But even when they are under oath, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ they are still telling lies!”
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.
- BSB Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ they are swearing 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.”
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 that they know God, but by their deeds they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.
- Jer 4:2and you shall swear, ‘As Yahweh lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness. The nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.”
- Isa 48:1“Hear this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and have come out of the waters of Judah. You swear by Yahweh’s name, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness
- Lev 19:12“‘You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
- Hos 4:1–2Hear Yahweh’s word, you children of Israel; for Yahweh has a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “Indeed there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land.
- Hos 10:4They make promises, swearing falsely in making covenants. Therefore judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
- Jer 7:9Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known,
- 2 Tim 3:5holding a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Turn away from these, also.
- 1 Tim 1:10for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine;
- Hos 4:15“Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, yet don’t let Judah offend; and don’t come to Gilgal, neither go up to Beth Aven, nor swear, ‘As Yahweh lives.’
- Mal 3:5I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Zech 5:3–4Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the surface of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to it on the one side; and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to it on the other side.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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.