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
The Depravity of Jerusalem
1Roam # 2Ch 16:9 through the streets of Jerusalem.
Look and take note;
search in her squares.
If you find one person, # Ps 14:1-3; Ezk 22:30; Rm 3:10
any who acts justly,
who seeks to be faithful,
then I will forgive her. # Gn 18:26-32
2When they say, “As the Lord lives,” # Jr 4:2
they are swearing falsely. # Lv 19:12; Is 48:1; Jr 7:9
3Lord, don’t Your eyes look for faithfulness? # 2Ch 16:9; Ps 51:6
You have struck them, but they felt no pain. # Pr 23:35
You finished them off,
but they refused to accept discipline. # Pr 27:22
They made their faces harder than rock, # Ezk 3:7-9
and they refused to return. # Hs 11:5
4Then I thought:
They are just the poor;
they have played the fool.
For they don’t understand the way of the Lord, # Gn 18:19; 2Kg 17:26; 21:22; Ps 95:10; Jr 8:7; Hs 4:6
the justice of their God. # Mc 3:1
5I will go to the powerful
and speak to them.
Surely they know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God. # Ps 103:7
However, these also had broken the yoke
and torn off the chains. # Ps 2:3; Jr 2:20
6Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down. # 2Kg 17:26; Jr 4:7; 25:38
A wolf from an arid plain will ravage them.
A leopard # Hs 13:7; Rv 13:2 keeps watch over their cities.
Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces
because their rebellious acts are many, # Is 59:12
their unfaithful deeds numerous. # Jr 3:6,8,11-12,22; 14:7; 30:15; Am 5:12
7Why should I forgive you?
Your children have abandoned Me
and sworn by those who are not gods. # Dt 32:21; Jos 23:7; Gl 4:8
I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery; # Hs 4:10
they gashed themselves # 1Kg 18:24 at the # Or adultery and trooped to the, or adultery and lodged at the ; Hb obscure prostitute’s house.
8They are well-fed, # Lit well-equipped ; Hb obscure eager # Lit early-rising ; Hb obscure stallions, # Ezk 23:20
each neighing # Jr 13:27 after someone else’s wife. # Ex 20:14; Ezk 22:11
9Should I not punish them for these things? # Jr 5:29; 8:10; 9:9
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself # Dt 32:35; Heb 10:30
on such a nation as this?
10Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them, # 2Kg 24:2
but do not finish them off. # Jr 4:27
Prune away her shoots,
for they do not belong to the Lord. # Hs 1:9
11They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
have dealt very treacherously with Me. # Is 21:2; 24:16; 48:8; Hs 6:7
This is the Lord’s declaration.
12They have contradicted the Lord
and insisted, “It won’t happen. # Lit He does not exist # Is 28:15; Jr 23:17
Harm won’t come to us;
we won’t see sword or famine.”
13The prophets become only wind,
for the Lord’s word is not in them.
This will in fact happen to them.
Coming Judgment
14Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Hosts says:
Because you have spoken this word,
I am going to make My words
become fire in your mouth. # Hs 6:5; Rv 11:5
These people are the wood,
and the fire will consume them. # Zch 12:6
15I am about to bring a nation
from far away against you, # Is 10:3; 13:5; 30:27; Jr 4:16
house of Israel.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
It is an established nation,
an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know
and whose speech you do not understand. # Dt 28:49; Is 28:11; 33:19; 1Co 14:21
16Their quiver is like an open grave; # Ps 5:9; Rm 3:13
they are all mighty warriors.
17They will consume your harvest and your food. # Lv 26:16; Dt 28:31,33,51
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.
They will destroy with the sword
your fortified cities # Hs 8:14 in which you trust.
18“But even in those days” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “I will not finish you off. # 2Ch 12:12; Jr 4:27; 5:10; 30:11; Ezk 11:13; 20:17; Rm 11:1-5 19When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us? ’ You will respond to them: Just as you abandoned Me # Dt 28:20; 29:24-25; 31:16; Jdg 2:12; 1Sm 8:8; 1Kg 9:8-9; Is 1:4,28; Jr 1:16; 2:13,17,19; 16:11; 17:13 and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours. # Dt 4:27-28; 28:47-48
20“Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying:
21Hear this,
you foolish and senseless # Lit without heart people. # Dt 32:6
They have eyes, but they don’t see.
They have ears, but they don’t hear. # Ps 115:5-6; 135:16-17; Is 6:9; 42:20; Ezk 12:2; Mt 13:14; Mk 8:18
22Do you not fear Me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Do you not tremble before Me,
the One who set the sand as the boundary of the sea,
an enduring barrier that it cannot cross? # Jb 26:10; 38:10-11; Ps 104:9; Pr 8:29
The waves surge, but they cannot prevail.
They roar but cannot pass over it.
23But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. # Dt 21:18,20; Ps 78:8; Is 1:5; Heb 3:12
They have turned aside and have gone away.
24They have not said to themselves,
‘Let’s fear the Lord our God, # Pr 9:10; Hs 6:1
who gives the rain, # Mt 5:45 both early and late, # Jl 2:23 in its season, # Dt 11:14
who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.’
25Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you.
Your sins have withheld My bounty from you, # Is 59:2
26for wicked men live among My people.
They watch like fowlers lying in wait. # Hb obscure # Pr 1:11
They set a trap; # Ps 10:9
they catch men.
27Like a cage full of birds,
so their houses are full of deceit. # Ps 10:7; 50:19; Is 3:14; 5:18; 30:12; Jr 8:5; Zph 1:9; Ac 13:10; Rm 1:29
Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.
28They have become fat # Dt 32:15 and sleek.
They have also excelled in evil matters.
They have not taken up cases,
such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,
and they have not defended the rights of the needy. # Deut 24:14; Jb 29:16; 30:25; 31:19; Ps 82:3-4; 140:12; Pr 14:31; 31:9; Is 1:23; Zch 7:10; Ac 4:34
29Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself # Jr 5:9; 8:19; Heb 10:30
on such a nation as this?
30A horrible, terrible thing
has taken place in the land. # Hs 6:10
31The prophets prophesy falsely, # Jr 6:13; 8:10; 14:14; 20:6; 23:14,25,26,32; 27:10,14-16; 28:15; 29:9,21,31; Lm 2:14; Zch 13:3
and the priests rule by their own authority.
My people love it like this.
But what will you do at the end of it? # Dt 32:29; Is 10:3
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