The Meaning of Jeremiah 5:2 Explained

Jeremiah 5:2

KJV: And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.

YLT: And if they say, 'Jehovah liveth,' Surely to a falsehood they swear.

Darby: And if they say, As Jehovah liveth! surely they swear falsely.

ASV: And though they say, As Jehovah liveth; surely they swear falsely.

Discover Jeremiah 5:2

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Jeremiah 5:2?

MEANING: What does Jeremiah 5:2 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Jeremiah 5:2 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Jeremiah 5:2?

What is the context of Jeremiah 5:2?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.

What does Jeremiah 5:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Jerusalemites used the Lord"s name to swear by, but then they showed no respect for Him-by breaking their promises made in His name. When a person swore by Yahweh"s name, he or she called on the Lord to punish him or her, if the person swearing later violated the terms of the oath.

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 5:2 mean?

And Though [As] lives Yahweh they say surely falsely they swear

וְאִ֥ם חַי־ יְהֹוָ֖ה יֹאמֵ֑רוּ לָכֵ֥ן לַשֶּׁ֖קֶר יִשָּׁבֵֽעוּ

וְאִ֥ם	And Though
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction Root: אִם Sense: if.
חַי־	[As] lives
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: חַי Sense: living, alive.
יְהֹוָ֖ה	Yahweh
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יהוה Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
יֹאמֵ֑רוּ	they say
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural Root: אָמַר Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לָכֵ֥ן	surely
Parse: Adverb Root: כֵּן Sense: so, therefore, thus.
לַשֶּׁ֖קֶר	falsely
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: שֶׁקֶר Sense: lie, deception, disappointment, falsehood.
יִשָּׁבֵֽעוּ	they swear
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural Root: שָׁבַע Sense: to swear, adjure.

What are the major concepts related to Jeremiah 5:2?

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Similar Scriptures for Jeremiah 5:2

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