Jeremiah 5:28
in Jeremiah 5They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the rights of the needy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They are waxed fat, they shine: yea, they overpass in deeds of wickedness; they plead not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
KJV
They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
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This verse in Jeremiah 5
Commentary
5 notes on this verse(Verse 27 and following) Therefore they have been magnified and enriched: they have become fat and grown thick, and have passed over my words wickedly: they have not judged the cause, the cause of the orphan, so they did not direct the judgment of the poor (or widow). Will I not visit them for these things, says the Lord: or will not my soul take vengeance upon a nation of this kind? If I were to list all the things that have been omitted in the Septuagint edition, it would be a long task.
This site's exposition
For among My people are wicked men
on Jeremiah 5:26-29
The charge turns to the traps set by wicked men: “Like cages full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit”. Their wealth rests on the predation the law forbids. Men grown fat have not taken up “the cause of the fatherless” or defended “the rights of the needy”.
This site's exposition
They have grown fat and sleek
The wealth of verse 27 shows on their bodies, fat and sleek. Their prosperity comes from cases left unjudged. Jerome notes that much of the passage is missing from the Septuagint, and he gives the needy as the poor or the widow.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They are waxen fat, they shine,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
They judge not the cause, yet they prosper - Perhaps we might be justified in translating, “And shall they prosper?”
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁמְנ֣וּ | shamenu | they have become fat | H8080 → | |
| עָשְׁת֗וּ | ʾashetu | they have become smooth | H6245 → | |
| גַּ֚ם | gam | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| עָֽבְר֣וּ | ʾaveru | they have transgressed | H5674 → | 556 times |
| דִבְרֵי־ | divrei- | matters of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| רָ֔ע | ra' | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| דִּ֣ין | din | a cause | H1779 → | 20 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| דָ֔נוּ | danu | they have pleaded | H1777 → | 24 times |
| דִּ֥ין | din | [the] cause of | H1779 → | 20 times |
| יָת֖וֹם | yatom | [the] fatherless | H3490 → | 42 times |
| וְיַצְלִ֑יחוּ | veyatzlichu | so they may have success | H6743 → | 65 times |
| וּמִשְׁפַּ֥ט | umishpat | and [the] justice of | H4941 → | 422 times |
| אֶבְיוֹנִ֖ים | ʾevyonim | needy [people] | H34 → | 61 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁפָֽטוּ׃ | shafatu | they have judged | H8199 → | 202 times |
שָׁמְנ֣וּthey have become fat
shamenuH8080 →
עָשְׁת֗וּthey have become smooth
ʾashetuH6245 →
גַּ֚םalso
gamH1571 →769 times
עָֽבְר֣וּthey have transgressed
ʾaveruH5674 →556 times
דִבְרֵי־matters of
divrei-H1697 →1440 times
רָ֔עevil
ra'H7451 →662 times
דִּ֣יןa cause
dinH1779 →20 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
דָ֔נוּthey have pleaded
danuH1777 →24 times
דִּ֥ין[the] cause of
dinH1779 →20 times
יָת֖וֹם[the] fatherless
yatomH3490 →42 times
וְיַצְלִ֑יחוּso they may have success
veyatzlichuH6743 →65 times
וּמִשְׁפַּ֥טand [the] justice of
umishpatH4941 →422 times
אֶבְיוֹנִ֖יםneedy [people]
ʾevyonimH34 →61 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁפָֽטוּ׃they have judged
shafatuH8199 →202 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 32:15But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:20
When I have brought them into the land that I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. Then they will turn to…
- Hosea 13:6
When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.
- Deuteronomy 33:5
So the LORD became King in Jeshurun when the leaders of the people gathered, when the tribes of Israel came together.
- Psalms 89:26
He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock of my salvation.’
- Acts 28:27
For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts,…
- Deuteronomy 31:20
Through
Jeremiah 7:6if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm,
it leads to
- Exodus 22:21–24
You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
- Zechariah 7:9–12
“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another.
- Exodus 22:21–24
Through
Isaiah 1:23Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
it leads to
- Micah 7:3
Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
- Micah 7:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
