“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I will forgive the city.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Run back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in its wide places, if you can find a man, if there are any who does justly, who seeks truth; and I will pardon her.
- KJV Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
- NKJV “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; See now and know; And seek in her open places If you can find a man, If there is anyone who executes judgment, Who seeks the truth, And I will pardon her.
- NASB “Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem, And look and take notice. And seek in her public squares, If you can find a person, If there is one who does justice, who seeks honesty, Then I will forgive her.
- NLT “Run up and down every street in Jerusalem,” says the Lord. “Look high and low; search throughout the city! If you can find even one just and honest person, I will not destroy the city.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
All the tribes of Israel come to David at Hebron, acknowledging him as their kinsman. The nation finally moves to unite under him.
Overview
With Saul's house fallen, the tribes gather to David and confess, We are your bone and your flesh, affirming their shared kinship and rightful loyalty. This marks the long-awaited turning point when David is recognized by all Israel, not just Judah. The whole people coming to their shepherd-king prefigures the gathering of God's people to Christ, the true King from David's line.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Gen 18:23–32Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
- 2 Chr 16:9For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”
- Ezek 22:30I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.
- Ps 14:3All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
- Isa 59:4No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
- Ps 53:2–4God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.
- Mic 7:1–2Woe is me! For I am like one gathering summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster to eat, no early fig that I crave.
- Isa 59:14–15So justice is turned away, and righteousness stands at a distance. For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.
- Prov 20:6Many a man proclaims his loving devotion, but who can find a trustworthy man?
- Ps 12:1For the choirmaster. According to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.
- Song 3:2I will arise now and go about the city, through the streets and squares. I will seek the one I love. So I sought him but did not find him.
- Amos 8:12People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east, seeking the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.
- Prov 23:23Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
- Prov 2:4–6if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure,
- Zech 2:4and said to him, “Run and tell that young man: ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock within it.
- Dan 12:4But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”
- Joel 2:9They storm the city; they run along the wall; they climb into houses, entering through windows like thieves.
- Prov 8:3Beside the gates to the city, at the entrances she cries out:
- 2 Th 2:10and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.
- Luke 14:21The servant returned and reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’
- 1 Kgs 19:10“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 5:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.