Jeremiah 5:7
in Jeremiah 5“Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery and assembled at the houses of prostitutes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
How can I pardon thee? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods. When I had fed them to the full, they committed adultery, and assembled themselves in troops at the harlots’ houses;
KJV
How 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.
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This verse in Jeremiah 5
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHow shall I pardon thee for this?.... Because of their manifold transgressions, and multiplied backslidings; or "wherefore, or for what, shall I pardon thee?" (r) as the Targum; can any reason be given why I should? what goodness is there in thee, or done by thee, that I should do this unto thee? The particle אי, according to Kimchi, is a word of exclamation; and, according to Jarchi, of admiration; and may be rendered, "oh! for this shall I pardon?" how can it be? R.
This site's exposition
Why should I forgive you
on Jeremiah 5:7-9
The question of pardon answers itself: “Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods”. Plenty produced the opposite of gratitude: “I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery”. The stallions “neighing after his neighbor’s wife” make the point, appetite with no restraint left in it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
We must conduct our festivals and rejoice with fear and trembling. A faithful Christian, the psalm says, must not sing the songs of the heathen or have anything to do with the principles and doctrines of strange assemblies. It may happen that through their songs, …
(Vers. 7) How can I be propitious to you? Your sons have forsaken me, and they swear by those who are not gods. I have satisfied them, and they have committed adultery, and they have indulged in the house of a prostitute. Catalogue of the sins of Jerusalem: while she says that she does not know God, by whom she can be shown mercy. Your sons have forsaken me, she says. Not my sons, but yours: they swear by those who are not gods, I have fed them and they have committed adultery.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Divine Judgments Threatened; Divine Judgments Vindicated. 10 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the L ORD 's.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:23w-of-32
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Rather, Why, “for what reason” should “I pardon thee?” When ... - Or, “though I bound them to me by oath, yet they committed adultery.” The harlots’ houses - The harlot’s house, i. e., the temple of an idol; the prophet had also in view (see Jer 5:8) the unchastity which accompanied most forms of nature-worship.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
It would not be consistent with God's holiness to let such wickedness pass unpunished. sworn by-- (Jer 5:2; Jer 4:2); that is, worshipped. no gods-- (De 32:21). fed . . . to the full--so the Keri (Hebrew Margin) reads. God's bountifulness is contrasted with their apostasy (De 32:15).
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
In the harlots’ houses - In places consecrated to idolatry. In the language of the prophets, adultery generally signifies idolatry. This we have often seen.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֵ֤י | ʾei | where? | H335 → | |
| לָזֹאת֙ | lazot | for this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| אֶֽסְלַֽח | ʾesloach- | will I forgive | H5545 → | 46 times |
| לָ֔ךְ | lakh | <to> <the> you | ||
| בָּנַ֣יִךְ | banayikh | children your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עֲזָב֔וּנִי | ʾazavuni | they have forsaken me | H5800 → | 215 times |
| וַיִּשָּׁבְע֖וּ | vaiyishaveu | and they have sworn | H7650 → | 186 times |
| בְּלֹ֣א | belo' | by not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֑ים | ʾelohim | gods | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וָאַשְׂבִּ֤עַ | vaasbia' | and I satisfied | H7646 → | 97 times |
| אוֹתָם֙ | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וַיִּנְאָ֔פוּ | vaiyinafu | and they committed adultery | H5003 → | 31 times |
| וּבֵ֥ית | uveit | and [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| זוֹנָ֖ה | zonah | a prostitute | H2181 → | 94 times |
| יִתְגֹּדָֽדוּ׃ | yitgodadu | they cut themselves | H1413 → | 8 times |
אֵ֤יwhere?
ʾeiH335 →
לָזֹאת֙for this
lazotH2063 →603 times
אֶֽסְלַֽחwill I forgive
ʾesloach-H5545 →46 times
לָ֔ךְ<to> <the> you
lakh
בָּנַ֣יִךְchildren your
banayikhH1121 →4930 times
עֲזָב֔וּנִיthey have forsaken me
ʾazavuniH5800 →215 times
וַיִּשָּׁבְע֖וּand they have sworn
vaiyishaveuH7650 →186 times
בְּלֹ֣אby not
belo'H3808 →5168 times
אֱלֹהִ֑יםgods
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
וָאַשְׂבִּ֤עַand I satisfied
vaasbia'H7646 →97 times
אוֹתָם֙<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
וַיִּנְאָ֔פוּand they committed adultery
vaiyinafuH5003 →31 times
וּבֵ֥יתand [the] house of
uveitH1004 →2046 times
זוֹנָ֖הa prostitute
zonahH2181 →94 times
יִתְגֹּדָֽדוּ׃they cut themselves
yitgodaduH1413 →8 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
Deuteronomy 32:21They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will…
it leads to
- Romans 10:19
I ask instead, did Israel not understand? First, Moses says: “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation without understanding.”
- Romans 9:25
As He says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people, and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”
- Romans 11:11–14
I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.
- 1 Kings 16:26
For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins, which he caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless…
- 1 Kings 16:13
This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.
- Romans 10:19
Through
Jeremiah 2:11Has a nation ever changed its gods, though they are no gods at all? Yet My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols.
it leads to
- Isaiah 37:19
They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 1:23
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
- Isaiah 37:19
Through
1 Corinthians 8:4So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:39
Know therefore this day and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.
- Deuteronomy 4:39
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Didascalia Apostolorum, DIDASCALIA 21.[5:10]; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.