Jeremiah 5

1 “Run back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places of it, if you can find a man, if there are any who does justly, who seeks truth; and I will pardon her.

2 Though they say, ‘As Yahweh lives;’ surely they swear falsely.”

3 O Yahweh, don’t your eyes look on truth? You have stricken them, but they were not grieved. You have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock. They have refused to return.
4 Then I said, “Surely these are poor. They are foolish; for they don’t know the way of Yahweh, nor the law of their God.5 I will go to the great men, and will speak to them; for they know the way of Yahweh, and the law of their God.” But these with one accord have broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.

6 Therefore a lion out of the forest shall kill them, a wolf of the evenings shall destroy them, a leopard shall watch against their cities; everyone who goes out there shall be torn in pieces; because their transgressions are many, andtheir backsliding is increased.
7 “How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me, and sworn by what are no gods. When I had fed them to the full, they committed adultery, and assembled themselves in troops at the prostitutes’ houses.8 They were as fed horses roaming at large: everyone neighed after his neighbor’s wife.

9 Shouldn’t I punish them for these things?” says Yahweh; “and shouldn’t my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
10 “Go up on her walls, and destroy; but don’t make a full end. Take away her branches; for they are not Yahweh’s.

11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me,” says Yahweh.
12 They have denied Yahweh, and said, “It is not he; neither shall evil come on us; neither shall we see sword nor famine.

13 The prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them.”
14 Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Armies, “Because you speak this word, behold, I will make my words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.15 Behold, I will bring a nation on you from far, house of Israel,” says Yahweh. “It is a mighty nation. It is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you don’t know, neither understand what they say.16 Their quiver is an open tomb, they are all mighty men.

17 They shall eat up your harvest, and your bread, which your sons and your daughters should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and your herds. They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees. They shall beat down your fortified cities, inwhich you trust, with the sword.
18 “But even in those days,” says Yahweh, “I will not make a full end with you.

19 It will happen, when you say, ‘Why has Yahweh our God done all these things to us?’ Then you shall say to them, ‘Just like you have forsaken me, and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land that isnot yours.’
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,21 ‘Hear now this, foolish people, and without understanding; who have eyes, and don’t see; who have ears, and don’t hear:

22 Don’t you fear me?’ says Yahweh ‘Won’t you tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it can’t pass it? and though its waves toss themselves, yet they can’t prevail; thoughthey roar, yet they can’t pass over it.’
23 “But this people has a revolting and a rebellious heart; they have revolted and gone.

24 Neither do they say in their heart, ‘Let us now fear Yahweh our God, who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season; who preserves to us the appointed weeks of the harvest.’
25 “Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld good from you.26 For among my people are found wicked men. They watch, as fowlers lie in wait. They set a trap. They catch men.27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit. Therefore they have become great, and grew rich.

28 They have grown fat. They shine; yes, they excell in deeds of wickedness. They don’t plead the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and they don’t judge the right of the needy.

29 “Shall I not punish for these things?” says Yahweh. “Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
30 “An astonishing and horrible thing has happened in the land.

31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority; and my people love to have it so. What will you do in the end of it?

Jeremiah 5

Judah is Justly Deserving of Coming Judgment

1 The Lord said,t
“Go up and downt through the streets of Jerusalem.s
Look around and see for yourselves.
Search through its public squares.
See if any of you can find a single person
who deals honestly and tries to be truthful.t
If you can,t then I will not punish this city.t

2 These people make promises in the name of the Lord.t
But the fact is,st what they swear to is really a lie.”t

3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness.t
But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse.t
Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.
They have become as hardheaded as a rock.t
They refuse to change their ways.t

4 I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way.t
They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands.t
They do not know what their God requires of them.t

5 I will go to the leaderst
and speak with them.
Surely they know what the Lord demands.t
Surely they know what their God requires of them.”t
Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authority
and refuse to submit to him.t

6 So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them.
Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them.
Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities
and totally destroy anyone who ventures out.t
For they have rebelled so much
and done so many unfaithful things.t

7 The Lord asked,t
“How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem?t
Your peoplet have rejected me
and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all.t
Even though I supplied all their needs,t they were like an unfaithful wife to me.t
They went flockingt to the houses of prostitutes.ts

8 They are like lusty, well-fedt stallions.
Each of them lusts aftert his neighbor’s wife.

9 I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this!”t

10 The Lord commanded the enemy,t
“March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them.t
But do not destroy them completely.
Strip off their branches
for these people do not belong to the Lord.t

11 For the nations of Israel and Judaht
have been very unfaithful to me,”
says the Lord.

12 “These people have denied what the Lord says.t
They have said, ‘That is not so!t
No harm will come to us.
We will not experience war and famine.t

13 The prophets will prove to be full of wind.ts
The Lord has not spoken through them.s
So, let what they say happen to them.’”

14 Because of that,t the Lord, the God who rules over all,ts said to me,t
“Because these people have spokent like this,t
I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire.
And I will make this people like wood
which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up.”t

15 The Lord says,t “Listen,t nation of Israel!t
I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It will be a nation that was founded long ago
and has lasted for a long time.
It will be a nation whose language you will not know.
Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.

16 All of its soldiers are strong and mighty.t
Their arrows will send you to your grave.t

17 They will eat up your crops and your food.
They will kill offt your sons and your daughters.
They will eat up your sheep and your cattle.
They will destroy your vines and your fig trees.ts
Their weapons will batter downt
the fortified cities you trust in.
18 Yet even thent I will not completely destroy you,” says the Lord.

19 “So then, Jeremiah,t when your peoplet ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ tell them, ‘It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land. Sot you must serve foreignerss in a land that does not belong to you.’

20 “Proclaims this message among the descendants of Jacob.t
Make it known throughout Judah.

21 Tell them: ‘Hear this,
you foolish people who have no understanding,
who have eyes but do not discern,
who have ears but do not perceive:t

22 “You should fear me!” says the Lord.
“You should tremble in awe before me!t
I made the sand to be a boundary for the sea,
a permanent barrier that it can never cross.
Its waves may roll, but they can never prevail.
They may roar, but they can never cross beyond that boundary.”t

23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.
They have turned aside and gone their own way.t

24 They do not say to themselves,t
“Let us revere the Lord our God.
It is he who gives us the autumn rains and the spring rains at the proper time.
It is he who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.”t

25 Your misdeeds have stopped these things from coming.t
Your sins have deprived you of my bounty.’t

26 “Indeed, there are wicked scoundrels among my people.
They lie in wait like bird catchers hiding in ambush.t
They set deadly trapst to catch people.

27 Like a cage filled with the birds that have been caught,t
their houses are filled with the gains of their fraud and deceit.t
That is how they have gotten so rich and powerful.t

28 That is howt they have grown fat and sleek.t
There is no limit to the evil things they do.ts
They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it.
They do not defend the rights of the poor.

29 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!ts

30 “Something horrible and shocking
is going on in the land of Judah:

31 The prophets prophesy lies.
The priests exercise power by their own authority.t
And my people love to have it this way.
But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes!t