Like cages full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become powerful and rich.
Parallel translations
- WEB As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit. Therefore they have become great, and grew rich.
- KJV As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
- NKJV As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
- NASB ‘Like a cage full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit; Therefore they have become great and rich.
- NLT Like a cage filled with birds, their homes are filled with evil plots. And now they are great and rich.
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
Their houses are full of deceit like cages full of birds, and so they have grown rich and great. It matters because it shows wealth gained through fraud and oppression.
Overview
The Lord compares their homes, filled with ill-gotten gain, to cages crammed with captured birds; through deceit they have become powerful and wealthy. Prosperity here is the fruit of injustice, not blessing. Scripture consistently warns that wealth amassed by wronging others stands under God's judgment (James 5:1-4; Amos 8:4-6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Rev 18:2And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.
- Jer 9:6You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD.
- Hab 2:9–11Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, to place his nest on high and escape the hand of disaster!
- Amos 8:4–6Hear this, you who trample the needy, who do away with the poor of the land,
- Prov 1:11–13If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,
- Mic 1:12For the dwellers of Maroth pined for good, but calamity came down from the LORD, even to the gate of Jerusalem.
- Hos 12:7–8A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands.
- Mic 6:10–11Can I forget any longer, O house of the wicked, the treasures of wickedness and the short ephah, which is accursed?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 5:27 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.