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?
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 5: ERV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Jeremiah 5
5
The Utter Corruption of God's People
1Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
look around and take note!
Search its squares and see
if you can find one person
who acts justly
and seeks truth—
so that I may pardon Jerusalem.#5.1 Heb it
2Although they say, “As the Lord lives,”
yet they swear falsely.
3O Lord, do your eyes not look for truth?
You have struck them,
but they felt no anguish;
you have consumed them,
but they refused to take correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
they have refused to turn back.
4Then I said, “These are only the poor,
they have no sense;
for they do not know the way of the Lord,
the law of their God.
5Let me go to the rich#5.5 Or the great
and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the Lord,
the law of their God.”
But they all alike had broken the yoke,
they had burst the bonds.
6Therefore a lion from the forest shall kill them,
a wolf from the desert shall destroy them.
A leopard is watching against their cities;
everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces—
because their transgressions are many,
their apostasies are great.
7How can I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me,
and have sworn by those who are no gods.
When I fed them to the full,
they committed adultery
and trooped to the houses of prostitutes.
8They were well-fed lusty stallions,
each neighing for his neighbor's wife.
9Shall I not punish them for these things?
says the Lord;
and shall I not bring retribution
on a nation such as this?
10Go up through her vine-rows and destroy,
but do not make a full end;
strip away her branches,
for they are not the Lord's.
11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
have been utterly faithless to me,
says the Lord.
12They have spoken falsely of the Lord,
and have said, “He will do nothing.
No evil will come upon us,
and we shall not see sword or famine.”
13The prophets are nothing but wind,
for the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them!
14Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts:
Because they#5.14 Heb you have spoken this word,
I am now making my words in your mouth a fire,
and this people wood, and the fire shall devour them.
15I am going to bring upon you
a nation from far away, O house of Israel,
says the Lord.
It is an enduring 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;
all of them are mighty warriors.
17They shall eat up your harvest and your food;
they shall eat up your sons and your daughters;
they shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
they shall destroy with the sword
your fortified cities in which you trust.
18But even in those days, says the Lord, I will not make a full end of you. 19And when your people say, “Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?” you shall say to them, “As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land that is not yours.”
20Declare this in the house of Jacob,
proclaim it in Judah:
21Hear this, O foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes, but do not see,
who have ears, but do not hear.
22Do you not fear me? says the Lord;
Do you not tremble before me?
I placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
though the waves toss, they cannot prevail,
though they roar, they cannot pass over it.
23But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
they have turned aside and gone away.
24They do not say in their hearts,
“Let us fear the Lord our God,
who gives the rain in its season,
the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us
the weeks appointed for the harvest.”
25Your iniquities have turned these away,
and your sins have deprived you of good.
26For scoundrels are found among my people;
they take over the goods of others.
Like fowlers they set a trap;#5.26 Meaning of Heb uncertain
they catch human beings.
27Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of treachery;
therefore they have become great and rich,
28they have grown fat and sleek.
They know no limits in deeds of wickedness;
they do not judge with justice
the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper,
and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
29Shall I not punish them for these things?
says the Lord,
and shall I not bring retribution
on a nation such as this?
30An appalling and horrible thing
has happened in the land:
31the prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests rule as the prophets direct;#5.31 Or rule by their own authority
my people love to have it so,
but what will you do when the end comes?
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.