seeking to find a Man." So in Jerusalem none was found, on the most diligent search, who acted worthy the character of a rational being. I will pardon it - I will spare the city for the sake of one righteous person. So at the intercession of Abraham, God would have spared Sodom if there had been ten righteous persons found in it; Gen 18:26.

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³⁰ And I sought [01245] for a man [0376] among them, that should make up [01443] the hedge [01447], and stand [05975] in the gap [06556] before [06440] me for the land [0776], that I should not destroy [07843] it: but I found [04672] none.

¹ To the chief Musician [05329] upon Sheminith [08067], A Psalm [04210] of David [01732]. Help [03467], LORD [03068]; for the godly man [02623] ceaseth [01584]; for the faithful [0539] fail [06461] from among the children [01121] of men [0120].

²³ And Abraham [085] drew near [05066], and said [0559], Wilt thou also destroy [05595] the righteous [06662] with [05973] the wicked [07563]?

¹⁶ Therefore pray [06419] not thou for this people [05971], neither lift up [05375] cry [07440] nor prayer [08605] for them [01157], neither make intercession [06293] to me: for I will not hear [08085] thee.

¹⁶ For the leaders [0833] of this people [05971] cause them to err [08582]; and they that are led [0833] of them are destroyed [01104].

³ O LORD [03068], are not thine eyes [05869] upon the truth [0530]? thou hast stricken [05221] them, but they have not grieved [02342]; thou hast consumed [03615] them, but they have refused [03985] to receive [03947] correction [04148]: they have made their faces [06440] harder [02388] than a rock [05553]; they have refused [03985] to return [07725].

⁹ Shall I not visit [06485] for these things? saith [05002] the LORD [03068]: and shall not my soul [05315] be avenged [05358] on such a nation [01471] as this?

²⁰ For she doted [05689] upon their paramours [06370], whose flesh [01320] is as the flesh [01320] of asses [02543], and whose issue [02231] is like the issue [02231] of horses [05483].

⁸ They were as fed [02109] horses [05483] in the morning [07904]: every one [0376] neighed [06670] after his neighbour's [07453] wife [0802].

⁷ That pant [07602] after the dust [06083] of the earth [0776] on the head [07218] of the poor [01800], and turn aside [05186] the way [01870] of the meek [06035]: and a man [0376] and his father [01] will go [03212] in unto the same maid [05291], to profane [02490] my holy [06944] name [08034]:

⁸ They were as fed [02109] horses [05483] in the morning [07904]: every one [0376] neighed [06670] after his neighbour's [07453] wife [0802].

³¹ And the king [04428] stood [05975] in his place [05977], and made [03772] a covenant [01285] before [06440] the LORD [03068], to walk [03212] after [0310] the LORD [03068], and to keep [08104] his commandments [04687], and his testimonies [05715], and his statutes [02706], with all his heart [03824], and with all his soul [05315], to perform [06213] the words [01697] of the covenant [01285] which are written [03789] in this book [05612].

³ And the king [04428] stood [05975] by a pillar [05982], and made [03772] a covenant [01285] before [06440] the LORD [03068], to walk [03212] after [0310] the LORD [03068], and to keep [08104] his commandments [04687] and his testimonies [05715] and his statutes [02708] with all their heart [03820] and all their soul [05315], to perform [06965] the words [01697] of this covenant [01285] that were written [03789] in this book [05612]. And all the people [05971] stood [05975] to the covenant [01285].

²⁵ And they took [03920] strong [01219] cities [05892], and a fat [08082] land [0127], and possessed [03423] houses [01004] full [04392] of all goods [02898], wells [0953] digged [02672], vineyards [03754], and oliveyards [02132], and fruit [03978] trees [06086] in abundance [07230]: so they did eat [0398], and were filled [07646], and became fat [08080], and delighted [05727] themselves in thy great [01419] goodness [02898].

⁶ According to their pasture [04830], so were they filled [07646]; they were filled [07646], and their heart [03820] was exalted [07311]; therefore have they forgotten [07911] me.

¹⁵ But Jeshurun [03484] waxed fat [08080], and kicked [01163]: thou art waxen fat [08080], thou art grown thick [05666], thou art covered [03780] with fatness; then he forsook [05203] God [0433] which made [06213] him, and lightly esteemed [05034] the Rock [06697] of his salvation [03444].

