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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Jeremiah 5
5
No One Is Right
1The Lord says, “Walk up and down the streets of Jerusalem.
Look around and think about these things.
Search the public squares of the city.
See if you can find one person who does honest things.
Find just one who searches for the truth.
If you can, I will forgive this city.
2The people say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’
But they don’t really mean it.”
3Lord, don’t you look for truth in people?
You hit the people of Judah.
But they didn’t feel any pain.
You crushed them,
but they refused to learn what is right.
They became more stubborn than a rock.
They refused to turn back to God.
4But I thought,
“These are only the poor, foolish people.
They have not learned the way of the Lord.
They do not know what their God wants them to do.
5So I will go to the leaders of Judah.
I will talk to them.
Surely they understand the way of the Lord.
They know what God wants them to do.”
But the leaders had all joined together to break away from the Lord.
They broke their ties with him.
6So a lion from the forest will attack them.
A wolf from the desert will kill them.
A leopard is hiding and waiting for them near their towns.
It will tear to pieces anyone who comes out of the city.
This will happen because the people of Judah have sinned greatly.
They have wandered away from the Lord many times.
7The Lord said, “Tell me why I should forgive you.
Your children have left me.
They have made promises to idols that are not gods at all.
I gave your children everything they needed.
But they still were like an unfaithful wife to me.
They spent much time in houses of prostitutes.
8They are like well-fed, male horses filled with sexual desire.
Each one wants another man’s wife.
9Shouldn’t I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?” says the Lord.
“I should give a nation such as this the punishment it deserves.
10“Go along and cut down Judah’s vineyards.
But do not completely destroy them.
Cut off all her people as if they were branches.
Do it because they do not belong to the Lord.
11The families of Israel and Judah
have been completely unfaithful to me,” says the Lord!
12Those people have lied about the Lord.
They have said, “The Lord will not do anything to us!
Nothing bad will happen to us.
We will never see war or hunger.
13The prophets are like an empty wind.
The word of God is not in them.
Let these bad things they say happen to them.”
14So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:
“The people said I would not punish them.
So, Jeremiah, the words I give you will be like fire.
And these people will be like wood the fire burns up.
15Listen, family of Israel,” says the Lord.
“I will soon bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It is an old nation that has lasted a long time.
The people there speak a language you do not know.
You cannot understand what they say.
16Their arrows bring death.
All their men are strong warriors.
17They will eat your crops and your food.
They will eat your sons and daughters.
They will eat your flocks and herds.
They will eat your grapes and figs.
They will destroy with their swords
the strong, walled cities you trust in!
18“Yet even then,” says the Lord, “I will not destroy you completely. 19The people of Judah will ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done this terrible thing to us?’ Give them this answer: ‘You have left the Lord. You have served foreign idols in your own land. So now you will serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you!’
20“Announce this message to the family of Jacob.
And tell it to the nation of Judah:
21Hear this message, you foolish people who have no sense.
You have eyes, but you don’t really see.
You have ears, but you don’t really listen.
22Surely you are afraid of me,” says the Lord.
“You should shake with fear in my presence.
I am the one who made the beaches to be a border for the sea.
They keep the water in its place forever.
The waves may pound the beach, but they can’t win over it.
The waves may roar,
but they cannot go beyond it.
23But the people of Judah are stubborn and have turned against me.
They have turned aside and gone away from me.
24They do not say to themselves,
‘We should fear the Lord our God.
He gives us autumn and spring rains in their seasons.
He makes sure we have the harvest at the right time.’
25But your evil has kept away both rain and harvest.
Your sins have kept you from enjoying good things.
26There are wicked men among my people.
They are like men who make nets for catching birds.
But they set their traps to catch men instead of birds.
27Like cages full of birds,
their houses are full of lies.
They have become rich and powerful.
28They have grown big and fat.
There is no end to the evil things they do.
They won’t plead the case of the orphan.
They won’t help the poor be judged fairly.
29Shouldn’t I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?” says the Lord.
“I should give a nation such as this the punishment it deserves.
30“A terrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land of Judah:
31The prophets tell lies.
The priests take power into their own hands.
And my people love it this way.
But what will you do when the end comes?
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