19 "It shall come about when they say , 'Why e has the Lord our God done all these things to us?' then you shall say to them, 'As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land , so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.'
20 "Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah , saying , 21 'Now hear this , O foolish and senseless e people , Who have eyes but do not see ; Who have ears but do not hear . 22 'Do you not fear Me?' declares the Lord . 'Do you not tremble in My presence ? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea , An eternal decree , so it cannot cross over it. Though the waves toss , yet they cannot prevail ; Though they roar , yet they cannot cross over it. 23 'But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart ; They have turned aside and departed . 24 'They do not say in their heart , "Let us now fear the Lord our God , Who gives rain in its season , Both the autumn rain and the spring rain , Who keeps for us The appointed weeks of the harvest ."
25 'Your iniquities have turned these away , And your sins have withheld good from you. 26 'For wicked men are found among My people , They watch like fowlers lying in wait ; They set a trap , They catch men . 27 'Like a cage full of birds , So their houses are full of deceit ; Therefore e they have become great and rich . 28 'They are fat , they are sleek , They also excel in deeds of wickedness ; They do not plead the cause , The cause of the orphan , that they may prosper ; And they do not defend the rights of the poor . 29 ' Shall I not punish these people?' declares the Lord , 'On a nation such as this Shall I not avenge Myself ?' 30 "An appalling and horrible thing Has happened in the land : 31 The prophets prophesy falsely , And the priests rule on their own authority ; And My people love it so ! But what will you do at the end of it?
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 5:19-31
Commentary on Jeremiah 5:19-31
(Read Jeremiah 5:19-31)
Unhumbled hearts are ready to charge God with being unjust in their afflictions. But they may read their sin in their punishment. If men will inquire wherefore the Lord doeth hard things unto them, let them think of their sins. The restless waves obeyed the Divine decree, that they should not pass the sandy shores, which were as much a restraint as lofty mountains; but they burst all restraints of God's law, and were wholly gone into wickedness. Neither did they consider their interest. While the Lord, year after year, reserves to us the appointed weeks of harvest, men live on his bounty; yet they transgress against him. Sin deprives us of God's blessings; it makes the heaven as brass, and the earth as iron. Certainly the things of this world are not the best things; and we are not to think, that, because evil men prosper, God allows their practices. Though sentence against evil works is not executed speedily, it will be executed. Shall I not visit for these things? This speaks the certainty and the necessity of God's judgments. Let those who walk in bad ways consider that an end will come, and there will be bitterness in the latter end.