²⁸ They are waxen fat [08080], they shine [06245]: yea, they overpass [05674] the deeds [01697] of the wicked [07451]: they judge [01777] not the cause [01779], the cause of the fatherless [03490], yet they prosper [06743]; and the right [04941] of the needy [034] do they not judge [08199].

¹¹ Hath a nation [01471] changed [03235] their gods [0430], which are yet no gods [0430]? but my people [05971] have changed [04171] their glory [03519] for that which doth not profit [03276].

¹⁸ Thou shalt not avenge [05358], nor bear any grudge [05201] against the children [01121] of thy people [05971], but thou shalt love [0157] thy neighbour [07453] as thyself [03644]: I am the LORD [03068].

⁷ How [0335] shall I pardon [05545] thee for this [02063]? thy children [01121] have forsaken [05800] me, and sworn [07650] by them that are no [03808] gods [0430]: when I had fed them to the full [07650], they then committed adultery [05003], and assembled themselves by troops [01413] in the harlots [02181] ' houses [01004].

¹⁴ All thy lovers [0157] have forgotten [07911] thee; they seek [01875] thee not; for I have wounded [05221] thee with the wound [04347] of an enemy [0341], with the chastisement [04148] of a cruel one [0394], for the multitude [07230] of thine iniquity [05771]; because thy sins [02403] were increased [06105].

⁷ Therefore I will be unto them as a lion [07826]: as a leopard [05246] by the way [01870] will I observe [07789] them:

³ Her princes [08269] within [07130] her are roaring [07580] lions [0738]; her judges [08199] are evening [06153] wolves [02061]; they gnaw not the bones [01633] till the morrow [01242].

⁸ Their horses [05483] also are swifter [07043] than the leopards [05246], and are more fierce [02300] than the evening [06153] wolves [02061]: and their horsemen [06571] shall spread [06335] themselves, and their horsemen [06571] shall come [0935] from far [07350]; they shall fly [05774] as the eagle [05404] that hasteth [02363] to eat [0398].

³⁶ Then said [0559] he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed [08085] the voice [06963] of the LORD [03068], behold, as soon as thou art departed [01980] from me, a lion [0738] shall slay [05221] thee. And as soon as he was departed [03212] from him [0681], a lion [0738] found [04672] him, and slew [05221] him.

¹⁵ If [03863] I cause noisome [07451] beasts [02416] to pass through [05674] the land [0776], and they spoil [07921] it, so that it be desolate [08077], that no man may pass through [05674] because [06440] of the beasts [02416]:

²⁵ And so it was at the beginning [08462] of their dwelling [03427] there, that they feared [03372] not the LORD [03068]: therefore the LORD [03068] sent [07971] lions [0738] among them, which slew [02026] some of them.

²² I will also send [07971] wild [07704] beasts [02416] among you, which shall rob you of your children [07921], and destroy [03772] your cattle [0929], and make you few in number [04591]; and your high ways [01870] shall be desolate [08074].

⁶ Wherefore a lion [0738] out of the forest [03293] shall slay [05221] them, and a wolf [02061] of the evenings [06160] shall spoil [07703] them, a leopard [05246] shall watch [08245] over their cities [05892]: every one that goeth out [03318] thence shall [02007] be torn in pieces [02963]: because their transgressions [06588] are many [07231], and their backslidings [04878] are increased [06105].
⁷ How [0335] shall I pardon [05545] thee for this [02063]? thy children [01121] have forsaken [05800] me, and sworn [07650] by them that are no [03808] gods [0430]: when I had fed them to the full [07650], they then committed adultery [05003], and assembled themselves by troops [01413] in the harlots [02181] ' houses [01004].
⁸ They were as fed [02109] horses [05483] in the morning [07904]: every one [0376] neighed [06670] after his neighbour's [07453] wife [0802].

²⁰ For of old time [05769] I have broken [07665] thy yoke [05923], and burst [05423] thy bands [04147]; and thou saidst [0559], I will not transgress [05674] [05647]; when upon every high [01364] hill [01389] and under every green [07488] tree [06086] thou wanderest [06808], playing the harlot [02181].

