Jeremiah 5:1

Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,.... These are the words of the Lord, not to the prophet only, but to any other, who thought fit to look into the reasons of the Lord's dealing in a

Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

CHAPTER 5 None godly in Judah, . They swear falsely, though God be a God of truth; they are incorrigible and senseless, and know not the law, or else wilfully violate it, . Their idolatry, adultery, ; contempt of God’ s word and prophets, which should be sadly verified, . They forsake, forget, and fear not God, whose power is so great, . They are rich through deceit and violence; their false prophets, . Whether this begins a new sermon, or be part of the former, is neither certain nor material; but here the prophet is called upon to go up and down, and search here and there, in every part of the city, and to make a diligent inquiry in every street and place of concourse; a phrase frequently used for searching and inquiring after a thing, ; and it is spoken in the plural number, not restrained to Jeremiah in particular: q.d. Let who will search, they will find it even so. It implies the great scarcity of good men, that must be thus searched for. God gives leave to all the earth to look into the state of Jerusalem, by which he vindicates himself in the face of the whole world from all severity towards his people, whatever he brings upon them, and so stops the mouths of the Jews. Seek in the broad places; even there, where usually is the greatest resort for merchants and merchandises, where men meet from all quarters. If ye can find a man: it seems worse than Sodom and Gomorrah, for God condescends to pardon Jerusalem if there be but one righteous man found in it; there he came no lower than ten. But it will be objected, if it be understood thus individually, What must we think of Jeremiah himself, and Baruch, and Ebed-melech, and other few, who were then, no doubt, in Jerusalem? Answ. Either he speaks of the corrupt body of the people, courtiers, priests, false prophets, not one, or scarce one among them to be found, or if any, so few as not to be discerned. A man might walk the streets of Jerusalem long enough before he could meet with any one truly religious; which universality of corruption is thus expressed in divers places, ,2 14:2,3 Eze 22:30 ,2. Or it may be understood hyperbolically for a few. Any that executeth judgment, i.e. among the magistracy that rightly administer justice. That seeketh the truth, i.e. among the commonalty that deal faithfully and uprightly; it signifies, that, among them all, there are none given to it; so far from endeavouring and seeking it sincerely with their whole heart, that they are not inclined to it, but are given to oppressions, falsehoods, and deceits; they do not seek the truth. I will pardon it; or, him; I will not destroy it for the sake of those few: the like he promiseth with reference to those five cities, , &c.

Jeremiah 5:1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be [any] that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.Ver. 1. Run to and fro.] Spatiamini, scrutamini. Go as many of you as ye please; the verbs are plural. In the streets of Jerusalem.] Where it was strange there should be such a rarity of righteous ones. But "the faithful city was now become a harlot." Like as Rome is at this day. “ Tota est iam Roma lupanar. ” “ Now all Rome isa brothel.” She had a Mancinel, a Savonarola, and some few other Jeremiahs, to tell her her own; but she soon took an order with them. The primitive Christians called heathens pagans; because country people, living in pagis - that is, in hamlets and villages - were heathenish for most part, after that cities were converted, and had many good people in them; but Jerusalem here afforded not any one hardly. If you can find a man,] i.e., A godly, a zealous man. For homines permulti, viri perpauci, saith Herodotus: there is a great paucity of good people. Diogenes is said to have sought for a good man in Athens with a lantern and candle at noonday. And once, when he had made an O yes in the market place, crying out, ‘Aκουσατεανδρες, Hear, O ye men; and thereupon company came about him to hear what the matter was, he rated them away again with this speech, Aνδραςεκαλεσα, ουκαθαρματα, I called for men, and not for varlets. Job was a man, every inch of him. So was Moses, that "man of God"; Daniel, that "man of desires"; John Baptist, "than whom there arose not a greater among all that were born of woman"; Paul, that little man but who did great exploits; Athanasius and Luther who stood out against all the world, and prevailed. But "not many" such; blessed be God that any such. Cicero observeth that scarce in an age was born a good poet. And Seneca saith, such as Clodius was, we have enough: but such as Cato are hard to be found. The host of Nola being bid to summon the good men of the town to appear before the Roman censor, got him to the churchyard, and there called at the graves of the dead: for he knew not where to call for a good man alive. God himself sought for a man that might stand up in the gap, but met not with any such one. And I will pardon it.] Sodom’ s sins cried loud to God for vengeance; so did now Jerusalem’ s. But had there been but a voice or two more of righteous and religious persons there, their prayers had outcried them. A few birds of song are shriller than many crocitating birds of prey. In Polyh. Calvinus erat vir admirabilis. Ipsa a quo posset virtutem discere virtus. Guevara.

