ציטירנדיקער פּירוש אויף ירמיהו 5:1

And according to this, it is proper that they should be exiled for the sin of [not observing] the sabbatical year, due to their lack of faith, for they did not believe in God and did not trust in His salvation (Psalms 78:22) that He would perform such a miracle for them in making the produce last for three years. And as it is written, Roam through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now and know, and seek in its open places, if you can find a man, if there is one who executes judgment, who seeks faith, and I will pardon her (Jeremiah 5:1). The land itself is also very particular about this, because it desires that this merit should be brought about through it, to strengthen faith in God through it. Furthermore, through this they will believe that they are all merely sharecroppers on the land, and the Holy One, blessed be He, is the owner of the field. And in this matter, the land desires that the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself be its owner and master, for the land belongs to Him. And by annulling the sabbatical years, they act as if they are the owners of the land, so it is fitting that the land should be particular about this. Therefore it says, Then the land will be appeased regarding its sabbaths. But the land will not be particular if the gentiles treat it according to the natural way, because in any case, all their conduct is according to nature, and they have no faith. And after this introduction, we will come to explain the verses, for they are consistent with this true intention, about which there is no doubt.

שטו, the expression occurs also in Job 1,7 and in Jeremiah 5,1 and in both instances refers to “roaming over an area.”

האף תספה ולא תשא למקום, he did not mention the people in the place but referred to the place itself. Avraham could not reasonably expect G’d to forgive the sinners, but he felt that the place could be saved. If the guilty would be wiped out the righteous would at least be able to continue living in that town, and would not have to migrate to a new location. Avraham concentrated on the word כלה, “total destruction,” of which G’d had spoken. The prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 22,30 and already in chapter 21, elaborates further on how the impending destruction which overtook Jerusalem in his time could have been stopped. Not only would there have to have been interlocutors such as Avraham, but the sins of the city would have had to be in the main minor sins, i.e. not violence, the sin which provokes G’d’s wrath the most, as we know from the generation of the deluge already. Not only that, but in order for the righteous to be able to save their townsfolk from disaster they must be absolutely righteous, not only barely have more merits than debits in G’d’s ledger of their conduct. In Jeremiah’s time there were righteous people. These were withdrawn, did not mix with the wicked, and did not dare go out into the streets to admonish their countrymen, as they were afraid for their own lives and were not prepared to risk their lives in order to urge their fellow Jews to do penitence. Our author quotes Jeremiah 5,1, Psalms 94,15, 69,12, as well as Ezekiel 14,14 and 14,16 to support his case.