‘Like a cage full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit; Therefore they have become great 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.
- BSB Like cages full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become powerful and rich.
- NKJV As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown 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 18:2He cried with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and she has become a habitation of demons, a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird!
- Jer 9:6Your habitation is in the middle of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me,” says Yahweh.
- Hab 2:9–11Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
- Amos 8:4–6Hear this, you who desire to swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail,
- Prov 1:11–13If they say, “Come with us. Let’s lay in wait for blood. Let’s lurk secretly for the innocent without cause.
- Mic 1:12For the inhabitant of Maroth waits anxiously for good, because evil has come down from Yahweh to the gate of Jerusalem.
- Hos 12:7–8A merchant has dishonest scales in his hand. He loves to defraud.
- Mic 6:10–11Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and a short ephah that is accursed?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 5:27 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.