Jeremiah 5
5
The Sins of Judah
1“Run up and down every street in Jerusalem,” says the Lord.
“Look high and low; search throughout the city!
If you can find even one just and honest person,
I will not destroy the city.
2But even when they are under oath,
saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
they are still telling lies!”
3 Lord, you are searching for honesty.
You struck your people,
but they paid no attention.
You crushed them,
but they refused to be corrected.
They are determined, with faces set like stone;
they have refused to repent.
4Then I said, “But what can we expect from the poor?
They are ignorant.
They don’t know the ways of the Lord.
They don’t understand God’s laws.
5So I will go and speak to their leaders.
Surely they know the ways of the Lord
and understand God’s laws.”
But the leaders, too, as one man,
had thrown off God’s yoke
and broken his chains.
6So now a lion from the forest will attack them;
a wolf from the desert will pounce on them.
A leopard will lurk near their towns,
tearing apart any who dare to venture out.
For their rebellion is great,
and their sins are many.
7“How can I pardon you?
For even your children have turned from me.
They have sworn by gods that are not gods at all!
I fed my people until they were full.
But they thanked me by committing adultery
and lining up at the brothels.
8They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
each neighing for his neighbor’s wife.
9Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.
“Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?
10“Go down the rows of the vineyards and destroy the grapevines,
leaving a scattered few alive.
Strip the branches from the vines,
for these people do not belong to the Lord.
11The people of Israel and Judah
are full of treachery against me,”
says the Lord.
12“They have lied about the Lord
and said, ‘He won’t bother us!
No disasters will come upon us.
There will be no war or famine.
13God’s prophets are all windbags
who don’t really speak for him.
Let their predictions of disaster fall on themselves!’”
14Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Because the people are talking like this,
my messages will flame out of your mouth
and burn the people like kindling wood.
15O Israel, I will bring a distant nation against you,”
says the Lord.
“It is a mighty nation,
an ancient nation,
a people whose language you do not know,
whose speech you cannot understand.
16Their weapons are deadly;
their warriors are mighty.
17They will devour the food of your harvest;
they will devour your sons and daughters.
They will devour your flocks and herds;
they will devour your grapes and figs.
And they will destroy your fortified towns,
which you think are so safe.
18“Yet even in those days I will not blot you out completely,” says the Lord. 19“And when your people ask, ‘Why did the Lord our God do all this to us?’ you must reply, ‘You rejected him and gave yourselves to foreign gods in your own land. Now you will serve foreigners in a land that is not your own.’
A Warning for God’s People
20“Make this announcement to Israel,#5:20 Hebrew to the house of Jacob. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
and say this to Judah:
21Listen, you foolish and senseless people,
with eyes that do not see
and ears that do not hear.
22Have you no respect for me?
Why don’t you tremble in my presence?
I, the Lord, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline
as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross.
The waves may toss and roar,
but they can never pass the boundaries I set.
23But my people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.
They have turned away and abandoned me.
24They do not say from the heart,
‘Let us live in awe of the Lord our God,
for he gives us rain each spring and fall,
assuring us of a harvest when the time is right.’
25Your wickedness has deprived you of these wonderful blessings.
Your sin has robbed you of all these good things.
26“Among my people are wicked men
who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind.
They continually set traps
to catch people.
27Like a cage filled with birds,
their homes are filled with evil plots.
And now they are great and rich.
28They are fat and sleek,
and there is no limit to their wicked deeds.
They refuse to provide justice to orphans
and deny the rights of the poor.
29Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.
“Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?
30A horrible and shocking thing
has happened in this land—
31the prophets give false prophecies,
and the priests rule with an iron hand.
Worse yet, my people like it that way!
But what will you do when the end comes?
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Jeremiah 5: NLT
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Jeremiah 5
5
The Justice of God’s Judgment
1“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem;
See now and know;
And seek in her open places
#Ezek. 22:30If you can find a man,
#Gen. 18:23–32If there is anyone who executes judgment,
Who seeks the truth,
#Gen. 18:26And I will pardon her.
2#Is. 48:1; Titus 1:16Though they say, ‘As #Jer. 4:2the Lord lives,’
Surely they #Jer. 7:9swear falsely.”
3O Lord, are not #2 Kin. 25:1; (2 Chr. 16:9; Jer. 16:17)Your eyes on the truth?