²⁶ Wherefore they spake [0559] to the king [04428] of Assyria [0804], saying [0559], The nations [01471] which thou hast removed [01540], and placed [03427] in the cities [05892] of Samaria [08111], know [03045] not the manner [04941] of the God [0430] of the land [0776]: therefore he hath sent [07971] lions [0738] among them, and, behold, they slay [04191] them, because they know [03045] not the manner [04941] of the God [0430] of the land [0776].

⁹ The meek [06035] will he guide [01869] in judgment [04941]: and the meek [06035] will he teach [03925] his way [01870].

²² And he forsook [05800] the LORD [03068] God [0430] of his fathers [01], and walked [01980] not in the way [01870] of the LORD [03068].

¹¹ And Aaron [0175] said [0559] unto Moses [04872], Alas [0994], my lord [0113], I beseech thee, lay [07896] not the sin [02403] upon us, wherein we have done foolishly [02973], and wherein we have sinned [02398].

⁷ Now when all the captains [08269] of the forces [02428] which were in the fields [07704], even they and their men [0582], heard [08085] that the king [04428] of Babylon [0894] had made Gedaliah [01436] the son [01121] of Ahikam [0296] governor [06485] in the land [0776], and had committed [06485] unto him men [0582], and women [0802], and children [02945], and of the poor [01803] of the land [0776], of them that were not carried away captive [01540] to Babylon [0894];

¹⁰ But Nebuzaradan [05018] the captain [07227] of the guard [02876] left [07604] of the poor [01800] of the people [05971], which had nothing [03972], in the land [0776] of Judah [03063], and gave [05414] them vineyards [03754] and fields [03010] at the same time [03117].

⁴ Therefore I said [0559], Surely these are poor [01800]; they are foolish [02973]: for they know [03045] not the way [01870] of the LORD [03068], nor the judgment [04941] of their God [0430].
⁵ I will get [03212] me unto the great men [01419], and will speak [01696] unto them; for they have known [03045] the way [01870] of the LORD [03068], and the judgment [04941] of their God [0430]: but these have altogether [03162] broken [07665] the yoke [05923], and burst [05423] the bonds [04147].

⁷ But the house [01004] of Israel [03478] will [014] not hearken [08085] unto thee; for they will [014] not hearken [08085] unto me: for all the house [01004] of Israel [03478] are impudent [02389] [04696] and hardhearted [07186] [03820].
⁸ Behold, I have made [05414] thy face [06440] strong [02389] against [05980] their faces [06440], and thy forehead [04696] strong [02389] against [05980] their foreheads [04696].

³⁰ In vain [07723] have I smitten [05221] your children [01121]; they received [03947] no correction [04148]: your own sword [02719] hath devoured [0398] your prophets [05030], like a destroying [07843] lion [0738].

¹⁸ Behold, the eye [05869] of the LORD [03068] is upon them that fear [03373] him, upon them that hope [03176] in his mercy [02617];

² And thou shalt swear [07650], The LORD [03068] liveth [02416], in truth [0571], in judgment [04941], and in righteousness [06666]; and the nations [01471] shall bless [01288] themselves in him, and in him shall they glory [01984].

¹² And ye shall not swear [07650] by my name [08034] falsely [08267], neither shalt thou profane [02490] the name [08034] of thy God [0430]: I am the LORD [03068].

² And though they say [0559], The LORD [03068] liveth [02416]; surely they swear [07650] falsely [08267].

²³ And Abraham [085] drew near [05066], and said [0559], Wilt thou also destroy [05595] the righteous [06662] with [05973] the wicked [07563]?

⁵ Thou meetest [06293] him that rejoiceth [07797] and worketh [06213] righteousness [06664], those that remember [02142] thee in thy ways [01870]: behold, thou art wroth [07107]; for we have sinned [02398]: in those is continuance [05769], and we shall be saved [03467].

² The good [02623] man is perished [06] out of the earth [0776]: and there is none upright [03477] among men [0120]: they all lie in wait [0693] for blood [01818]; they hunt [06679] every man [0376] his brother [0251] with a net [02764].

¹ Hear [08085] the word [01697] of the LORD [03068], ye children [01121] of Israel [03478]: for the LORD [03068] hath a controversy [07379] with the inhabitants [03427] of the land [0776], because there is no truth [0571], nor mercy [02617], nor knowledge [01847] of God [0430] in the land [0776].

