Jeremiah 5
5
The Evil of the People of Judah
1The Lord says, “Walk the streets of Jerusalem. Look around and think about these things. Search the public squares of the city. See if you can find one good person, one who does honest things and who searches for the truth. If you find one good person, I will forgive Jerusalem. 2The people make promises and say, ‘As the Lord lives.’ But they don’t really mean it!”
3Lord, I know that you want people
to be loyal to you.
You hit the people of Judah,
but they did not feel any pain.
You destroyed them,
but they refused to learn their lesson.
They became very stubborn.
They refused to be sorry for the bad things they did.
4But I said to myself,
“It must be only the poor who are so foolish.
They have not learned the way of the Lord.
They don’t know the teachings of their God.
5So I will go to the leaders of Judah.
I will talk to them.
Surely the leaders know the way of the Lord.
Surely they know the law of their God.”
But the leaders had all joined together
to break away from serving God.
6So a lion from the forest will attack them.
A wolf from the desert will kill them.
A leopard is hiding near their cities,
to tear to pieces anyone who comes out.
That’s because the people have sinned again and again.
Many times they have wandered away from God.
7God says, “People of Judah, why should I forgive you?
Your children have abandoned me.
They made promises to idols that are not really gods!
I gave your children everything they needed,
but they were still unfaithful to me!
They spent their time with prostitutes.
8They are like horses that have had plenty to eat and are ready to mate.
They are like a horse that is calling its neighbor’s wife.
9Should I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?”
This message is from the Lord.
“You know I should punish a nation such as this.
I should give it the punishment it deserves.
10“Go along the rows of Judah’s grapevines.
Cut down the vines. (But don’t completely destroy them.)
Cut off all their branches, because they don’t belong to the Lord.
11The family of Israel and the family of Judah
have been unfaithful to me in every way.”
This message is from the Lord.
12“Those people lied about the Lord.
They said, ‘He will not do anything to us.
Nothing bad will happen to us.
We will never see an army attack us.
We will never starve.’
13The prophets are only empty wind.#5:13 wind This is a wordplay. The Hebrew word for wind is like the word for spirit.
The word of God is not in them.#5:13 The word … them Literally, “And the ‘He said’ is not in them.”
Bad things will happen to them.”
14The Lord God All-Powerful said these things:
“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.
That fire will burn them up completely.”
15Family of Israel, this message is from the Lord.
“I will soon bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It is an old nation;
it is an ancient nation.
The people of that nation speak a language that you do not know.
You cannot understand what they say.
16Their arrow bags are like open graves.
All their men are strong soldiers.
17They will eat all the crops that you gathered.
They will eat all your food.
They will destroy your sons and daughters.
They will eat your flocks and your herds.
They will eat your grapes and your figs.
They will destroy your strong cities with their swords.
They will destroy the strong cities that you trust in.”
18This message is from the Lord: “But, Judah, when these terrible days come, I will not fully destroy you. 19The people of Judah will ask you, ‘Jeremiah, why has the Lord our God done this bad thing to us?’ Give them this answer: ‘You people of Judah have left me, and you have served foreign idols in your own land. You did these things, so now you will serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.’
20“Tell this message to the family of Jacob,
and tell it in the nation of Judah.
21Hear this message,
you foolish people who have no sense.
You have eyes, but you don’t see!
You have ears, but you don’t listen!
22Surely you are afraid of me.”
This message is from the Lord.
“You should shake with fear in front of me.
I am the one who made the sandy shores to hold back the sea.
I made it that way to keep the water in its place forever.
The waves may pound the beach, but they will not destroy it.
The waves may roar as they come in, but they cannot go beyond the beach.
23But the people of Judah are stubborn.
They are always planning ways to turn against me.
They turned away from me and left me.
24The people of Judah never say to themselves,
‘Let’s fear and respect the Lord our God.
He gives us autumn and spring rains at just the right time.
He makes sure that we have the harvest at just the right time.’
25You don’t have these blessings because you have done wrong.
Your sins have kept these good things away from you.
26There are evil men among my people.
They are like men who make nets for catching birds.#5:26 men … birds The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
They set their traps,
but they catch people instead of birds.
27Their houses are full of lies,
like a cage full of birds.
Their lies made them rich and powerful.
28They have grown big and fat from the evil they have done.
There is no end to the evil they do.
They will not plead the case of children who have no parents.
They will not help these orphans.
They will not let the poor be judged fairly.
29Should I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?”
This message is from the Lord.
“You know I should punish a nation such as this.
I should give it the punishment it deserves.
30“A terrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land of Judah.
31The prophets tell lies.