You have #Is. 1:5; 9:13; Jer. 2:30stricken them,
But they have not grieved;
You have consumed them,
But #Is. 9:13; Jer. 7:28; Zeph. 3:2they have refused to receive correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to return.
4Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor.
They are foolish;
For #Is. 27:11; Jer. 8:7; Hos. 4:6they do not know the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.
5I will go to the great men and speak to them,
For #Mic. 3:1they have known the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.”
But these have altogether #Ex. 32:25; Ps. 2:3; Jer. 2:20broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
6Therefore #Jer. 4:7a lion from the forest shall slay them,
#Ps. 104:20; Ezek. 22:27; Hab. 1:8; Zeph. 3:3A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them;
#Hos. 13:7A leopard will watch over their cities.
Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many;
Their backslidings have increased.
7“How shall I pardon you for this?
Your children have forsaken Me
And #Josh. 23:7; Jer. 12:16; Zeph. 1:5sworn by those #Deut. 32:21; Jer. 2:11; Gal. 4:8that are not gods.
#Deut. 32:15When I had fed them to the full,
Then they committed adultery
And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
8#Jer. 13:27; 29:23; Ezek. 22:11They were like well-fed lusty stallions;
Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife.
9Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.
“And shall I not #Jer. 9:9avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
10“Go up on her walls and destroy,
But do not make a #Jer. 4:27complete end.
Take away her branches,
For they are not the Lord’s.
11For #Jer. 3:6, 7, 20the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says the Lord.
12#2 Chr. 36:16; Jer. 4:10They have lied about the Lord,
And said, #Is. 28:15; 47:8; Jer. 23:17“It is not He.
#Jer. 14:13Neither will evil come upon us,
Nor shall we see sword or famine.
13And the prophets become wind,
For the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them.”
14Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts:
“Because you speak this word,
#Is. 24:6; Jer. 1:9; 23:29; Hos. 6:5; Zech. 1:6Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire,
And this people wood,
And it shall devour them.
15Behold, I will bring a #Deut. 28:49; Is. 5:26; Jer. 1:15; 6:22nation against you #Is. 39:3; Jer. 4:16from afar,
O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
“It is a mighty 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 tomb;
They are all mighty men.
17And they shall eat up your #Lev. 26:16; Deut. 28:31, 33; Jer. 8:16; 50:7, 17harvest and your bread,
Which your sons and daughters should eat.
They shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
They shall destroy your fortified cities,
In which you trust, with the sword.
18“Nevertheless in those days,” says the Lord, “I #Jer. 30:11; Amos 9:8will not make a complete end of you. 19And it will be when you say, #Deut. 29:24–29; 1 Kin. 9:8, 9; Jer. 13:22; 16:10–13‘Why does the Lord our God do all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have #Jer. 1:16; 2:13forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so #Deut. 28:48; Jer. 16:13you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.’
20“Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21‘Hear this now, O #Is. 6:9; Jer. 6:10; Ezek. 12:2; Matt. 13:14; John 12:40; Acts 28:26; Rom. 11:8foolish people,
Without understanding,
Who have eyes and see not,
And who have ears and hear not:
22#Deut. 28:58; Ps. 119:120; Jer. 2:19; 10:7; (Rev. 15:4)Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord.
‘Will you not tremble at My presence,
Who have placed the sand as the #Job 26:10bound of the sea,
By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?
And though its waves toss to and fro,
Yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
23But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart;
They have revolted and departed.
24They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
#Ps. 147:8; Jer. 14:22; (Matt. 5:45); Acts 14:17Who gives rain, both the #Deut. 11:14; Joel 2:23; James 5:7former and the latter, in its season.
#(Gen. 8:22)He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25#Jer. 3:3Your iniquities have turned these things away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
26‘For among My people are found wicked men;
They #Ps. 10:9; Prov. 1:11; Jer. 18:22; Hab. 1:15lie in wait as one who sets snares;
They set a trap;
They catch men.
27As a cage is full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
28They have grown #Deut. 32:15fat, they are sleek;
Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked;
They do not plead #Is. 1:23; Jer. 7:6; 22:3; Zech. 7:10the cause,
The cause of the fatherless;
#Job 12:6; Ps. 73:12Yet they prosper,
And the right of the needy they do not defend.
29#Jer. 5:9; Mal. 3:5Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’
30“An astonishing and #Jer. 23:14; Hos. 6:10; 2 Tim. 4:3horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
31The prophets prophesy #Jer. 14:14; Ezek. 13:6falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people #Mic. 2:11love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.