Jeremiah 5
5
Jerusalem’s Godlessness
1“Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look now and take note.
And seek in her open squares,
If you can find a man,
If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth,
Then I will pardon her.
2And although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’
Surely they swear falsely.”
3O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth?
You have smitten them,
But they did not weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they refused to take correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent.
4Then I said, “They are only the poor,
They are foolish;
For they do not know the way of the Lord
Or the ordinance of their God.
5I will go to the great
And will speak to them,
For they know the way of the Lord
And the ordinance of their God.”
But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
6Therefore a lion from the forest will slay them,
A wolf of the deserts will destroy them,
A leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many,
Their apostasies are numerous.
7“Why should I pardon you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And sworn by those who are not gods.
When I had fed them to the full,
They committed adultery
And trooped to the harlot’s house.
8They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.
9Shall I not punish these people,” declares the Lord,
“And on a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?
10“Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
But do not execute a complete destruction;
Strip away her branches,
For they are not the Lord’s.
11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares the Lord.
12They have lied about the Lord
And said, “#Lit He is notNot He;
Misfortune will not come on us,
And we will not see sword or famine.
13The prophets are as wind,
And the word is not in them.
Thus it will be done to them!”
Judgment Proclaimed
14Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts,
“Because you have spoken this word,
Behold, I am making My words in your mouth fire
And this people wood, and it will consume them.
15Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.
“It is an enduring nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
16Their quiver is like an open grave,
All of them are mighty men.
17They will devour your harvest and your food;
They will devour your sons and your daughters;
They will devour your flocks and your herds;
They will devour your vines and your fig trees;
They will demolish with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust.
18“Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19It shall come about when they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
20“Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21‘Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people,
Who have eyes but do not see;
Who have ears but do not hear.
22Do you not fear Me?’ declares the Lord.
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.
Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.
23But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
They have turned aside and departed.
24They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
Who gives rain in its season,
Both the autumn rain and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25Your iniquities have turned these away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
26For wicked men are found among My people,
They watch like fowlers lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch men.
27Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
28They are fat, they are sleek,
They also #Lit pass over, or, overlook deedsexcel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
29Shall I not punish these people?’ declares the Lord,
‘On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?’
30“An appalling and horrible thing
Has happened in the land:
31The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule on their own authority;
And My people love it so!
But what will you do at the end of it?
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Jeremiah 5: NASB1995
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Yirmeyahu (Jer) 5
5
1“Roam the streets of Yerushalayim
look around, observe and ask in its open spaces:
if you can find anyone (if there is anyone!)
who acts with justice and seeks the truth,
I will pardon her.
2And though they say, ‘As Adonai lives,’
the fact is that they are swearing falsely.”
3Adonai, your eyes look for truth.
You struck them, but they weren’t affected;
you [nearly] destroyed them,
but they refused correction.
They made their faces harder than rock,
refusing to repent.
4My reaction was, “These must be the poor,
the foolish, not knowing the way of Adonai
or the rulings of their God.
5I will go to the prominent men,
and I will speak to them;
for they know the way of Adonai
and the rulings of their God.”
But these had completely broken the yoke
and torn the harness off.
6This is why a forest lion kills them,
why a desert wolf can plunder them,
why a leopard guards their cities —
all who leave are torn to pieces —
because their crimes are many,
their backslidings keep increasing.
7“Why should I forgive you?
Your people have abandoned me
and sworn by non-gods.
When I fed them to the full,
they committed adultery,
thronging to the brothels.
8They have become like well-fed horses,
lusty stallions, each one neighing
after his neighbor’s wife.
9Should I not punish for this?” asks Adonai.
“Should I not be avenged on a nation like this?”
10Go through her rows [of vines], and destroy them
(but don’t destroy them completely):
strip away her branches,
they do not belong to Adonai.
11“For the house of Isra’el
and the house of Y’hudah
have thoroughly betrayed me,” says Adonai.
12They have denied Adonai,
they have said, “He won’t do anything,
calamity will not strike us,
we will see neither sword nor famine.
13The prophets are merely wind,
they do not have the word;
the things that they are predicting
will happen only to them.”
14Therefore Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot says:
“Because you people speak this way,
I will make my words fire in your mouth, [Yirmeyahu,]
and this people wood;
so that it will devour them.
15I will bring on you, house of Isra’el,
a distant nation,” says Adonai,
“an enduring nation, an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know —
you will not understand what they are saying.
16Their quiver is like an open grave,
they are all mighty warriors.
17They will eat up your harvest and your bread,
they will eat up your sons and your daughters,
they will eat up your flocks and your herds,
they will eat up your vines and your fig trees;
with the sword they will beat down
your fortified cities, in which you trust.
18But even in those days,” says Adonai,
“I will not completely destroy you.
19And when your people ask, ‘Why has Adonai
our God done all these things to us?’
you are to give them this answer:
‘Just as you abandoned me
and served strange gods in your own land,
so likewise you will serve strangers
in a land that is not your own.’
20Announce this in the house of Ya‘akov,
proclaim it in Y’hudah; say:
21‘Hear this, stupid, brainless people,
who have eyes but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear:
22Don’t you fear me? — says Adonai.
Won’t you tremble at my presence?
I made the shore the limit for the sea;
by eternal decree it cannot pass.
Its waves may toss, but to no avail;
although they roar, they cannot cross it.
23But this people has a rebellious, defiant heart;
they have rebelled and gone!
24They don’t say to themselves,
“Let’s fear Adonai our God,
who gives the fall and spring rains in season,
who reserves us the weeks assigned for harvest.”
25Your crimes have overturned nature’s rules,
your sins have kept back good from you.’
26“For among my people there are wicked men,
who, like fowlers, lie in wait and set traps
to catch their fellow human beings.
27Their houses are as full of fraud
as a cage full of birds.
They grow rich and great, 28sleek and bloated;
they excel in acts of wickedness
but do not plead on behalf of the orphan,
thus enabling his cause to succeed;
nor do they judge in favor of the poor.
29“Should I not punish for this?” asks Adonai.
“Should I not be avenged on a nation like this?
30A shocking and horrifying thing
has happened in the land:
31The prophets prophesy lies,
the cohanim obey the prophets,
and my people love it that way.
But what will you do at the end of it all?
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