The Meaning of Jeremiah 5:1 Explained

Jeremiah 5:1

KJV: 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.

YLT: Go to and fro in streets of Jerusalem, And see, I pray you, and know, And seek in her broad places, if ye find a man, If there be one doing judgment, seeking stedfastness -- Then am I propitious to her.

Darby: Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broadways thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that doeth justice, that seeketh fidelity; and I will pardon it.

ASV: 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 doeth justly, that seeketh truth; and I will pardon her.

Discover Jeremiah 5:1

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Jeremiah 5:1?

MEANING: What does Jeremiah 5:1 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Jeremiah 5:1 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Jeremiah 5:1?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Jeremiah 5:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord challenged Jeremiah to search Jerusalem for a man who was just and sought the truth. [1] If he could find even one, on his "scavenger hunt," [2] the Lord promised to pardon the city (cf. Genesis 18:23-32).
"Obviously some godly people like Josiah, Baruch ,, Zephaniah , and Jeremiah himself were living in Jerusalem. But the words certainly applied to the mass of the populace. In short, corruption was so widespread that exceptions were not significant (cf. Psalm 14)." [3]
"Justice" and "truth" are two terms that often appear together in the prophetic literature of the Old Testament. They are covenant qualities that govern relations between people and God and between people and other people. [4]

Context Summary

Jeremiah 5:1-6 - Widespread Corruption
Diogenes, the cynic, was discovered one day in Athens in broad daylight, lantern in hand, looking for something. When someone remonstrated with him, he said that he needed all the light possible to enable him to find an honest man. Something like that is in the prophet's thought. God was prepared to spare Jerusalem on lower terms than even Sodom, and yet He was driven to destroy her. Both poor and rich had alike "broken the yoke and burst the bonds." The description of the onset of the Chaldeans is very graphic. They settle down upon the land as a flock of locusts, but still the Chosen People refuse to connect their punishment with their sin. It never occurred to the Chosen People that the failure of the rain, the withering of their crops, and the assault of their foes, were all connected with their sin. There is nothing unusual in this obtuseness for as we read the history of our own times, men are equally inapt at connecting national disaster with national sin.
How good it would be if the national cry of today were that of Jeremiah 5:24 : Let us now fear before the Lord our God! Notice the delightful metaphor of Jeremiah 5:22. When God would stay the wild ocean wave a barrier of sand will suffice. The martyrs were as sand grains but wild persecutions were quenched by their heroic patience. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 5

1  The judgments of God upon the people, for their perverseness;
7  for their adultery;
10  for their impiety;
15  for their worship of idols;
19  for their contempt of God;
25  and for their great corruption in the civil state;
30  and ecclesiastical

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 5:1 mean?

Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem and See now and know and seek in her open places if you can find a man there is [anyone] who executes judgment who seeks the truth and I will pardon her
שׁוֹטְט֞וּ בְּחוּצ֣וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗ם וּרְאוּ־ נָ֤א וּדְעוּ֙ וּבַקְשׁ֣וּ בִרְחוֹבוֹתֶ֔יהָ אִם־ תִּמְצְא֣וּ אִ֔ישׁ יֵ֛שׁ עֹשֶׂ֥ה מִשְׁפָּ֖ט מְבַקֵּ֣שׁ אֱמוּנָ֑ה וְאֶסְלַ֖ח לָֽהּ

שׁוֹטְט֞וּ  Run  to  and  fro 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: שׁוּט  
Sense: to go, go or rove about, go to and fro.
בְּחוּצ֣וֹת  through  the  streets 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: חוּץ  
Sense: outside, outward, street, the outside.
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗ם  of  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
וּרְאוּ־  and  See 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
נָ֤א  now 
Parse: Interjection
Root: נָא  
Sense: I (we) pray, now, please.
וּדְעוּ֙  and  know 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
וּבַקְשׁ֣וּ  and  seek 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: בָּקַשׁ  
Sense: to seek, require, desire, exact, request.
בִרְחוֹבוֹתֶ֔יהָ  in  her  open  places 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: רְחֹב  
Sense: broad or open place or plaza.
תִּמְצְא֣וּ  you  can  find 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine plural
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
אִ֔ישׁ  a  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
יֵ֛שׁ  there  is  [anyone] 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יֵשׁ  
Sense: being, existence, substance, there is or are.
עֹשֶׂ֥ה  who  executes 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
מִשְׁפָּ֖ט  judgment 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁפָּט  
Sense: judgment, justice, ordinance.
מְבַקֵּ֣שׁ  who  seeks 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: בָּקַשׁ  
Sense: to seek, require, desire, exact, request.
אֱמוּנָ֑ה  the  truth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֱמוּנָה  
Sense: firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness.
וְאֶסְלַ֖ח  and  I  will  pardon 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative if contextual, first person common singular
Root: סָלַח  
Sense: to forgive, pardon.
לָֽהּ  her 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular

What are the major concepts related to Jeremiah 5:1?

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Similar Scriptures for Jeremiah 5:1

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