Jeremiah 5:20Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Declare these truths to the descendants of Jacob. This serves as a reminder of our forefathers, emphasizing that despite their transformation. Once more, he allows you to perceive this remarkable patriarch, a man of immense significance, mentioning both the house of Jacob and the house of Judah, so that you may understand the vastness of God's power, which through a single ancestor has brought forth entire cities, tribes, and nations.

Proclaim it to the descendants of Jacob and spread the word throughout Judah, saying, Pay attention, you senseless people devoid of understanding, those who possess sight yet do not perceive and have hearing yet do not listen. He invites sinners from various paths to embrace salvation and labels those who abandon the source of wisdom as foolish, likening them to idols that have eyes but do not see and ears but do not hear. As it is said, “They have eyes and do not see, they have ears and do not hear.” Let those who create me and all who place their trust in me be like them, as noted in Psalm 113:15-16. This message is directed at Judah and the house of Jacob, for Israel had long since departed into Assyria. Together, this highlights that even in the absence of teaching, we should naturally discern the essence of righteousness.