Jeremiah 5 · Verse 27

Jeremiah 5:27

As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
Jeremiah 5:27, King James Version

Jeremiah 5:27 in other translations

BSBLike cages full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become powerful and rich.
WEBAs a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit. Therefore they have become great, and grew rich.
ASVAs a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxed rich.
YLTAs a cage full of fowls, So their houses are full of deceit, Therefore they have been great, and are rich.
DARBYAs a cage full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and have enriched themselves.
BBEAs the fowl-house is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: for this reason they have become great and have got wealth.
WebsterAs a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they have become great, and have grown rich.

What does Jeremiah 5:27 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
27. full of deceit--full of treasures got by deceit. rich--(Psa 73:12, 18-20).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 27 As a cage is full of birds - There is no doubt that the reference here is to a decoy or trap-cage, as Dr. Blayney has rendered it; in these the fowlers put several tame birds, which when the wild ones see, they come and light on the cage, and fall into the snare.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · 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…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 5:19-31 →

Jeremiah 5:27 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.

כִּכְלוּב֙kikh.Luvlike a cageH3619
מָ֣לֵאMa.le'fullH4392
ע֔וֹףofbird[s]H5775
כֵּ֥ןkensoH3651
בָּתֵּיהֶ֖םba.tei.Hemhouses theirH1004
מְלֵאִ֣יםme.le.'Im[are] fullH4392
מִרְמָ֑הmir.MahdeceitH4820
עַל\־'al-there-H5921
כֵּ֥ןken-foreH3651
גָּדְל֖וּga.de.Luthey have become greatH1431
וַֽיַּעֲשִֽׁירוּ\׃Vai.ya.'a.Shi.ruand they have gained richesH6238

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

Cross references for Jeremiah 5:27

  • Jeremiah 9:6

    Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord.

  • Amos 8:4-6

    Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

  • Proverbs 1:11-13

    If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

  • Micah 1:12

    For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem.

  • Revelation 18:2

    And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

  • Hosea 12:7-8

    He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress. And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.

  • Habakkuk 2:9-11

    Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

  • Micah 6:10-11

    Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
cage. or, coop.This is, without doubt, a reference to a decoy or trap-cage, as Dr. Blayney renders; in which fowlers place several tame birds, to decoy the others into the snare prepared for them.
Re 18:2
so are.
Pr 1:11-13; Ho 12:7,8; Am 8:4-6; Mic 1:12; 6:10,11; Hab 2:9-11

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

Context

  • Jeremiah 5:26

    For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.

  • Jeremiah 5:27

    As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.

  • Jeremiah 5:28

    They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.

Read all of Jeremiah 5

Jeremiah 5:27 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Como jaula llena de pájaros, así están sus casas llenas de engaño: así se hicieron grandes y ricos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Comme une cage est pleine d’oiseaux, ainsi leurs maisons sont pleines de fraude; c’est pourquoi ils sont devenus grands et se sont enrichis.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Wie ein Käfig voll Vögel, so sind ihre Häuser voll Betrugs; darum sind sie groß und reich geworden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Sicut decipula plena avibus, sic domus eorum plenæ dolo: ideo magnificati sunt et ditati.