Jeremiah 5:2
in Jeremiah 5Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ they are swearing falsely.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And though they say, As Jehovah liveth; surely they swear falsely.
KJV
And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely.
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This verse in Jeremiah 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem
on Jeremiah 5:1-3
The search for one just person in Jerusalem's streets echoes Abraham's bargaining for Sodom. Here the LORD sends the search and sets the bar lower than fifty or ten, at “a single person”. Jeremiah's complaint, “You struck them, but they felt no pain”, names a people discipline cannot soften.
This site's exposition
they are swearing falsely
Chapter 4 promised blessing to the nations if Israel swore As surely as the LORD lives in truth. Here the same oath is sworn falsely. Barnes calls an oath without an upright heart an abomination.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Who among us has amended his life, or what part of the Roman world, no matter how afflicted, is corrected? As we read, "For all have declined, they have become useless at same time." Therefore, the prophet cries out to God and says, "You have …
(Chapter 5 - Verse 1, 2) Go around the streets of Jerusalem and look, observe, and search its squares, whether you find a man who does justice and seeks faithfulness. I will be merciful to him. But even if, by the living Lord, they say and falsely swear this. Great is the love of justice, as God did not deliver the city (Genesis 18) according to the request of Abraham and the response of God for the sake of ten righteous men, but if He finds even one in the now perishing Jerusalem who does justice and seeks faithfulness (or, as Symmachus translated, truth), then God will have mercy on Jerusalem. And because it could happen that some would be found among the people who would feign the worship of God and swear by God, this is prevented so that God is not pleased by empty words but by the truth of faith, and He says: I do not love those who swear by me and swear falsely, but rather those whose hearts and lips are in agreement.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): They say, The Lord liveth, and will swear by his name only, but they swear falsely, that is, 1. They are not sincere in the profession they make of respect to God, but are false to him; they honour him with their lips, but their hearts are far from him.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Though - Though when they swear, they use the form of an oath, and say, the Lord liveth, or by the living God: yet it is neither in truth nor righteousness.
And though they say, the Lord liveth,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
(Tit 1:16). swear falsely--not a judicial oath; but their profession of the worship of Jehovah is insincere (Jer 5:7; The reformation under Josiah was merely superficial in the case of the majority.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Lord liveth - Though they profess to bind themselves by Jehovah, as if they acknowledged him their God and only Lord, yet they swore falsely; for not believing in him, they took a false oath; one by which they did not believe themselves bound, not acknowledging him as their Lord. See on Jer 4:2 (note).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Though they take the most binding form of oath, they do so only as a means of deceiving others.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִ֥ם | veim | and though | H518 → | 1069 times |
| חַי־ | chai- | [by] [the] life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| יְהֹוָ֖ה | yahweh | of Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יֹאמֵ֑רוּ | yomeru | people say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָכֵ֥ן | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| לַשֶּׁ֖קֶר | lasheker | to <the> falsehood | H8267 → | 113 times |
| יִשָּׁבֵֽעוּ׃ | yishaveu | they are swearing oaths | H7650 → | 186 times |
וְאִ֥םand though
veimH518 →1069 times
חַי־[by] [the] life
chai-H2416 →498 times
יְהֹוָ֖הof Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יֹאמֵ֑רוּpeople say
yomeruH559 →5305 times
לָכֵ֥ן<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
לַשֶּׁ֖קֶרto <the> falsehood
lashekerH8267 →113 times
יִשָּׁבֵֽעוּ׃they are swearing oaths
yishaveuH7650 →186 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
Titus 1:16They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:4
If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
- Isaiah 29:13
Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught…
- Ephesians 5:6
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
- Ezekiel 33:31
So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest…
- 2 Timothy 3:5–8
having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!
- 1 John 2:4
Through
Leviticus 19:12You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Exodus 20:7
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- Deuteronomy 5:11
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- Exodus 20:7
Through
Jeremiah 4:2and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 65:16
Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth, and whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles…
- Isaiah 65:16
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); 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; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Salvian the Presbyter, THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD 7:12.