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
1 “Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem,
and look please, and take note,
and search at its public squares,
if you can find a person who does justice,
who seeks honesty,
so that I may forgive it.
2And though they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,’#Literally “Life of Yahweh”
therefore#Literally “to thus” they swear falsely.”
3O Yahweh, do not your eyes look for honesty?
You have struck them, but they felt no pain,
you have destroyed them, they refused to take discipline.
They have hardened their faces more than rock,
they have refused to turn back.
4Then I said, “They are just simple people,
they are foolish,
for they know not the way of Yahweh,
the law#Or “ordinance” of their God.
5Let me go to the great,
and let me speak with them,
for they know the way of Yahweh,
the law#Or “ordinance” of their God.”
However, they together have broken the yoke,
they have torn to pieces the bonds.
6Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them,
A wolf from the desert plains#Or “Arabah” will devastate them.
A leopard is watching their cities,
everyone who goes out from there will be torn,
because their transgressions are many,
their apostasies are numerous.
7“How#Literally “Why to this” can I forgive you?
Your children have forsaken me,
and they have sworn by those who are not gods.
But I fed them to the full,
and they committed adultery,
and flocked to the house of a prostitute.
8They were well-fed lusty horses,
they neighed each to the wife of his neighbor.
9Because of these things shall I not punish?” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“and on a nation who is like this, shall I not take revenge?
10Go up through her vineyards and destroy,
but you must not make complete destruction.
Remove her branches,
for they are not to Yahweh.
11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
have dealt utterly treacherously with me,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
12“They have denied Yahweh, and have said,
‘Not he, for#Literally “and” evil will not come on us,
we will see neither sword nor famine.
13And the prophets are like wind,
and the word is not in them.’
Thus it will be done to them.”
14Therefore#Literally “To thus” thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts,
“Because you have spoken this word,
look, I am making my words in your mouth like a fire,
and this people wood, and it will devour them.
15Look, I am about to bring on you a nation from afar,
O house of Israel,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
“It is an enduring nation, it is an ancient nation.#Literally “a nation from a long time ago”
A nation whose language you do not know,
and you cannot understand what they speak.
16Their quiver is like an open tomb,
all of them are warriors.
17And they will eat your harvest and your food,
they will eat your sons and your daughters,
they will eat your flock and your herd,
they will eat your vine and your fig tree,
they will smash with the sword your fortified cities,#Literally “the cities of your fortification”
in which you trust.
18“But even in those days,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19And then,#Literally “And it will happen” when you people say, ‘Why has Yahweh our God done all of these things to us?’ Then you will say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and have served gods of a foreign land in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that does not belong to you.’#Literally “a land not to you”
20“Declare this in the house of Jacob,
and proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21‘Hear this please, O foolish and senseless#Literally “without heart” people,
who have eyes#Literally “eyes for them” but do not see,
who have ears#Literally “ears for them” but do not hear.’
22Do you not revere me?” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“Do you not tremble before me?#Literally “from the face of me”
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
as an everlasting limit,#Literally “a limit of eternity” and it cannot pass over it,
and they rise and fall loudly, but they cannot prevail,
and its waves roar, but they cannot pass over it.
23But for this people is a stubborn and rebellious heart,
they have turned aside and have gone away.
24And they do not say in their hearts,
‘Let us fear please Yahweh our God,
the one who gives the autumn rain#Hebrew “early rain” and the spring rain#Hebrew “late rain” in its season,
the set times of the harvest#Literally “weeks due harvest” he keeps for us.’
25Your iniquities have disturbed these,
and your sins have kept away the good from you.
26For wicked people are found among my people,
they lie in wait like the hiding of fowlers,
they set up a trap,
they catch humans.
27Like a cage full of birds,#Hebrew “bird”
so their houses are full of fraud.
Therefore#Literally “Unto thus” they have become great,
and they have become rich.
28They have grown fat,
they have grown sleek,
also, their evil deeds have no limit.#Literally “they cross over evil deeds”
They do not judge with justice,
the legal cause of the orphan,
or allow it to succeed,
and the legal case of the poor,
they do not defend.
29Because of these things shall I not punish?” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“and on a nation who is like this, shall I not take revenge?
30A horrific event and something horrible has happened in the land.
31The prophets prophesy falsely,#Literally “in the lie”
and the priests rule by their own authority,#Literally “by their hands”
and my people love it#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation so much.
But what will you do when the end comes?#Literally “to end her”
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