John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 5:4-5

"Then I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jehovah, nor the law of their God: I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they know the way of Jehovah, and the law of their God. But these with one accord have broken the yoke, and burst the bonds." — Jeremiah 5:4-5 (ASV)

Some think that the Prophet here makes an excuse for the people and, as far as he could, extenuates their fault; but they are greatly mistaken. For there is no doubt that he, by this comparison, more clearly shows how past remedy the state of things was then. The sum, then, of what he says is this: corruptions so prevailed, not only among the multitude but also among the chief men, that there remained no soundness, as they say, from the head to the sole of the foot.

Nearly the same thing, only in other words, is stated by Isaiah in Isaiah 28. For after having spoken generally against the people, he assails the leading men and says that they were inebriated no less than the common people—that they were inebriated with wine and strong drink. But the meaning is that they were like drunken men because they felt no shame while they abandoned themselves to the most disgraceful deeds.

Jeremiah says something to the same purpose here when he declares that he thought it was the poor who had thus sinned—obscure men of no repute—but that he had found the same thing among the chief men as among the common people. He might, indeed, have only said, “Not only the lowest orders, the multitude, have become corrupt, but also the chief men, who ought to have excelled the rest.” But much more striking is the comparison when he says, “It may be that these miserable men have thus sinned because they did not understand the law of God, nor is this surprising; but greater integrity will be found in the chief men.”

By speaking thus, the Prophet brings the reader into the midst of the scene and shows him that not only all the people were guilty, but also the priests, the prophets, and the chief men in the state. The Prophet’s design is thus evident.

He says, I said—not that he actually thought so, for he saw that all things were in such disorder that nothing better could be hoped for from the chief men than from the common people. This was clearly seen by the Prophet; but, as I have said, he wished to show here, by a striking representation, how wretched the condition of the whole people was.

He says, Surely. The particle אך, ak, is an affirmative or, as in the next verse, an adversative. Some, indeed, take it here in the sense of אולי, auli, perhaps or it may be, and regard it as signifying a concession. “Let us grant this,” he says; “they are the poor, they are of no account, they are, as it were, the offscourings, who have thus sinned. It is not strange if they conduct themselves so foolishly, for they know not the way of Jehovah, nor the judgment of their God.”

The law was, indeed, given to all without any difference, so that the common people had no excuse. But this evil has prevailed in almost all ages: that few attend to the teaching of the law, for everyone is inclined to shake off this yoke. The common people, indeed, think that they have some excuse for neglecting it because they have no leisure and are not born for high stations.

The Prophet then speaks according to this prevailing opinion. But he does not extenuate the fault of those who pleaded ignorance as an excuse because they had not been taught in schools; for, as has been said, God intended His law for the whole people without exception.

By the way of Jehovah and the judgment of God, the Prophet means the same thing; such a repetition is very common in Hebrew. God, in prescribing to us the rule of life, shows us the way in which we are to walk. Our life, indeed, is like a course; and it is not God’s will that we should run at random, but He sets before us the goal to which we are to proceed and also directs us in the only way that leads to it.

For it is the office of the law to call us back from our wandering and to lead us to the mark set before us. Hence the law is called the way of Jehovah; and judgment (משפת, meshephet), as was said yesterday, means rectitude or a rule of life.

What he calls in the first clause the law of Jehovah, he calls in the second the judgment of God. And thus he shows that they were inexcusable who made the objection that they were miserably ignorant and knew nothing, for it was God’s purpose to show them, no less than to the most learned, how they were to live.

He now adds, I will go to the great. By “the great” he meant the priests and the prophets, as well as the king’s counselors and the king himself. I will go, then, he says, to the great, and will speak to them.

It is as though he had said that everywhere his labor was in vain, for he spoke not only to the deaf when addressing the illiterate vulgar but also when addressing the chief men. I have said that the Prophet did not make the inquiry as one who was doubtful, but his purpose was to make the chief men ashamed of themselves and also to confirm what he had said before: that not one just and upright man could be found in Jerusalem.

For they know, he says, etc. He declares the same thing in the same words. But we must always remember that the Prophet did not believe this; rather, he speaks of it as a thing that appeared probable. For who could have then thought that there was so much ignorance in the chief men, since they were in great esteem among the people? Since the opinion then prevailed that all those who were rulers were well acquainted with the law, Jeremiah speaks according to what was commonly thought and says that they knew the way of Jehovah.

He afterwards adds, But (for אך, ak, is to be taken here adversatively, and its proper meaning is “nay” or “but”) they have alike broken the yoke, they have burst the bonds. That is, “If anyone thinks that the rulers are better than the common people, he is much deceived; for I have proofs enough to show that their conduct is the same. They have broken the yoke of God no less than the most ignorant.” By this repetition he more fully confirmed their defection and at the same time reminded them how shameful it was that prophets, priests, and rulers, who occupied the first places in the state, had become so unbridled in their vices.