Jeremiah 5:28

They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the rights of the needy.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jeremiah pronounces judgment on Judah's rulers while describing their moral decay immediately before God's threatened punishment (Jeremiah 5:27–29). The prophet addresses a leadership class whose wealth stems from deceit and who now face divine reckoning.

The words — The Hebrew שָׁמְנוּ (sha.me.Nu) and עָשְׁתוּ ('a.she.Tu) literally mean "they have become fat" and "they have become smooth," denoting physical prosperity. The text records they transgressed (עָבְרוּ, 'a.ve.Ru) the matters of evil (דִבְרֵי רָע, div.rei Ra') and refused to uphold a cause (דִין, din) for the fatherless or defend the needy.

The thread — This pattern of wealth breeding moral indifference appears in Isaiah 1:23, where rulers love bribes and ignore the fatherless, and in Deuteronomy 32:15, where Jeshurun grows fat and abandons God. Psalm 73:12 similarly connects the wicked's carefree prosperity with a lack of righteous action.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge that material success without justice is complicity in wickedness. It demands an examination of whether one's prosperity is paired with defense of the vulnerable or merely self-preservation.

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

שָׁמְנ֣וּsha.me.Nuthey have become fat עָשְׁת֗וּ'a.she.Tuthey have become smooth גַּ֚םgamalso עָֽבְר֣וּ'a.ve.Ruthey have transgressed דִבְרֵי־div.rei-matters of רָ֔עRa'evil דִּ֣יןdina cause לֹא־lo'-not דָ֔נוּDa.nuthey have pleaded דִּ֥יןdin[the] cause of יָת֖וֹםya.Tom[the] fatherless וְיַצְלִ֑יחוּve./yatz.Li.chuso/ they may have success וּמִשְׁפַּ֥טu./mish.Patand/ [the] justice of אֶבְיוֹנִ֖ים'ev.yo.Nimneedy [people]לֹ֥אlo'not שָׁפָֽטוּ׃sha.Fa.tuthey have judged

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Isaiah 1:23 Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
Deuteronomy 32:15 But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
Psalms 73:12 Behold, these are the wicked—always carefree as they increase their wealth.
Jeremiah 7:6 if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm,
Zechariah 7:10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’
Job 12:6 The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure—those who carry their god in their hands.
Job 15:27 Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh,
Job 21:23 One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease.
Job 29:12 because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper.
Psalms 72:4 May he vindicate the afflicted among the people; may he save the children of the needy and crush the oppressor.