Jeremiah 5
5
Jerusalem’s Godlessness
1“Roam back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look now and take note.
And look in her open squares
To see if you can find a man [as Abraham sought in Sodom],
One who is just, who [has integrity and moral courage and] seeks truth (faithfulness);
Then I will pardon Jerusalem—[for the sake of one uncompromisingly righteous person]. [Gen 18:22-32]
2“And though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’
Surely they swear [their oaths] falsely.”
3O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth?
You [have seen their faithless heart and] have stricken them,
But they did not weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they refused to take correction or instruction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent and return to You.
4¶Then I said, “[Surely] these are only the poor (uneducated);
They are [sinfully] foolish and have no [spiritual] understanding,
For they do not know the way of the Lord
Or the ordinance of their God [and the requirements of His just and righteous law].
5“I will go to the great [men]
And speak to them,
For they [must] know the way of the Lord,
The ordinance of their God.”
But [I found the reverse to be true, that] they too had all alike broken the yoke [of God’s law]
And had burst the bonds [of obedience to Him].
6Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them,
A wolf of the deserts will destroy them,
A leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many,
Their desertions of faith are countless.
7¶“Why should I [overlook these offenses and] forgive you?
Your children have abandoned (rejected) Me
And sworn [their oaths] by those who are not gods.
When I had fed them until they were full [and bound them to Me by a promise],
They committed [spiritual] adultery,
Assembling in troops at the houses of prostitutes (idols).
8“They were like well-fed, lusty stallions,
Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.
9“Shall I not punish them [for these things]?” says the Lord;
“Shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?”
10¶“Go up through the rows of Jerusalem’s vineyards and destroy [them],
But do not completely destroy everything.
Strip away her branches and the tendrils [of her vines],
For they are not the Lord’s.
11“For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously (faithlessly) with Me,” declares the Lord.
12They have lied about and denied the Lord
By saying, “It is not He [who speaks through His prophets];
Misfortune and evil shall not come on us,
Nor will we see war or famine.
13“The prophets are like the #5:13 The same Hebrew word (ruach) means both “wind” and “spirit,” so this statement was actually a subtle wordplay insulting not only the prophets but also the Holy Spirit who inspired them.wind [their prophecy will not come to pass],
And the word [of God] is not in them.
In this manner it will be done to them [as they prophesied, not to us].”
Judgment Proclaimed
14¶Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts,
“Because you [people] have spoken this word,
Behold, I am making My words a fire in your mouth [Jeremiah]
And this people wood, and My words will consume them.
15“Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from far away, O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
“It is a mighty and enduring nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language you do not know,
Whose words you do not comprehend.
16“Their quiver is [filled with the dead] like an open grave;
They are all mighty men [heroes of their nation].
17“They will consume your harvest and [eat up] your bread;
They will consume your sons and your daughters;
They will consume your flocks and your herds;
They will consume your vines and your fig trees.
With the sword they will break down and demolish your fortified cities in which you trust.
18“But even in those days,” says the Lord, “I will not totally destroy you. 19It will come about when your people say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘As you have abandoned (rejected) Me,’ [says the Lord,] ‘and have served strange and 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 people without heart,
Who have eyes but do not see,
Who have ears but do not hear. [Is 6:9, 10; Matt 13:10-15; Mark 8:17, 18]
22‘Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord.
‘Do you not tremble [in awe] in My presence?
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal decree and a perpetual barrier beyond which it cannot pass.
Though the waves [of the sea] toss and break, yet they cannot prevail [against the sand ordained to hold them back];
Though the waves and the billows roar, yet they cannot cross over [the barrier].
[Is not such a God to be feared?]
23‘But this people has a stubborn heart and a rebellious will [that draws them away from Me];
They have turned away and have gone [into idolatry].
24‘They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear and worship the Lord our God [with profound awe and reverence],
Who gives rain in its season,
Both the autumn and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25‘Your wickedness has turned these [blessings] away,
And your sins have withheld good [harvests] from you.
26‘For wicked men are found among My people,
They watch like fowlers who 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 and treachery;
Therefore they have become influential and rich.
28‘They are fat and they are sleek (prosperous),
They #5:28 Lit pass over, or, overlook deeds.excel in acts of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, so that they [the wicked] may prosper,
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
29‘Shall I not punish them [for these things]?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself
On such a nation as this?’
30¶“An appalling and horrible thing [bringing desolation and destruction]
Has come to pass in the land:
31The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule #5:31 Lit by their own hands.on their own authority;
And My people love [to have] it so!
