The Meaning of Jeremiah 5:6 Explained

Jeremiah 5:6

KJV: 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.

YLT: Therefore smitten them hath a lion out of the forest, A wolf of the deserts doth spoil them, A leopard is watching over their cities, Every one who is going out of them is torn, For many have been their transgressions, Mighty have been their backslidings.

Darby: Therefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the evenings shall waste them; the leopard lurketh against their cities, every one that goeth out thence is torn in pieces: for their transgressions are multiplied, their backslidings are increased.

ASV: Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the evenings shall destroy them, a leopard shall watch against their cities; every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces; because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Jeremiah 5:6 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Therefore, the people of Judah would become prey for their savage, animal-like enemies (cf. Jeremiah 2:15; Jeremiah 4:7; Hosea 13:7-8; Habakkuk 1:8; Zephaniah 3:3).
"The lion represents strength, the desert wolf ravenousness, and the leopard swiftness-all traits of the Babylonians." [1]
When the Judahites later tried to flee their towns, the foe would devour them. The reason was, they had transgressed Yahweh"s covenant greatly and had departed from Him many times (cf. Leviticus 26:22; Ezekiel 14:15). The eighth-century B.C. Sefire Treaties contain references to lions and leopards ravaging people in fulfillment of a treaty curse. [2] The Judahites were familiar with wild beasts attacking and killing humans outside their cities (cf. 2 Kings 17:25).

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 5:6 mean?

Over therefore shall slay them a lion from the forest a wolf of the deserts shall destroy them a leopard will watch their cities Everyone who goes out from there [shall] be torn in pieces because are many their transgressions have increased - Their backslidings
עַל־ כֵּן֩ הִכָּ֨ם אַרְיֵ֜ה מִיַּ֗עַר זְאֵ֤ב עֲרָבוֹת֙ יְשָׁדְדֵ֔ם נָמֵ֤ר שֹׁקֵד֙ עָ֣רֵיהֶ֔ם כָּל־ הַיּוֹצֵ֥א מֵהֵ֖נָּה יִטָּרֵ֑ף כִּ֤י רַבּוּ֙ פִּשְׁעֵיהֶ֔ם עָצְמ֖וּ [משבותיהם] (מְשׁוּבוֹתֵיהֶֽם‪‬)

עַל־  Over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
הִכָּ֨ם  shall  slay  them 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
אַרְיֵ֜ה  a  lion 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲרִי 
Sense: lion.
מִיַּ֗עַר  from  the  forest 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעַר 
Sense: forest, wood, thicket, wooded height.
זְאֵ֤ב  a  wolf 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: זְאֵב  
Sense: wolf.
עֲרָבוֹת֙  of  the  deserts 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: עֲרָבָה  
Sense: desert plain, steppe, desert, wilderness.
יְשָׁדְדֵ֔ם  shall  destroy  them 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁדַד  
Sense: to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil.
נָמֵ֤ר  a  leopard 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָמֵר  
Sense: leopard.
שֹׁקֵד֙  will  watch 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁקַד 
Sense: to wake, watch, awake, be alert.
עָ֣רֵיהֶ֔ם  their  cities 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
כָּל־  Everyone 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הַיּוֹצֵ֥א  who  goes  out 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
מֵהֵ֖נָּה  from  there  [shall]  be 
Parse: Preposition-m, Pronoun, third person feminine plural
Root: הֵנָּה  
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
יִטָּרֵ֑ף  torn  in  pieces 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: טָרַף  
Sense: to tear, rend, pluck.
כִּ֤י  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
רַבּוּ֙  are  many 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: רָבַב  
Sense: to be or become many, be or become much, be or become great.
פִּשְׁעֵיהֶ֔ם  their  transgressions 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: פֶּשַׁע  
Sense: transgression, rebellion.
עָצְמ֖וּ  have  increased 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: עָצַם 
Sense: to be vast, be numerous, be mighty.
[משבותיהם]  - 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine plural
(מְשׁוּבוֹתֵיהֶֽם‪‬)  Their  backslidings 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: מְשׁוּבָה  
Sense: turning away, turning back, apostasy, backsliding.