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 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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