Bible Strands
Jeremiah 42:5
Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act upon every word that the LORD your God sends you to tell us.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The remnant leaders address Jeremiah the prophet immediately after he promises to pray for them and report God’s response without omission. They make this declaration in direct response to his assurance in Jeremiah 42:4.
The words — The Hebrew phrase לְעֵד אֱמֶת (le-'Ed 'Emet) literally renders "a witness of truth." This term anchors their conditional oath to divine reliability.
The thread — This formulaic oath appears in Genesis 31:50, Judges 11:10, and Malachi 2:14, where parties invoke God as a witness to enforce accountability. The pattern establishes a covenantal mechanism for binding human promises.
Why it lands — The text records a conditional pledge to obey every word God delivers through Jeremiah. It requires the reader to recognize the weight of swearing by God’s character before committing to divine instruction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then they said to Jeremiah, The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us.
Cross-references
- Genesis 31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”
- Judges 11:10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.”
- Malachi 2:14 Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
- Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Micah 1:2 Hear, O peoples, all of you; listen, O earth, and everyone in it! May the Lord GOD bear witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.
- Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
- Revelation 3:14 To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation.
- Exodus 20:7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- Exodus 20:19 “Speak to us yourself and we will listen,” they said to Moses. “But do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”
- Deuteronomy 5:27 Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then you can tell us everything the LORD our God tells you; we will listen and obey.”