V. (1) Run ye to and fro.—The dark shades of the picture seem at first hardly to belong to the reign of Josiah, which is brought before us in 2 Kings 22, 23; 2 Chronicles 34, 35, as one of thorough reformation. It is, of course, possible that parts of the picture may have been worked up when the prophecies were rewritten under Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 36:32); but, on the other hand, it is equally possible that the prophet may have seen even at the time how hollow and incomplete that reformation was. The form in which he utters his conviction reminds one of the old story of the Greek sage, Diogenes, appearing in the streets of Athens with a lantern, searching for an honest man. In the thought that the pardon of the city depended on its containing some elements of good which might make reformation possible, we find an echo of Gen 18:25; but the picture is of a state more utterly hopeless. There were not ten righteous men found in Sodom (Genesis 18:32); in Jerusalem there was not one.

CHAPTER V The prophet, having described the judgments impending over his countrymen, enlarges on the corruptions which prevailed among them. Their profession of religion was all false and hypocritical, 1, 2. Though corrected, they were not amended, but persisted in their guilt, 3. This was not the case with the low and ignorant only, 4; but more egregiously so with those of the higher order, from whose knowledge and opportunities better things might have been expected, 5. God therefore threatens them with the most cruel enemies, 6; and appeals to themselves if they should be permitted to practise such sins unpunished, 7-9. He then commands their enemies to raze the walls of Jerusalem, 10; that devoted city whose inhabitants added to all their other sins the highest contempt of God's word and prophets, 11-13. Wherefore his word, in the mouth of his prophet, shall be as fire to consume them, 14; the Chaldean forces shall cruelly addict them, 15-17; and farther judgments await then as the consequence of their apostasy and idolatry, 18, 19. The chapter closes with a most melancholy picture of the moral condition of the Jewish people at that period which immediately preceded the Babylonish captivity, 20-31. NOTES ON CHAP. V Verse 1. Broad places] Market-places, and those where there was most public resort. If ye can find a man] A certain philosopher went through the streets of Athens with a lighted lamp in his hand; and being asked what he sought, answered, "I am seeking to find a MAN." So in Jerusalem none was found, on the most diligent search, who acted worthy the character of a rational being. I will pardon it.] I will spare the city for the sake of one righteous person. So at the intercession of Abraham, God would have spared Sodom if there had been ten righteous persons found in it; Genesis 18:26.

1. Run ye to and fro] The prophet challenges his hearers to find a single righteous man by a thorough and extensive search. Cp. Genesis 18:23-33. The little good that was left in the land was driven out of sight by the prevailing wickedness, and exercised no appreciable effect upon it. broad places] the market-places and other chief places of resort. truth] mg. faithfulness, and so in Jeremiah 5:3; by no means confined to truth in words. The word is the same as that rendered “faithfully,” e.g. 2 Kings 12:15; 2 Kings 22:7. Jeremiah lays special stress on this quality, which with him “unites in itself faithfulness towards God (constancy), towards man (integrity), towards oneself (genuineness),” Co. Cp. Hosea 4:1.

The broad places - The open spaces next the gates, and other places of concourse. A man - Or, anyone. That executeth - “That” practiceth. Truth - uprightness, probity (so in Jeremiah 5:3).

MAKES PARDON , Jeremiah 5:1-10.1. Seek… a man — The thought is not completed at this latter word, but is carried forward to the end of the verse.