Why does Jeremiah say, “These are only the poor; they have no sense?"

The meaning of the word poor in Scripture depends on the context. In this case we are reading Hebrew poetry, and the second line of the verse is in parallel to the first so the poor are those who have no sense; for they do not know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God. Poverty therefore seems to refer to a lack of knowledge and understanding rather than economic poverty.¹ Jeremiah is thinking of the ordinary people on the street who have not received instruction in the ways of the Lord. Maybe their behaviour is due to a lack of education in the Lord’s ways?² It must have come as a shock to Jeremiah that Josiah’s religious reforms were having such little impact on the lives of people. Their religion was shallow. They believed that as long as the Temple was kept pure, they would be safe regardless of how they lived. Worship of the Lord had nothing to do with their daily lives.³