Jeremiah 5:11
in Jeremiah 5For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to Me,” declares the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith Jehovah.
KJV
For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord.
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This verse in Jeremiah 5
Commentary
7 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
the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Gill, following Abarbinel, takes the house of Israel as the ten tribes and the house of Judah as Judah and Benjamin. Both are named as utterly unfaithful. Their treachery is the reason the vineyard of verse 10 is stripped.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 10, 11.) Ascendite muros ejus (sive propugnacula) et dissipate: consummationem autem nolite facere. Auferte propagines ejus (sive sustentacula) quia non sunt Domini. Praevaricatione enim praevaricata est in me domus Israel, et domus Juda, dicit Dominus. Imperat gentibus, de quibus supra dixerat: Percussit eos leo de silva, lupus vastavit eos, et pardus in civitatibus eorum, ut ascendant muros Jerusalem, sive propugnacula, et dissipent eam: consummationem autem non faciant, ut salventur reliquiae, et sit qui annuntiet in gentibus gloriam Dei, severitatique miscetclementiam.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me,.... This is a reason why such orders are given to the army of the Chaldeans to ascend the walls of Jerusalem and destroy them; namely, the perfidy both of the ten tribes, signified by the house of Israel; so Abarbinel; and of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, signified by the house of Judah; which was very great, and attended with aggravated circumstances; instances of it follow.
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
They forsook the worship of him, and therein violated their covenants with him; they revolted from him, and played the hypocrite with him. They have defied the judgments of God and given the lie to his threatenings in the mouth of his prophets,
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Ascend upon its rows Heb. בשרותיה, an expression of a plain. Menahem (p.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And [they] said, “It is not He” [The Targum renders:] Our good fortune does not come before Him.
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּי֩ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בָג֨וֹד | vagod | certainly <to deal treacherously> | H898 → | 49 times |
| בָּגְד֜וּ | bagedu | they have dealt treacherously | H898 → | 49 times |
| בִּ֗י | bi | with <the> me | ||
| בֵּ֧ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וּבֵ֥ית | uveit | and [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוּדָ֖ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
כִּי֩for
kiH3588 →4482 times
בָג֨וֹדcertainly <to deal treacherously>
vagodH898 →49 times
בָּגְד֜וּthey have dealt treacherously
bageduH898 →49 times
בִּ֗יwith <the> me
bi
בֵּ֧ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֛לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וּבֵ֥יתand [the] house of
uveitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוּדָ֖הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Hosea 6:7But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they were unfaithful to Me.
it leads to
- Hosea 5:7
They have been unfaithful to the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 3:11
“Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
- Hosea 8:1
Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
- Jeremiah 9:6
You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD.
- Job 31:33
if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart,
- Hosea 5:7
Through
Hosea 5:7They have been unfaithful to the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land.
it leads to
- Hosea 6:7
But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they were unfaithful to Me.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 6:7
Through
Jeremiah 3:20But as a woman may betray her husband, so you have betrayed Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Isaiah 48:8
You have never heard; you have never understood; for a long time your ears have not been open. For I knew how deceitful you are; you have been called a rebel from birth.
- Isaiah 48:8
Through
Isaiah 48:8You have never heard; you have never understood; for a long time your ears have not been open. For I knew how deceitful you are; you have been called a rebel from birth.
it leads to
- Psalms 58:3
The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth.
- Psalms 58:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 1; 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.
