Jeremiah 5:1-9

Jeremiah 5:1-9

[1] 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. [2] And though they say,  The LORD  liveth;  surely they swear  falsely.  [3] O LORD,  are not thine eyes  upon the truth?  thou hast stricken  them, but they have not grieved;  thou hast consumed  them, but they have refused  to receive  correction:  they have made their faces  harder  than a rock;  they have refused  to return.  [4] Therefore I said,  Surely these are poor;  they are foolish:  for they know  not the way  of the LORD,  nor the judgment  of their God.  [5] me unto the great men,  and will speak  unto them; for they have known  the way  of the LORD,  and the judgment  of their God:  but these have altogether  broken  the yoke,  and burst  the bonds.  [6] Wherefore a lion  out of the forest  shall slay  them, and a wolf  of the evenings  shall spoil  them, a leopard  shall watch  over their cities:  every one that goeth out  thence shall  be torn in pieces:  because their transgressions  are many,  and their backslidings  are increased.  [7] How  shall I pardon  thee for this?  thy children  have forsaken  me, and sworn  by them that are no  gods:  when I had fed them to the full,  they then committed adultery,  and assembled themselves by troops  in the harlots'  houses.  [8] They were as fed  horses  in the morning:  every one  neighed  after his neighbour's  wife.  [9] Shall I not visit  for these things? saith  the LORD:  and shall not my soul  be avenged  on such a nation  as this?

What does Jeremiah 5:1-9 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

God gave His people reasons for the coming judgment. He stressed social and personal sins particularly.
"Jeremiah now appreciates the moral necessity for God"s judgment of His people, as he sees clearly with his own eyes the iniquity, selfishness and depravity of life in Jerusalem." [1]