Bible Strands
Jeremiah 5:26
For among My people are wicked men; they watch like fowlers lying in wait; they set a trap to catch men.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jeremiah addresses Judah during a period of entrenched covenant unfaithfulness, declaring that the nation's persistent sin has already altered how God relates to them.
The words — The verb יָשׁוּר (ya.Shur) literally means "he watches" or "lies in wait," directly modifying the noun יְקוּשִׁ֔ים (ye.ku.Shim) for "fowlers" to describe a predatory stance.
The thread — The text's depiction of concealed ambush and snare-setting appears in Proverbs 1:11, Psalms 64:5, and Jeremiah 18:22, where hostile actors dig pits or lie in wait for the innocent.
Why it lands — The passage requires a reader to acknowledge that moral corruption operates through deliberate predation rather than casual failure, demanding immediate accountability before divine restraint is lifted.
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
For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 1:11 If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,
- Psalms 64:5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say.
- Jeremiah 18:22 Let a cry be heard from their houses when You suddenly bring raiders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet.
- Ezekiel 22:2 “As for you, son of man, will you judge her? Will you pass judgment on the city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her abominations
- Psalms 10:9 He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net.
- 1 Samuel 19:10 Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear. But David eluded him and the spear struck the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
- Habakkuk 1:14 You have made men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler.
- Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.
- Jeremiah 4:22 “For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”
- Luke 5:10 and so were his partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to Simon. “From now on you will catch men.”