Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

JEREMIAH 5:1KJV
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Jeremiah 5:1 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 5:1 mean?

Jeremiah 5:1 describes God telling people to search all over Jerusalem to see if they can find even one person who truly does what is right and seeks the truth; if such a person is found, God promises to forgive the city. The verse highlights how rare genuine justice and honesty have become in Jerusalem at this time.

The prophet Jeremiah is speaking God’s words to the people of Jerusalem during a time of widespread unfaithfulness. God challenges anyone to look everywhere—through the streets and public places—to find a single person who acts with true justice and seeks truth. This verse sets the stage for the message of judgment in the chapter, showing how deeply the people have turned away from what is right.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 5:1

  • The word for "streets" is חוּץ (ḥuts), meaning the open areas or public spaces of the city. This stresses that the search is to be thorough and public, not hidden or limited.
  • "Executeth judgment" uses the word עָשָׂה (asah) for "does" and מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) for "judgment" or "justice." This points to someone who actively practices justice, not just someone who knows about it.
  • "Seeketh the truth" uses אֱמוּנָה (emunah), which often means faithfulness, reliability, or integrity, not just factual truth. God is looking for someone who is trustworthy and steadfast in character.
  • "Pardon" comes from סָלַח (salach), meaning to forgive or spare. God’s willingness to forgive the whole city for the sake of one righteous person shows both the seriousness of the situation and the depth of God’s mercy.

Why Jeremiah 5:1 matters

  • Jeremiah 5:1 clears up any idea that God’s judgment is rash or unfair; God is willing to spare everyone if even one truly righteous person can be found.
  • The verse emphasizes how rare true justice and faithfulness have become in Jerusalem, setting up the reason for the coming warnings and judgments in the book.
  • This verse connects to a wider biblical theme, seen also in Genesis 18 with Abraham pleading for Sodom, where God’s mercy is available even for the sake of a few righteous people.

Where else these words appear

“fro” Hebrew H7751 · used in 13 verses

  • Numbers 11:8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
  • Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
  • Ezekiel 27:26 Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.

“places” Hebrew H7339 · used in 41 verses

  • Genesis 19:2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
  • Esther 6:9 And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.
  • Jeremiah 9:21 For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.

“pardon” Hebrew H5545 · used in 45 verses

  • Exodus 34:9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
  • Numbers 15:26 And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them; seeing all the people were in ignorance.
  • 2 Chronicles 6:27 Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.

“truth” Hebrew H530 · used in 49 verses

  • Exodus 17:12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
  • Psalms 40:10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.
  • Psalms 119:90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.