Jeremiah 5:26

"For among my people are found wicked men: they watch as fowlers lie in wait; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxed rich. 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. Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?"

In this paragraph goes a step beyond the religious failure of the nation and cites the social oppression and injustice that inevitably follow unfaithfulness in the worship of God.

"Waxed rich ... waxed fat ..." (Jeremiah 5:27,28). The intransitive verb "wax" is now obsolete; but it is an Old English word that means, "to grow, to increase" or "to become." It contrasts with its opposite, "to wane," which means "to decrease" or "to diminish."

"Shall I not visit for these things ..." (Jeremiah 5:19)? By such statements as this, Jehovah strives to convince the rebellious nation of the justice of the judgment and punishment about to fail upon them.

The whole paragraph pertains, "To three classes of people: the rich who oppress the poor, the false prophets who deceive, and the priests who also misbehave."[24]