² The LORD [03068] looked down [08259] from heaven [08064] upon the children [01121] of men [0120], to see [07200] if there [03426] were any that did understand [07919], and seek [01875] God [0430].
³ They are all gone aside [05493], they are all together [03162] become filthy [0444]: there is none that doeth [06213] good [02896], no, not one [0259].

⁹ Shall I not visit [06485] for these things? saith [05002] the LORD [03068]: and shall not my soul [05315] be avenged [05358] on such a nation [01471] as this?

⁸ They were as fed [02109] horses [05483] in the morning [07904]: every one [0376] neighed [06670] after his neighbour's [07453] wife [0802].

⁵ I will get [03212] me unto the great men [01419], and will speak [01696] unto them; for they have known [03045] the way [01870] of the LORD [03068], and the judgment [04941] of their God [0430]: but these have altogether [03162] broken [07665] the yoke [05923], and burst [05423] the bonds [04147].

⁴ Therefore I said [0559], Surely these are poor [01800]; they are foolish [02973]: for they know [03045] not the way [01870] of the LORD [03068], nor the judgment [04941] of their God [0430].

² And though they say [0559], The LORD [03068] liveth [02416]; surely they swear [07650] falsely [08267].

²⁶ For among my people [05971] are found [04672] wicked [07563] men: they lay wait [07789], as he that setteth [07918] snares [03353]; they set [05324] a trap [04889], they catch [03920] men [0582].
²⁷ As a cage [03619] is full [04392] of birds [05775], so are their houses [01004] full [04392] of deceit [04820]: therefore they are become great [01431], and waxen rich [06238].
²⁸ They are waxen fat [08080], they shine [06245]: yea, they overpass [05674] the deeds [01697] of the wicked [07451]: they judge [01777] not the cause [01779], the cause of the fatherless [03490], yet they prosper [06743]; and the right [04941] of the needy [034] do they not judge [08199].
²⁹ Shall I not visit [06485] for these things? saith [05002] the LORD [03068]: shall not my soul [05315] be avenged [05358] on such a nation [01471] as this?
³⁰ A wonderful [08047] and horrible thing [08186] is committed [01961] in the land [0776];
³¹ The prophets [05030] prophesy [05012] falsely [08267], and the priests [03548] bear rule [07287] by their means [03027]; and my people [05971] love [0157] to have it so: and what will ye do [06213] in the end [0319] thereof?

¹⁹ And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say [0559], Wherefore [08478] [04100] doeth [06213] the LORD [03068] our God [0430] all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer [0559] them, Like as ye have forsaken [05800] me, and served [05647] strange [05236] gods [0430] in your land [0776], so shall ye serve [05647] strangers [02114] in a land [0776] that is not yours.
²⁰ Declare [05046] this in the house [01004] of Jacob [03290], and publish [08085] it in Judah [03063], saying [0559],
²¹ Hear [08085] now this, O foolish [05530] people [05971], and without understanding [03820]; which have eyes [05869], and see [07200] not; which have ears [0241], and hear [08085] not:
²² Fear [03372] ye not me? saith [05002] the LORD [03068]: will ye not tremble [02342] at my presence [06440], which have placed [07760] the sand [02344] for the bound [01366] of the sea [03220] by a perpetual [05769] decree [02706], that it cannot pass [05674] it: and though the waves [01530] thereof toss [01607] themselves, yet can they not prevail [03201]; though they roar [01993], yet can they not pass over [05674] it?
²³ But this people [05971] hath a revolting [05637] and a rebellious [04784] heart [03820]; they are revolted [05493] and gone [03212].
²⁴ Neither say [0559] they in their heart [03824], Let us now fear [03372] the LORD [03068] our God [0430], that giveth [05414] rain [01653], both the former [03138] and the latter [04456], in his season [06256]: he reserveth [08104] unto us the appointed [02708] weeks [07620] of the harvest [07105].
²⁵ Your iniquities [05771] have turned away [05186] these things, and your sins [02403] have withholden [04513] good [02896] things from you.

