Jeremiah 5:15
in Jeremiah 5Behold, I am bringing a distant nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. “It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose speech you do not understand.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
KJV
Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
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This verse in Jeremiah 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Israel is not put here for the ten tribes, but for the whole house of Jacob, of which Judah was now the representative. Mighty - “permanent, enduring.” The word is the usual epithet of the rocks Num 24:21, and of ever-flowing streams Deu 21:4, Hebrew). It describes therefore a nation, whose empire is firm as a rock, and ever rolling onward like a mighty river. The epithet “ancient” refers simply to time. Whose laguage thou knowest not - This would render them more pitiless, as they would not understand their cries for mercy.
This site's exposition
I will make My words a fire in your mouth
on Jeremiah 5:14-17
Because the people have spoken this word, the LORD makes His words “a fire in your mouth and this people the wood it consumes”. The distant nation is drawn by what a hearer in Jerusalem cannot do, since its language is one “you do not know”.
This site's exposition
an established nation, an ancient nation
Barnes takes the house of Israel here as the whole house of Jacob, with Judah its representative. The word rendered established describes rocks and ever-flowing streams, an empire firm and rolling on. A foreign tongue meant cries for mercy went unheard.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 15 and following) Behold, I will bring upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, says the Lord: a strong nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you will not understand, nor will you know what it speaks. Its quiver is like an open tomb, all mighty warriors. And it will devour your crops and your bread; it will devour your sons and daughters; it will devour your flocks and herds; it will devour your vineyards and fig trees; and it will crush your fortified cities, in which you trust, with the sword.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Israel - By these are meant Judah; for Israel were in captivity before: called the house of Israel, not only because they descended from Jacob, but because they were the chief of that stock.
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
Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far,....
"It is a nation that thou hast had no commerce with, by reason of their distance, and therefore canst not expect to find favour with." God can bring trouble upon us from places and causes very remote. It is a mighty nation, that there is no making head against, an ancient nation, that value themselves upon their antiquity and will therefore be the more haughty and imperious.
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)
HENDERSON refers it to the original language of the Babylonians, which, he thinks, they brought with them from their native hills, akin to the Persic, not to the Aramaic, or any other Semitic tongue, the parent of the modern Kurd.
I will bring a nation - The Scythians, says Dahler; the Babylonians, whose antiquity was great, that empire being founded by Nimrod. Whose language thou knowest not - The Chaldee, which, though a dialect of the Hebrew, is so very different in its words and construction that in hearing it spoken they could not possibly collect the meaning of what was said.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנְנִ֣י | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| מֵבִיא֩ | mevi' | [am] about to bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עֲלֵיכֶ֨ם | ʾaleikhem | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| גּ֧וֹי | goy | a nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| מִמֶּרְחָ֛ק | mimerchak | from a distance | H4801 → | 18 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | O house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהֹוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| גּ֣וֹי׀ | goy | [is] a nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֵיתָ֣ן | ʾeitan | enduring | H386 → | 13 times |
| ה֗וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| גּ֤וֹי | goy | [is] a nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| מֵעוֹלָם֙ | meolam | from long ago | H5769 → | 438 times |
| ה֔וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| גּ֚וֹי | goy | a nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | [which] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֵדַ֣ע | teda' | you know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| לְשֹׁנ֔וֹ | leshono | language its | H3956 → | 117 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשְׁמַ֖ע | tishma' | you hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| יְדַבֵּֽר׃ | yedaber | does it say | H1696 → | 1141 times |
הִנְנִ֣יhere I
hiniH2005 →316 times
מֵבִיא֩[am] about to bring
mevi'H935 →2568 times
עֲלֵיכֶ֨םon you
ʾaleikhemH5921 →5755 times
גּ֧וֹיa nation
goyH1471 →561 times
מִמֶּרְחָ֛קfrom a distance
mimerchakH4801 →18 times
בֵּ֥יתO house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהֹוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
גּ֣וֹי׀[is] a nation
goyH1471 →561 times
אֵיתָ֣ןenduring
ʾeitanH386 →13 times
ה֗וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
גּ֤וֹי[is] a nation
goyH1471 →561 times
מֵעוֹלָם֙from long ago
meolamH5769 →438 times
ה֔וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
גּ֚וֹיa nation
goyH1471 →561 times
לֹא־[which] not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תֵדַ֣עyou know
teda'H3045 →945 times
לְשֹׁנ֔וֹlanguage its
leshonoH3956 →117 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשְׁמַ֖עyou hear
tishma'H8085 →1159 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
יְדַבֵּֽר׃does it say
yedaberH1696 →1141 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
Isaiah 28:11Indeed, with mocking lips and foreign tongues, He will speak to this people
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:49
The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 14:21
It is written in the Law: “By strange tongues and foreign lips I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to Me, says the Lord.”
- Isaiah 33:19
You will no longer see the insolent, a people whose speech is unintelligible, who stammer in a language you cannot understand.
- Deuteronomy 28:49
Through
Isaiah 33:19You will no longer see the insolent, a people whose speech is unintelligible, who stammer in a language you cannot understand.
it leads to
- Isaiah 28:11
Indeed, with mocking lips and foreign tongues, He will speak to this people
- Deuteronomy 28:49–50
The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
- Isaiah 28:11
Through
Deuteronomy 28:49The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
it leads to
- Lamentations 4:19
Those who chased us were swifter than the eagles in the sky; they pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.
- Lamentations 4:19
Through
Isaiah 5:26He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
it leads to
- Zechariah 10:8
I will whistle for them to gather, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they once were.
- Isaiah 7:18
On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.
- Zechariah 10:8
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.