Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the law of their God.
All Commentaries on Jeremiah 5:4 Go To Jeremiah 5
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Paul says about those who live in piety and prosperity, “I thank God that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge.” And to those who are impious, the blessed Jeremiah says, “Maybe they are poor. For this reason, they could not hear the word of the Lord.” Do you see that he calls poor those who have distanced themselves from piety? Therefore, God is merciful to those who sin because they are spiritually poor, and he places demands on those who act justly because they are spiritually rich. To the former he gives freely, on account of their poverty. From the latter he collects with great care, on account of their wealth of piety. That which he does to the righteous and to sinners, he does to both the rich and the poor.
