Bible Strands
Jeremiah 5:2
Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ they are swearing falsely.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God commands Jeremiah to survey Jerusalem for a single righteous person, but the inhabitants respond with hollow religious declarations.
The words — The Hebrew phrase חַי־יְהֹוָה (chai-Yahweh) literally means “by the life of Yahweh,” directly contrasted with לַשְּׁקֶר (la-sheker), “to falsehood,” describing their false oaths.
The thread — This contrast between verbal profession and actual conduct appears in Leviticus 19:12, Jeremiah 4:2, and Titus 1:16, where outward vows or claims are invalidated by disobedient action or insincerity.
Why it lands — The text states that invoking God’s name while living in falsehood directly contradicts the truth and justice required by that declaration, leaving the speaker spiritually exposed.
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
And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely.
Cross-references
- Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
- Jeremiah 4:2 and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.”
- Leviticus 19:12 You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
- Isaiah 48:1 “Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, who have descended from the line of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD, who invoke the God of Israel—but not in truth or righteousness—
- Jeremiah 7:9 Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,
- Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!
- Hosea 10:4 They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants. So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.
- 2 Timothy 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!
- Hosea 4:15 Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
- Zechariah 5:3 Then he told me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of all the land, for according to one side of the scroll, every thief will be removed; and according to the other side, every perjurer will be removed.