Jeremiah 5 8

Jeremiah 5:8 kjv

They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife.

Jeremiah 5:8 nkjv

They were like well-fed lusty stallions; Every one neighed after his neighbor's wife.

Jeremiah 5:8 niv

They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man's wife.

Jeremiah 5:8 esv

They were well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor's wife.

Jeremiah 5:8 nlt

They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
each neighing for his neighbor's wife.

Jeremiah 5 verses

Jeremiah 5 8 Meaning

Jeremiah 5:8 vividly portrays the pervasive and unbridled moral corruption of the people of Judah, specifically highlighting their brazen sexual lust and adultery. They are depicted as being so consumed by their desires that they act like well-fed, energetic stallions in the morning, aggressively and openly pursuing the wives of their neighbors without shame or restraint. This animalistic comparison underscores the depth of their depravity, their abandonment of divine and societal order, and the public nature of their sin, which stands as a clear violation of God's commandments.

Jeremiah 5 8 Context

Jeremiah chapter 5 depicts the LORD's exhaustive search for justice and truth among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Starting from verse 1, God commands Jeremiah to "run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem" to find if there is anyone who "does justice, seeks truth," so that the city might be spared. The grim reality quickly unfolds: no one, neither the poor nor the rich, fears the Lord or respects His law (Jer 5:3-5). The people have become stubbornly unrepentant, rejecting correction and preferring to live in defiance of God's covenant.

Jeremiah 5:7 specifically precedes our verse, stating, "When I had fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of prostitutes." This connects their physical satiation and prosperity, granted by God's provision, directly with their turning away to sexual sin and idolatry. The nation had been blessed, but instead of showing gratitude and faithfulness, they indulged in depravity. Verse 8, then, amplifies this, presenting a vivid metaphor of their unrestrained lust. The context, therefore, is one of a morally bankrupt nation under impending divine judgment, with pervasive sexual sin being a stark indicator of their deep-seated spiritual unfaithfulness to YHWH, who is a jealous God, covenantally married to Israel. Their actions show a complete disregard for the sacred relationship they had with Him.

Jeremiah 5 8 Word analysis

• They: Refers to the collective inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem, particularly those mentioned from Jeremiah 5:1 who fail to uphold truth or righteousness, including their leaders and all segments of society that have participated in covenant breaking.
• were as fed horses: The Hebrew pārāšîm mūšāḥîm (פָּרָשִׁים מוּשָׁכִים) signifies "well-fed," "fattened," or "stallions let loose." This imagery paints a picture of vitality, strength, and unchecked vigor. These are not weak or starved animals, but strong, robust horses full of energy, signifying a lustful drive that is potent and unrestrained. In a broader sense, this also indicates Judah's prosperity, which rather than fostering godliness, led to indulgence and moral decay.
• in the morning: This specific time amplifies the image of vigor and readiness. It implies that their lust is not a nighttime vice but a consuming, immediate, and pervasive impulse from the start of the day, reflecting its depth and prevalence. It's not a secret act; it's done with audacious immediacy, like an animal bursting forth with energy.
• every one neighed: The Hebrew word ṣāhal (צהל) describes the loud, often exultant cry of a horse. When applied to human beings in this context, it depicts their lust as overt, boisterous, and lacking in any sense of shame or discretion. Their desires are not concealed or suppressed but openly expressed, like a stallion neighing to express its mating desire. This suggests a widespread and publicly visible pursuit of illicit sexual gratification.
• after his neighbour's wife: This directly names the specific sin as adultery. It points to a violation of the marriage covenant, which serves as a foundational human relationship often used to symbolize God's covenant with Israel. Adultery against one's neighbor directly violates God's seventh and tenth commandments (Ex 20:14, 17) and indicates a complete breakdown of moral and social order. It signifies not just individual sin but a widespread societal depravity where sacred bonds are flagrantly disregarded.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "They were as fed horses in the morning": This phrase functions as a potent metaphor. It conveys the sheer animalistic drive, vigor, and unrestrained energy of the people in their pursuit of pleasure. Their lust is not an incidental weakness but an overflowing, well-nurtured, and powerful force within them, likened to a physical, primal urge present from the very beginning of the day.
• "every one neighed after his neighbour's wife": This segment clearly illustrates the brazen, vocal, and universal nature of their sin. "Every one" highlights the pervasiveness; "neighed" points to its overt, shameless expression; and "after his neighbour's wife" specifies the object and nature of their transgression as blatant disregard for established boundaries, commandments, and the sanctity of marriage. It also implies a competitive or covetous aspect to their pursuit, adding further layers of sin.

Jeremiah 5 8 Bonus section

• The comparison to animals highlights a dehumanizing aspect of sin: when people abandon God's law and truth, they descend from being beings created in God's image, endowed with reason and morality, to slaves of their base instincts, acting little different from irrational beasts driven solely by lust.
• The "morning" context underscores that this wasn't an isolated, furtive act, or a consequence of night-time temptation, but a fundamental orientation of their desire—fresh, energetic, and immediate, permeating their daily existence.
• This verse illustrates a key principle taught throughout Scripture: when a people abandon God as the object of their worship and affection (idolatry), their moral fabric also disintegrates, often manifesting most conspicuously in sexual perversion and relational brokenness (as seen in Rom 1). Physical adultery, in Jeremiah's prophecy, directly reflects their spiritual adultery against YHWH.

Jeremiah 5 8 Commentary

Jeremiah 5:8 serves as a searing indictment of Judah's profound moral collapse. The prophet uses an unflattering, visceral animalistic metaphor—that of well-fed, energetic stallions loudly neighing for a neighbor's mare—to expose the unrestrained and public nature of the people's widespread adultery. This is not merely an individual lapse in morality, but a pervasive, unashamed societal behavior. The "fed horses" image emphasizes their prosperity or vitality being channeled not into righteous living, but into unchecked, destructive passions, mirroring their spiritual unfaithfulness where they turned away from their covenant relationship with God (symbolized often as marriage) to engage in "adultery" with foreign gods. This rampant sexual immorality, a direct breach of foundational commandments, epitomized their spiritual rebellion and their readiness for the impending divine judgment, illustrating how flagrant disobedience against God manifests in visible moral decay.