Jeremiah 5 · Verse 19

Jeremiah 5:19

And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
Jeremiah 5:19, King James Version

Jeremiah 5:19 in other translations

BSBAnd when the people ask, ‘For what offense has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ You are to tell them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve foreigners in a land that is not your own.’”
WEBIt will happen when you say, ‘Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ Then you shall say to them, ‘Just as you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
ASVAnd it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore hath Jehovah our God done all these things unto us? then shalt thou say unto them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served foreign gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
YLTAnd it hath come to pass, when ye say, ‘For what hath Jehovah our God done to us all these?' That thou hast said unto them, ‘As ye have forsaken Me, And serve the gods of a foreigner in your land, So do ye serve strangers in a land not yours.
DARBYAnd it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore hath Jehovah our God done all these things unto us? then shalt thou say to them, As ye have forsaken me, and served strangegods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
BBEAnd it will come about, when you say, Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us? that you will say to them, As you gave me up, making yourselves servants to strange gods in your land, so will you be servants to strange men in a land which is not yours.
WebsterAnd it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Why doeth the LORD our God all these things to us? then shalt thou answer them, As ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

What does Jeremiah 5:19 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
19. Retribution in kind. As ye have forsaken Me (Jr 2:13), so shall ye be forsaken by Me. As ye have served strange (foreign) gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers (foreigners) in a land not yours. Compare the similar retribution in De 28:47, 48.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 5:19-31
Unhumbled hearts are ready to charge God with being unjust in their afflictions. But they may read their sin in their punishment. If men will inquire wherefore the Lord doeth hard things unto them, let them think of their sins. The restless waves obeyed the Divine decree, that they should not pass the sandy shores, which were as much a restraint as lofty mountains; but they burst all restraints of God's law, and were wholly gone into wickedness. Neither did they consider their interest. While the Lord, year after year, reserves to us the appointed weeks of harvest, men live on his bounty; yet they transgress against him. Sin deprives us of God's blessings; it makes the heaven as brass, and the earth as iron. Certainly the things of this world are not the best things; and we are not to think, that, because evil men prosper, God allows their practices. Though sentence against evil works is not executed speedily, it will be executed. Shall I not visit for these things? This speaks the certainty and the necessity of God's judgments. Let those who walk in bad ways consider that an end will come, and there will be bitterness in the latter end.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Jeremiah 5:19 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהָיָה֙ve.ha.Yahand it will beH1961
כִּ֣יkithatH3588
תֹאמְר֔וּto.me.Ruyou will sayH559
תַּ֣חַתTa.chatforH8478
מֶ֗הMehwhat?H4100
עָשָׂ֨ה'a.Sahdid he doH6213
יְהֹוָ֧הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֵ֛ינוּ'e.lo.Hei.nuGod ourH430
לָ֖נוּLa.nuto <the> us
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
אֵ֑לֶּה'E.lehthese [things]H428
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ve.'a.mar.Taand you will sayH559
אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם'a.lei.Hemto themH413
כַּאֲשֶׁ֨רka.'a.Sherjust asH834
עֲזַבְתֶּ֤ם'a.zav.Temyou forsookH5800
אוֹתִי֙'o.Ti<obj.> meH853
וַתַּעַבְד֞וּva.ta.'av.Duand you servedH5647
אֱלֹהֵ֤י'e.lo.Heigods ofH430
נֵכָר֙ne.KharforeignnessH5236
בְּאַרְצְכֶ֔םbe.'ar.tze.Khemin own land yourH776
כֵּ֚ןkensoH3651
תַּעַבְד֣וּta.'av.Duyou will serveH5647
זָרִ֔יםza.RimstrangersH2114
בְּאֶ֖רֶץbe.'E.retzin a landH776
לֹ֥אlo'[which] notH3808
לָכֶֽם\׃\ \סla.Khem[belongs] to <the> you

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Jeremiah 5:19

  • 1 Kings 9:8-9

    And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.

  • Deuteronomy 28:47-48

    Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.

  • Jeremiah 22:8-9

    And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city? Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

  • Jeremiah 13:22

    And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare.

  • Jeremiah 16:13

    Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.

  • Deuteronomy 29:24-28

    Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them: And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book: …

  • Jeremiah 16:10-11

    And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God? Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;

  • Jeremiah 2:35

    Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.

  • Jeremiah 2:13

    For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

  • 2 Chronicles 7:21-22

    And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and unto this house? And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.

  • Lamentations 5:8

    Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand.

  • Deuteronomy 4:25-28

    When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you. And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Wherefore.
2:35; 13:22; 16:10; 22:8,9; De 29:24-28; 1Ki 9:8,9; 2Ch 7:21,22
Like as.
2:13; De 4:25-28; 28:47,48; La 5:8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Jeremiah 5:18

    Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you.

  • Jeremiah 5:19

    And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

  • Jeremiah 5:20

    Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,

Read all of Jeremiah 5

Jeremiah 5:19 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y será que cuando dijereis: ¿Por qué hizo Jehová el Dios nuestro con nosotros todas estas cosas? entonces les dirás: De la manera que me dejasteis á mí, y servisteis á dioses ajenos en vuestra tierra, así serviréis á extraños en tierra ajena.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et il arrivera que, quand vous direz: Pourquoi l’ Éternel, notre Dieu, nous a-t-il fait toutes ces choses? tu leur diras: Comme vous m’avez abandonné et que vous avez servi des dieux étrangers dans votre pays, ainsi vous servirez les étrangers dans un pays qui n’est pas le vôtre.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und es soll geschehen, wenn ihr sagen werdet: Weshalb hat Jehova, unser Gott, uns dies alles getan? so sprich zu ihnen: Gleichwie ihr mich verlassen und fremden Göttern gedient habt in eurem Lande, also sollt ihr Fremden dienen in einem Lande, das nicht euer ist.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Quod si dixeritis: Quare fecit nobis Dominus Deus noster hæc omnia? dices ad eos: Sicut dereliquistis me, et servistis deo alieno in terra vestra, sic servietis alienis in terra non vestra.