Jeremiah 5:5
I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds. I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.
The great men are the leading men, from whom knowledge of the Lord's way and of the standard of right judgment belonging to their God is rightly expected. Yet even these leaders can rebel against God, altogether breaking the yoke and bursting the bonds by casting off His authority. The description fits leaders who have long been in the truth but who disregard divine cautions and lean upon their own judgment instead. Such leaders employ their ministry so as to pervert the truth and to fail in saving souls. Their influence must therefore be transformed by God's converting power.