The priests will not do what they were chosen to do,#5:31 priests … were chosen to do The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
and my people love it this way!
But what will you people do when your punishment comes?
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Jeremiah 5
5
No One Is Honest
1The Lord says, “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem.
Look around.
Think about what you see.
Search through the market.
See if you can find one honest person who tries to be truthful.
If you can, I will forgive this city.
2They make their promises in my name.
They say, ‘You can be sure that the Lord is alive.’
But their promises can’t be trusted.”
3 Lord, don’t your eyes look for truth?
You struck down your people.
But they didn’t feel any pain.
You crushed them.
But they refused to be corrected.
They made their faces harder than stone.
They refused to turn away from their sins.
4I thought, “The people of
Jerusalem are foolish.
They don’t know how the Lord wants them to live.
They don’t know what their God requires of them.
5So I will go to the leaders.
I’ll speak to them.
They should know how the Lord wants them to live.
They must know what their God requires of them.”
But all of them had broken off the yoke the Lord had put on them.
They had torn off the ropes he had tied them up with.
6So a lion from the forest will attack them.
A wolf from the desert will destroy them.
A leopard will hide and wait near their towns.
It will tear to pieces anyone who dares to go out.
Again and again they have refused to obey the Lord.
They have turned away from him many times.
7The Lord says, “Jerusalem, why should I forgive you?
Your people have deserted me.
They have made their promises in the names of gods
that are not really gods at all.
I supplied everything they needed.
But they committed adultery.
Large crowds went to the houses of prostitutes.
8Your people are like stallions that have plenty to eat.
Their sinful desires are out of control.
Each of them goes after another man’s wife.
9Shouldn’t I punish them for this?”
announces the Lord.
“Shouldn’t I pay back the nation
that does these things?
10“Armies of Babylon, go through their vineyards and destroy them.
But do not destroy them completely.
Strip off their branches.
These people do not belong to me.
11The people of Israel and the people of Judah
have not been faithful to me at all,”
announces the Lord.
12They have told lies about the Lord.
They said, “He won’t do anything!
No harm will come to us.
We will never see war or be hungry.
13The prophets are nothing but wind.
Their message doesn’t come from the Lord.
So let what they say will happen be done to them.”
14The Lord God rules over all. He says to me,
“The people have spoken these words.
So my words will be like fire in your mouth.
I will make the people like wood.
And the fire will burn them up.”
15“People of Israel, listen to me,”
announces the Lord.
“I am bringing against you
a nation from far away.
It is an old nation. And it will last for a long time.
Its people speak a language you do not know.
You can’t understand what they are saying.
16The bags they carry their arrows in are like an open grave.
All their soldiers are mighty.
17They will eat up your crops and your food.
They will strike down your sons and daughters.
They will kill your sheep and cattle.
They will destroy your vines and fig trees.
You trust in your cities that have high walls around them.
But the people in them will be killed by swords.
18“In spite of that, even in those days I will not destroy you completely,” announces the Lord. 19“ ‘Jeremiah,’ the people will ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ Then you will tell them, ‘You have deserted the Lord. You have served other gods in your own land. So now you will serve another nation in a land that is not your own.’
20“Here is what I want you to announce
to the people of Jacob.
Tell it in Judah.
Tell them I say,
21‘Listen to this, you foolish people,
who do not have any sense.
You have eyes, but you do not see.
You have ears, but you do not hear.
22Shouldn’t you have respect for me?’
announces the Lord.
‘Shouldn’t you tremble with fear in front of me?
I made the sand to hold the ocean back.
It will do that forever.
The ocean can’t go past it.
The waves might roll, but they can’t sweep over it.
They might roar, but they can’t go across it.
23But you people have stubborn hearts.
You refuse to obey me.
You have turned away from me.
You have gone astray.
24You do not say to yourselves,
“Let us have respect for the Lord our God.
He sends rain in the fall and the spring.
He promises us that the harvest will come
at the same time each year.”
25But the things you have done wrong
have robbed you of these gifts.
Your sins have kept these good things
far away from you.’
26“Jeremiah, some of my people are evil.
They hide and wait just as people hide to catch birds.
They set traps for people.
27A hunter uses tricks to fill his cage with birds.
And my people have filled their houses with a lot of goods.
They have become rich and powerful.
28They have grown fat and heavy.
There is no limit to the evil things they do.
In court they do not seek justice.
They don’t protect the rights of children whose fathers have died.
They do not stand up for poor people.
29Shouldn’t I punish them for this?”
announces the Lord.
“Shouldn’t I pay back the
nation that does these things?
30“Something horrible and shocking
has happened in the land.
31The prophets prophesy lies.
The priests rule by their own authority.
And my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?”
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