Jeremiah 5:12
in Jeremiah 5They have lied about the LORD and said: “He will not do anything; harm will not come to us; we will not see sword or famine.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They have denied Jehovah, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
KJV
They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
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This verse in Jeremiah 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verseAccusation is the censure of wrongdoers. This mode of instruction God employs by David, when he says, "The people whom I did not know served me, and when their ears heard they obeyed me. Sons of strangers came to me, and halted from their ways." And by Jeremiah: "And I gave her a divorce decree, but covenant-breaking Judah did not fear." And again: "And the house of Israel disregarded me. The house of Judah lied to the Lord."
This site's exposition
but do not finish them off
on Jeremiah 5:10-13
The command to destroy carries its own limit, “but do not finish them off”, the restraint 4:27 already named. The house of Israel and the house of Judah are named together as utterly unfaithful. Their false confidence speaks at verse 12, “He will not do anything”.
This site's exposition
They have lied about the LORD
Clarke gives the Hebrew of the first claim as lo hu, he is not, a denial that the LORD acts at all. With no judge, they expected no sword or famine. Clarke calls them atheists at heart.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 12, 13.) They denied the Lord and said: He is not (or these things are not), and evil will not come upon us. We will not see sword and famine. The prophets spoke in vain and there was no answer (or response) in them. Therefore, these things will happen to them.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the L ORD , nor the judgment of their God. 5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the L ORD , and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v4-5
It is not the word of the Lord that is in them; it is only the language of their melancholy fancy or their ill-will to their country, because they are not preferred." Note, Impenitent sinners are not willing to own any thing to be the word of God that makes against them, that tends either to part them from, or disquiet them in, their sins.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
They have belied the Lord, and said, it is not he,.... Or, "denied the Lord" (x), as some render the words, saying that there was no God; which, though they might not deliver in express words, yet inasmuch as they denied his providence, and disbelieved his word by his prophets, it was tacitly denying that there was a God, or that the Lord was God.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
They have belied the Lord - כחשו kichashu. They have denied or disavowed the Lord. It is not he - לוא הוא lo hu, he is not; there is no such being; therefore this evil shall not come upon us. On their premises, this conclusion was just. There is no judge; therefore there shall be no judgment. Thus they denied the Lord. They were atheists at heart.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
It is not he--rather, "(Jehovah) is not HE," that is, the true and only God (Jer 14:22; By their idolatry they virtually denied Him. Or, referring to what follows, and to Jer 5:9, "(Jehovah) is not," namely, about to be the punisher of our sins (Jer 14:13;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
It is not he - i. e., Who speaks by the prophets.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And [they] said, “It is not He” [The Targum renders:] Our good fortune does not come before Him.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And the prophets shall become wind As the Targum renders: And the false prophets shall become naught.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽחֲשׁוּ֙ | kichashu | they have denied | H3584 → | |
| בַּיהוָ֔ה | bayahweh | <in> Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ | vaiyomeru | and they have said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| ה֑וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָב֤וֹא | tavo' | it will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙ | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רָעָ֔ה | raah | harm | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וְחֶ֥רֶב | vecherev | and sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| וְרָעָ֖ב | veraav | and famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| ל֥וֹא | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִרְאֶֽה׃ | nireh | we will see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
כִּֽחֲשׁוּ֙they have denied
kichashuH3584 →
בַּיהוָ֔ה<in> Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֹּאמְר֖וּand they have said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
ה֑וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תָב֤וֹאit will come
tavo'H935 →2568 times
עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙on us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
רָעָ֔הharm
raahH7451 →662 times
וְחֶ֥רֶבand sword
vecherevH2719 →413 times
וְרָעָ֖בand famine
veraavH7458 →101 times
ל֥וֹאnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נִרְאֶֽה׃we will see
nirehH7200 →1300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
it leads to
- Ezekiel 13:6
They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.
- Jeremiah 14:14
“The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination,…
- Micah 2:11
If a man of wind were to come and say falsely, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be just the preacher for this people!
- 2 Timothy 4:3–4
For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9–11
The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
- Ezekiel 13:6
Through
2 Chronicles 36:16But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 5:12–13
They have lied about the LORD and said: “He will not do anything; harm will not come to us; we will not see sword or famine.
- 2 Chronicles 30:10
And the couriers traveled from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun; but the people scorned and mocked them.
- Luke 22:63–64
The men who were holding Jesus began to mock Him and beat Him.
- Jeremiah 5:12–13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.