Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ they are swearing falsely.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Though they say, ‘As Yahweh lives;’ surely they swear falsely.”
- KJV And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.
- NKJV Though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.”
- NASB “And although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ Certainly they swear falsely.”
- NLT But even when they are under oath, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ they are still telling lies!”
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
The tribes recall that David already led Israel in battle and that the Lord appointed him shepherd and prince. They base his kingship on God's own word.
Overview
Israel remembers David's proven leadership under Saul and cites the Lord's promise that David would shepherd and rule His people. The shepherd image, drawn from David's literal beginnings, becomes a defining metaphor for godly kingship. It points forward to Jesus, the Good Shepherd and Prince of David's house who tends and rules God's flock (John 10; Ezekiel 34).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Titus 1:16They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
- Jer 4:2and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.”
- Isa 48:1“Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, who have descended from the line of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD, who invoke the God of Israel—but not in truth or righteousness—
- Lev 19:12You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
- Hos 4:1–2Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!
- Hos 10:4They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants. So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.
- Jer 7:9Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,
- 2 Tim 3:5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!
- 1 Tim 1:10for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching
- Hos 4:15Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
- Mal 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Zech 5:3–4Then he told me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of all the land, for according to one side of the scroll, every thief will be removed; and according to the other side, every perjurer will be removed.
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 5:2 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.