Jeremiah 5:4

Modern

Then I said, “They are only the poor; they have played the fool, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.

Traditional

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.

Literal

And I said, “Surely these are poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of YHWH, the justice of their God.

Latin

Ego autem dixi: Forsitan pauperes sunt et stulti, ignorantes viam Domini, judicium Dei sui.

Hebrew

English

Then I said, “They are only the poor; they have played the fool, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.

Jeremiah looked for an economic reason for Jerusalem’s rebellion. He discovered that the leaders, despite their advantages, were as rebellious as the uneducated poor.
A wooden yoke was placed on a farm animal's neck. Chains attached it to a plow or another tool for fieldwork (compare Jeremiah 27:2–12; Psalm 2:3).

Theme notes and profiles

Jeremiah 8:7
Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the LORD.
Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
Isaiah 28:9–13
Whom is He trying to teach? To whom is He explaining His message? To infants just weaned from milk? To babies removed from the breast?
Matthew 11:5
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Jeremiah 4:22
“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”
John 7:48–49
“Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him?
Isaiah 27:11
When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
Jeremiah 7:8
But look, you keep trusting in deceptive words to no avail.