Jeremiah 5:30–31, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Jeremiah 5:30–31
Prophets, Priests, and Popular Consent Share the Horror
False speech, priestly self-rule, and popular appetite form one horror
A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
Prophets, priests, and people share the crisis. Popularity alone neither proves nor disproves truth. The critique must not become a blanket attack on clergy or Jewish worship. 'Love to have it so' names consent, not a stupid flock by nature.
The last question refuses a comfortable ending
What will ye do in the end thereof? is left hanging because the arrangement cannot last. The horror is institutional and preferred, not a secret only elites keep.
A later reader who loves exposing other pulpits while demanding pleasant words at home has not heard the sentence.
How this should shape us
Ask whether you love the arrangement that keeps hard truth away. Do not use this verse to torch all priests, rabbis, or pastors, and do not treat a crowd's approval as the test of a word.
Teach it back
Explain Jeremiah 5:30–31 in your own words. Name its place in Jeremiah, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible readings differ?
Best judgment: Popularity alone neither proves nor disproves truth, and this critique must not become a blanket attack on clergy or Jewish worship.
How certain? strongResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Jeremiah 5:30–31, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 5:30–31
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, names, textual problems, and material translation alternatives.
Official NET Bible Jeremiah PDF, pp. 1258-1459, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Jeremiah 5:30–31
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with ancient-to-modern limits.
Enter the Bible Jeremiah course, Summary, Outline, Background, and Introductory Issues: call, early preaching, temple sermon, and laments; applied to Jeremiah 5:30–31
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and explicit composition questions.
Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Jeremiah Part 1 study guide, pp. 1-6: composition, Josianic setting, temple sermon, and imperial context; applied to Jeremiah 5:30–31
Supports: Controls prophetic-conflict claims, especially Jeremiah 28, while keeping outcome, tradition, conduct, and interpretation in conversation.
Scolnic, 'Jeremiah and Hananiah: A Study of True and False Prophecy,' Jewish Bible Quarterly 50.2 (2022), pp. 113-118; applied to Jeremiah 5:30–31
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Jeremiah 5:30–31, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2; fixed commit
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 5:30–31
Open the fixed Hebrew Jeremiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Jeremiah with Translator, Textual, and Study Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; official eBible PDF distribution, NET Bible Second Edition; official PDF accessed 2026
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, names, textual problems, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Jeremiah PDF, pp. 1258-1459, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Jeremiah 5:30–31
Open the official NET Jeremiah PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Jeremiah: Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Themes, and Bible in the World
Terence E. Fretheim and Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, current public course accessed 2026
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with ancient-to-modern limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Jeremiah course, Summary, Outline, Background, and Introductory Issues: call, early preaching, temple sermon, and laments; applied to Jeremiah 5:30–31
Open the Enter the Bible Jeremiah course ↗open university study guide series
Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Jeremiah Parts 1-3 Study Guides
Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub
Yale Bible Study, 2024
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and explicit composition questions.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Jeremiah Part 1 study guide, pp. 1-6: composition, Josianic setting, temple sermon, and imperial context; applied to Jeremiah 5:30–31
Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗peer reviewed open access article
Jeremiah and Hananiah: A Study of True and False Prophecy
Benjamin Scolnic
Jewish Bible Quarterly 50.2, 2022
Supports: Controls prophetic-conflict claims, especially Jeremiah 28, while keeping outcome, tradition, conduct, and interpretation in conversation.
Exact location: Scolnic, 'Jeremiah and Hananiah: A Study of True and False Prophecy,' Jewish Bible Quarterly 50.2 (2022), pp. 113-118; applied to Jeremiah 5:30–31
Open Scolnic on Jeremiah and Hananiah ↗