The excuse for the poor: 'I said, "These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God."' This verse presents Jeremiah's thought process: he initially assumed that the poor, lacking education and access to religious instruction, were responsible for the widespread ignorance and faithlessness. The phrase 'they do not know the way of the LORD' suggests that moral and spiritual ignorance might excuse failure to obey God's law. Theologically, this verse introduces the problem that will be resolved in the next verse: the excuse of ignorance cannot account for the entire population's apostasy.

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