THEOSISEphraem the Syrian
They embraced false deities and engaged in unfaithfulness with idols. He bestowed upon them abundant blessings according to their desires, yet they continued to adore false gods and betray their devotion by serving these idols.
Jeremiah 5:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers
How can I be merciful to thee? thy children have forsaken me, and swear by them that are not gods: I fed them to the full, and they committed adultery, and rioted in the harlot's house.
אֵ֤י לָזֹאת֙ אסלוח־אֶֽסְלַֽח־לָ֔ךְ בָּנַ֣יִךְ עֲזָב֔וּנִי וַיִּשָּׁבְע֖וּ בְּלֹ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים וָאַשְׂבִּ֤עַ אוֹתָם֙ וַיִּנְאָ֔פוּ וּבֵ֥ית זוֹנָ֖ה יִתְגֹּדָֽדוּ׃
The Church Fathers on this verse
3 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Jerome of Stridon
Why should I extend mercy to you? Your children have turned away from me and have sworn oaths by entities that are not true gods. I nourished them, yet they engaged in infidelity, surrendering to lust in the abode of a harlot. The lovers behaved like lustful stallions with women, each man roaring after his neighbor's wife. Will I not bring judgment upon this, declares the Lord, and will my soul not seek retribution against such a people? The Lord lays bare the transgressions of Jerusalem, questioning the basis for His mercy. He proclaims, "Your children have abandoned Me"; they are not My children, but yours; they swear allegiance to false gods. I provided for them, and they turned to unfaithfulness. Let those who indulge in the riches bestowed by God and serve their desires take heed.
Read more (204 words)
Lovers became like rampant stallions toward women. The term used instead of stallions in Hebrew is "mosechim," which is commonly interpreted as "dragging" to emphasize their lustful intensity, resembling the description in Ezekiel: "their flesh is like the flesh of donkeys" (Ezekiel 23:20). This echo is noted in another passage: "they have become like the beasts that perish" (Psalms 48:13). Thus, He illustrates a madness of passion, labeling it not merely as excess but as a roaring urge, likening it to the wild lust of horses. Are you not worthy of a reckoning for these actions? It is essential to recognize that "visitation" here refers to punishment and retribution, much like what is stated: "I will visit their iniquity with the rod" (Psalms 88:33). And will not My soul take vengeance on such a people? Those who sin are no longer deemed the people of God but rather referred to as the people of whom His soul has departed, as noted: "Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates" (Isaiah 1:15). However, what the Old Testament conveys with righteous anger is expressed with love in the New Testament, where the Savior proclaims: "I lay down My life for the sheep" (John 10:18).
Theodoret of Cyrus
Which of these will I show compassion to you? He also specifies the various forms of wrongdoing, stating that not only do you and your offspring take oaths in the name of deities that are not truly divine, but you also entice others to do so. Yet I have generously granted you numerous blessings, as indicated by the phrase, “And I have fed them." Furthermore, you disrupt the unions of others, demonstrating a desire akin to that of “the horses of a woman” (Jeremiah 5:8). Then he wraps up:
Cross references
Passages read together with this verse.
- Gal 4:8But then indeed, not knowing God, you served them who, by nature, are not gods.
- Josh 23:7Lest after that you are come in among the Gentiles, who will remain among you, you should swear by the name of their gods, and serve them, and adore them:
- Deut 32:21They have provoked me with that which was no god, and have angered me with their vanities: and I will provoke them with that which is no people, and will vex them with a foolish nation.
- Jer 2:11If a nation hath changed their gods, and indeed they are not gods: but my people have changed their glory into an idol.
- Zeph 1:5And them that worship the host of heaven upon the tops of houses, and them that adore, and swear by the Lord, and swear by Melchom.
- Deut 32:15The beloved grew fat, and kicked: he grew fat, and thick and gross, he forsook God who made him, and departed from God his saviour.
- 1 Cor 8:4But as for the meats that are sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no God but one.
- Jer 23:10Because the land is full of adulterers, because the land hath mourned by reason of cursing, the fields of the desert are dried up: and their course is become evil, and their strength unlike.