¹⁰ Go ye up [05927] upon her walls [08284], and destroy [07843]; but make [06213] not a full end [03617]: take away [05493] her battlements [05189]; for they are not the LORD'S [03068].
¹¹ For the house [01004] of Israel [03478] and the house [01004] of Judah [03063] have dealt very [0898] treacherously [0898] against me, saith [05002] the LORD [03068].
¹² They have belied [03584] the LORD [03068], and said [0559], It is not he; neither shall evil [07451] come [0935] upon us; neither shall we see [07200] sword [02719] nor famine [07458]:
¹³ And the prophets [05030] shall become wind [07307], and the word [01696] is not in them: thus shall it be done [06213] unto them.
¹⁴ Wherefore thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068] God [0430] of hosts [06635], Because ye speak [01696] this word [01697], behold, I will make [05414] my words [01697] in thy mouth [06310] fire [0784], and this people [05971] wood [06086], and it shall devour [0398] them.
¹⁵ Lo, I will bring [0935] a nation [01471] upon you from far [04801], O house [01004] of Israel [03478], saith [05002] the LORD [03068]: it is a mighty [0386] nation [01471], it is an ancient [05769] nation [01471], a nation [01471] whose language [03956] thou knowest [03045] not, neither understandest [08085] what they say [01696].
¹⁶ Their quiver [0827] is as an open [06605] sepulchre [06913], they are all mighty men [01368].
¹⁷ And they shall eat up [0398] thine harvest [07105], and thy bread [03899], which thy sons [01121] and thy daughters [01323] should eat [0398]: they shall eat up [0398] thy flocks [06629] and thine herds [01241]: they shall eat up [0398] thy vines [01612] and thy fig trees [08384]: they shall impoverish [07567] thy fenced [04013] cities [05892], wherein thou [02007] trustedst [0982], with the sword [02719].
¹⁸ Nevertheless in those days [03117], saith [05002] the LORD [03068], I will not make [06213] a full end [03617] with you.

¹ Run ye to and fro [07751] through the streets [02351] of Jerusalem [03389], and see [07200] now, and know [03045], and seek [01245] in the broad places [07339] thereof, if ye can find [04672] a man [0376], if there be [03426] any that executeth [06213] judgment [04941], that seeketh [01245] the truth [0530]; and I will pardon [05545] it.
² And though they say [0559], The LORD [03068] liveth [02416]; surely they swear [07650] falsely [08267].
³ O LORD [03068], are not thine eyes [05869] upon the truth [0530]? thou hast stricken [05221] them, but they have not grieved [02342]; thou hast consumed [03615] them, but they have refused [03985] to receive [03947] correction [04148]: they have made their faces [06440] harder [02388] than a rock [05553]; they have refused [03985] to return [07725].
⁴ Therefore I said [0559], Surely these are poor [01800]; they are foolish [02973]: for they know [03045] not the way [01870] of the LORD [03068], nor the judgment [04941] of their God [0430].
⁵ I will get [03212] me unto the great men [01419], and will speak [01696] unto them; for they have known [03045] the way [01870] of the LORD [03068], and the judgment [04941] of their God [0430]: but these have altogether [03162] broken [07665] the yoke [05923], and burst [05423] the bonds [04147].
⁶ Wherefore a lion [0738] out of the forest [03293] shall slay [05221] them, and a wolf [02061] of the evenings [06160] shall spoil [07703] them, a leopard [05246] shall watch [08245] over their cities [05892]: every one that goeth out [03318] thence shall [02007] be torn in pieces [02963]: because their transgressions [06588] are many [07231], and their backslidings [04878] are increased [06105].
⁷ How [0335] shall I pardon [05545] thee for this [02063]? thy children [01121] have forsaken [05800] me, and sworn [07650] by them that are no [03808] gods [0430]: when I had fed them to the full [07650], they then committed adultery [05003], and assembled themselves by troops [01413] in the harlots [02181] ' houses [01004].
⁸ They were as fed [02109] horses [05483] in the morning [07904]: every one [0376] neighed [06670] after his neighbour's [07453] wife [0802].
⁹ Shall I not visit [06485] for these things? saith [05002] the LORD [03068]: and shall not my soul [05315] be avenged [05358] on such a nation [01471] as this?

²⁶ And the LORD [03068] said [0559], If I find [04672] in Sodom [05467] fifty [02572] righteous [06662] within [08432] the city [05892], then I will spare [05375] all the place [04725] for their sakes.