Jeremiah 5:28

28 and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not seek justice. They do not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just cause of the poor.

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Jeremiah 5:28 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)

28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.

English Standard Version (ESV)

28 they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy.

New Living Translation (NLT)

28 They are fat and sleek, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. They refuse to provide justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor.

The Message Bible (MSG)

28 hugely obese, oily with rolls of fat. Worse, they have no conscience. Right and wrong mean nothing to them. They stand for nothing, stand up for no one, throw orphans to the wolves, exploit the poor.

American Standard Version (ASV)

28 They are waxed fat, they shine: yea, they overpass in deeds of wickedness; they plead not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.

GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)

28 They grow big and fat. Their evil deeds have no limits. They have no respect for the rights of others. They have no respect for the rights of orphans. But they still prosper. They don't defend the rights of the poor.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

28 They have become fat and sleek. They have also excelled in evil matters. They have not taken up cases, such as the case of orphans, so they might prosper, and they have not defended the rights of the needy.

New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

28 They have grown fat and heavy. There is no limit to the evil things they do. In court they do not state the case of children whose fathers have died. They do not stand up for poor people.

Jeremiah 5:28 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 5:28

They are waxen fat, they shine
Becoming rich they grew fat, and their faces shone through fatness; so oil, delicious food, and good living, as it fattens men, it makes their faces to shine; see ( Psalms 104:15 ) , yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked;
though they pretended to religion, the fear and worship of God, yet they committed crimes more heinous than the most abandoned and profligate sinners: or, "they exceed the words of the wicked" ^F6; either they speak words more wicked than they; or do such actions as are not to be expressed by words, and which even a wicked man would hardly choose to name. The Targum is,

``they transgress the words of the law;''

and the Vulgate Latin version comes pretty near it, "they have passed over my words very badly"; as if they referred to the words of the law and the prophets: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless;
this shows that it was not the common people only that were become so wicked, but the judges and civil magistrates; and who were so far from doing justice between man and man, in all civil cases that came before them, that they would not even exercise right judgment in the case of the fatherless; who not only require justice to be done them, but mercy and pity to be shown them: yet they prosper;
in the world, and increase in riches; have health of body and prosperity in their families; nor are they in trouble, as other men: this sometimes has been trying to good men to observe; see ( Psalms 73:3-14 ) and particularly to the Prophet Jeremiah, ( Jeremiah 12:1 Jeremiah 12:2 ) : or, "that they may prosper" ^F7; as Jarchi interprets it; and to the same sense is the Targum,

``if they had judged the judgment of the fatherless they would have prospered;''

but the former sense is best; and which Kimchi gives into, and agrees with what goes before, concerning the riches and prosperous estate of those men: and the right of the needy do they not judge:
because they are poor, and can not fee them, they will not undertake their cause; or, if it comes before them, they will not do them justice, being bribed by the rich that oppose them.

FOOTNOTES:

F6 (er yrbd wrbe) "transcendunt verba mali", Schmidt; "transierunt verba mali", Cocceius.
F7 (wxyluyw) "ut prosperentur", Gataker.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Jeremiah 5:28 In-Context

26 “Among my people are the wicked who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch people.

27 Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful

28 and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not seek justice. They do not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just cause of the poor.

29 Should I not punish them for this?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?

30 “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land:

Cross References 3

1. S Deuteronomy 32:15
2. Zechariah 7:10
3. Exodus 22:21-24; S Psalms 82:3; S Isaiah 1:23; Jeremiah 7:6; Ezekiel 16:49; Amos 5:12