But what will you do when the end comes?
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Jeremiah 5
5
Universal Corruption
1Roam the streets of Jerusalem,
look about and observe,
Search through her squares,
to find even one
Who acts justly
and seeks honesty,
and I will pardon her!
2They say, “As the Lord lives,”
but in fact they swear falsely.
3Lord, do your eyes not search for honesty?
You struck them, but they did not flinch;
you laid them low, but they refused correction;
They set their faces harder than stone,
and refused to return.#Jer 2:30.
4I thought: These are only the lowly,
they behave foolishly;
For they do not know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.#Jer 8:7.
5Let me go to the leaders
and speak with them;
For they must know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.
But, one and all, they have broken the yoke,
torn off the harness.#Jer 6:13.
6Therefore, lions from the forest slay them,
wolves of the desert ravage them,
Leopards keep watch round their cities:
all who come out are torn to pieces,
For their crimes are many,
their rebellions numerous.
7Why should I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me,
they swear by gods that are no gods.
I fed them, but they commit adultery;
to the prostitute’s house they throng.
8They are lustful stallions,
each neighs after the other’s wife.#Jer 13:27.
9Should I not punish them for this?—oracle of the Lord;
on a nation like this should I not take vengeance?
10Climb her terraces, and ravage them,
destroy them completely.
Tear away her tendrils,
they do not belong to the Lord.#Jer 2:21.
11For they have openly rebelled against me,
both the house of Israel and the house of Judah—
oracle of the Lord.#Jer 3:20.
12They denied the Lord,#They denied the Lord: the people act as though God does not matter and will not interfere.
saying, “He is nothing,
No evil shall come to us,
neither sword nor famine shall we see.#Jer 14:13; Is 28:15.
13The prophets are wind,
and the word is not with them.
Let it be done to them!”
14Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts,
because you have said this—
See! I make my words
a fire in your mouth,
And this people the wood
that it shall devour!—
15Beware! I will bring against you
a nation from far away,
O House of Israel—oracle of the Lord;
A long-lived nation, an ancient nation,
a people whose language you do not know,
whose speech you cannot understand.#Dt 28:49.
16Their quivers are like open graves;
all of them are warriors.
17They will devour your harvest and your bread,
devour your sons and your daughters,
Devour your sheep and cattle,
devour your vines and fig trees;
With their swords they will beat down
the fortified cities in which you trust.#Dt 28:31.
18Yet even in those days—oracle of the Lord—I will not completely destroy you.#Jer 4:27. 19And when they ask, “Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?” say to them, “As you have abandoned me to serve foreign gods in your own land, so shall you serve foreigners in a land not your own.”
20Announce this to the house of Jacob,
proclaim it in Judah:
21Pay attention to this,
you foolish and senseless people,
Who have eyes and do not see,
who have ears and do not hear.#Is 6:9.
22Should you not fear me—oracle of the Lord—
should you not tremble before me?
I made the sandy shore the sea’s limit,
which by eternal decree it may not overstep.
Toss though it may, it is to no avail;
though its billows roar, they cannot overstep.#Jb 38:10–11.
23But this people’s heart is stubborn and rebellious;
they turn and go away,
24And do not say in their hearts,
“Let us fear the Lord, our God,
Who gives us rain
early and late,#Rain early and late: autumn and spring rains respectively. Appointed weeks of harvest: the seven weeks between the Passover (Dt 16:9–10) and the feast of Weeks (Pentecost), when it did not ordinarily rain. in its time;
Who watches for us
over the appointed weeks of harvest.”#Gn 8:22; Dt 11:14.
25Your crimes have prevented these things,
your sins have turned these blessings away from you.#Jer 2:17, 19.
26For criminals lurk among my people;
like fowlers they set traps,
but it is human beings they catch.#Prv 1:11.
27Their houses are as full of treachery
as a bird-cage is of birds;
Therefore they grow powerful and rich,
28fat and sleek.
They pass over wicked deeds;
justice they do not defend
By advancing the claim of the orphan
or judging the cause of the poor.#Jer 12:1; Is 1:23.
29Shall I not punish these things?—oracle of the Lord;
on a nation such as this shall I not take vengeance?
30Something shocking and horrible
has happened in the land:
31The prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests teach on their own authority;
Yet my people like it this way;
what will you do when the end comes?#Jer 14:14; Mi 2:11.
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