📖 Jeremiah — Chapter 5 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Jeremiah 5:1 RRun 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.
Jeremiah 5:2 And Rthough they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.
Jeremiah 5:3 O LORD, Rare 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.
Jeremiah 5:4 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.
Jeremiah 5:5 I will Rget 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.
Jeremiah 5:6 Wherefore Ra lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the Tevenings 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 Tare increased.
Jeremiah 5:7 RHow 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.
Jeremiah 5:8 They were as fed horses in the morning: Revery one neighed after his neighbour’s wife.
Jeremiah 5:9 Shall RI not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Jeremiah 5:10 Go Rye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD’s.
Jeremiah 5:11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 5:12 They Rhave belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
Jeremiah 5:13 And Rthe prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
Jeremiah 5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, RI will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
Jeremiah 5:15 Lo, RI will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
Jeremiah 5:16 RTheir quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.
Jeremiah 5:17 RAnd they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.
Jeremiah 5:18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, RI will not make a full end with you.
Jeremiah 5:19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, RWherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
Jeremiah 5:20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,
Jeremiah 5:21 Hear now this, RO foolish people, and without Tunderstanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
Jeremiah 5:22 RFear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
Jeremiah 5:23 But this people hath Ra revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.
Jeremiah 5:24 Neither say they in their heart, RLet us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
Jeremiah 5:25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.
Jeremiah 5:26 RFor among my people are found wicked men: Tthey lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
Jeremiah 5:27 As a RTcage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
Jeremiah 5:28 They are Rwaxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
Jeremiah 5:29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Jeremiah 5:30 RTA wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;
Jeremiah 5:31 The Rprophets prophesy falsely, and the priests Tbear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Jeremiah 5:1–11 — Truth sought in a treacherous city
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Jerusalem is searched for someone practicing justice and seeking truth. Both poor and great resist correction, and persistent rebellion brings images of predators and unfaithful desire.
Key Truth: Practice truth regardless of position.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “… they know not the way of the LORD, nor the ____ of their God.” (Jeremiah 5:4)
Find it in Jeremiah 5:4 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “____ a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and …” (Jeremiah 5:6)
Find it in Jeremiah 5:6 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “For the ____ of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very …” (Jeremiah 5:11)
Find it in Jeremiah 5:11 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Jeremiah 5:12–21 — Denied danger and a coming foreign nation
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The people dismiss the threat of sword and famine, but the prophetic word announces a distant nation consuming harvest and security. Serving strange gods leads to serving strangers.
Key Truth: Do not use reassurance to silence correction.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “… the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall ____ come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:” (Jeremiah 5:12)
Find it in Jeremiah 5:12 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy ____ , which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they …” (Jeremiah 5:17)
Find it in Jeremiah 5:17 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “Hear now this, O ____ people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; …” (Jeremiah 5:21)
Find it in Jeremiah 5:21 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Jeremiah 5:22–31 — A boundary for the sea but a rebellious heart
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The Creator restrains the sea and supplies harvest, yet the people refuse reverence. Exploiters grow rich, neglect the orphan and needy, and are supported by false prophets and willing hearers.
Key Truth: Join reverence with justice for the vulnerable.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “Neither say they in their heart, Let us now ____ the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former …” (Jeremiah 5:24)
Find it in Jeremiah 5:24 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “… is full of birds, so are their houses full of ____ : therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.” (Jeremiah 5:27)
Find it in Jeremiah 5:27 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “… the priests bear rule by their means; and my people ____ to have it so: and what will ye do in …” (Jeremiah 5:31)
Find it in Jeremiah 5:31 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
James 1:27 — Care for the fatherless is named within pure religion.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
Where can you pursue truth and defend someone whose case is ignored?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What qualities are sought in Jerusalem’s streets?
2. How do the great compare with the poor in resisting God’s way?
3. What correspondence links idolatry and the coming exile?
4. What contrast is made between the sea and the people?
5. Why is the final corruption more than a problem of leaders alone?
Notes
Write what you want to remember, questions to explore, or Scriptures to look up later. Your saved notes are private to your account.
Loading your notes…
Chapter Navigation