Lectionary Calendar
Monday, July 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Good News Translation

Jeremiah 5:2

Even though you claim to worship the Lord , you do not mean what you say.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Backsliders;   Hypocrisy;   Idolatry;   Oath;   Perjury;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Jerusalem;   Oaths;   Sins, National;   Swearing Falsely;  

Dictionaries:

- Holman Bible Dictionary - Life;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Zechariah, Book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Crime;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When they say, “As the Lord lives,”they are swearing falsely.
Hebrew Names Version
Though they say, As the LORD lives; surely they swear falsely.
King James Version
And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely.
English Standard Version
Though they say, "As the Lord lives," yet they swear falsely.
New American Standard Bible
"And although they say, 'As the LORD lives,' Certainly they swear falsely."
New Century Version
Although the people say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!' they don't really mean it."
Amplified Bible
"And though they say, 'As the LORD lives,' Surely they swear [their oaths] falsely."
World English Bible
Though they say, As Yahweh lives; surely they swear falsely.
Geneva Bible (1587)
For though they say, The Lord liueth, yet doe they sweare falsely.
Legacy Standard Bible
And if they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,'Then they swear to a lie."
Berean Standard Bible
Although they say, "As surely as the LORD lives," they are swearing falsely.
Contemporary English Version
Everyone breaks promises made in my name."
Complete Jewish Bible
And though they say, ‘As Adonai lives,' the fact is that they are swearing falsely."
Darby Translation
And if they say, [As] Jehovah liveth! surely they swear falsely.
Easy-to-Read Version
The people make promises and say, ‘As the Lord lives.' But they don't really mean it!"
George Lamsa Translation
And though they say, The LORD lives; truly they swear falsely.
Lexham English Bible
And though they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,' therefore they swear falsely."
Literal Translation
And though they say, As Jehovah lives, surely they swear falsely.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For though they can saye: the LORDE lyueth, yet do they sweare to disceaue:
American Standard Version
And though they say, As Jehovah liveth; surely they swear falsely.
Bible in Basic English
And though they say, By the living Lord; truly their oaths are false.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And though they say: 'As the LORD liveth', surely they swear falsely.
King James Version (1611)
And though they say, The Lord liueth, surely they sweare falsely.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For though they can say, the Lorde lyueth: yet they sweare to deceaue.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The Lord lives, they say; do they not therefore swear falsely?
English Revised Version
And though they say, As the LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
That if also thei seien, The Lord lyueth, yhe, thei schulen swere this falsli.
Update Bible Version
And if they say, As Yahweh lives; surely they swear falsely.
Webster's Bible Translation
And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.
New English Translation
These people make promises in the name of the Lord . But the fact is, what they swear to is really a lie."
New King James Version
Though they say, "As the LORD lives,' Surely they swear falsely."
New Living Translation
But even when they are under oath, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,' they are still telling lies!"
New Life Bible
Even if they say, ‘As the Lord lives,' for sure their promises are false."
New Revised Standard
Although they say, "As the Lord lives," yet they swear falsely.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Even though they say By the life of Yahweh, Yet in fact falsely, do they swear.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And though they say: The Lord liveth; this also they will swear falsely.
Revised Standard Version
Though they say, "As the LORD lives," yet they swear falsely.
Young's Literal Translation
And if they say, `Jehovah liveth,' Surely to a falsehood they swear.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"And although they say, 'As the LORD lives,' Surely they swear falsely."

Contextual Overview

1 People of Jerusalem, run through your streets! Look around! See for yourselves! Search the marketplaces! Can you find one person who does what is right and tries to be faithful to God? If you can, the Lord will forgive Jerusalem. 2 Even though you claim to worship the Lord , you do not mean what you say. 3 Surely the Lord looks for faithfulness. He struck you, but you paid no attention; he crushed you, but you refused to learn. You were stubborn and would not turn from your sins. 4 Then I thought, "These are only the poor and ignorant. They behave foolishly; they don't know what their God requires, what the Lord wants them to do. 5 I will go to the people in power and talk with them. Surely they know what their God requires, what the Lord wants them to do." But all of them have rejected the Lord 's authority and refuse to obey him. 6 That is why lions from the forest will kill them; wolves from the desert will tear them to pieces, and leopards will prowl through their towns. If those people go out, they will be torn apart because their sins are numerous and time after time they have turned from God. 7 The Lord asked, "Why should I forgive the sins of my people? They have abandoned me and have worshiped gods that are not real. I fed my people until they were full, but they committed adultery and spent their time with prostitutes. 8 They were like well-fed stallions wild with desire, each lusting for his neighbor's wife. 9 Shouldn't I punish them for these things and take revenge on a nation such as this?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

though: Jeremiah 4:2, Jeremiah 7:9, Leviticus 19:12, Isaiah 48:1, Hosea 4:1, Hosea 4:2, Hosea 4:15, Hosea 10:4, Zechariah 5:3, Zechariah 5:4, Malachi 3:5, 1 Timothy 1:10, 2 Timothy 3:5, Titus 1:16

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:15 - By the life Leviticus 6:3 - sweareth Deuteronomy 6:13 - shalt swear 1 Samuel 19:6 - sware 1 Samuel 20:21 - as the 1 Kings 17:12 - As the Lord Job 27:2 - God liveth Psalms 24:4 - sworn Isaiah 29:13 - Forasmuch Isaiah 59:15 - truth Jeremiah 2:6 - Where Jeremiah 12:16 - my name Jeremiah 42:5 - The Lord be Jeremiah 44:26 - The Lord God Ezekiel 17:13 - taken an oath of him Ezekiel 17:19 - surely

Cross-References

Genesis 1:27
So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female,
Genesis 2:15
Then the Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it.
Genesis 2:23
Then the man said, "At last, here is one of my own kind— Bone taken from my bone, and flesh from my flesh. ‘Woman' is her name because she was taken out of man."
Malachi 2:15
Didn't God make you one body and spirit with her? What was his purpose in this? It was that you should have children who are truly God's people. So make sure that none of you breaks his promise to his wife.
Matthew 19:4
Jesus answered, "Haven't you read the scripture that says that in the beginning the Creator made people male and female?
Mark 10:6
But in the beginning, at the time of creation, ‘God made them male and female,' as the scripture says.
Acts 17:26
From one human being he created all races of people and made them live throughout the whole earth. He himself fixed beforehand the exact times and the limits of the places where they would live.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And though they say, the Lord liveth,.... It might be said, that there were multitudes that made mention of the name of the Lord, that professed it, and swore by it; which sometimes is put for the worship and service of God, Deuteronomy 10:20 and therefore it could not be so difficult a matter to find a man of integrity and uprightness among them; this is answered by allowing there were persons that did do so: but then it must be observed,

that surely they swear falsely; they abused the name of God, and were guilty of perjury: or the sense is, they were only nominal professors, hypocritical worshippers; in words professed to know God, but in works denied him; had a form of religion and godliness, but without the power of it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Though they take the most binding form of oath, they do so only as a means of deceiving others.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 5:2. 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 Jeremiah 4:2.


 
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