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
1 "Travel the streets of Jerusalem; and gaze, and consider, and seek, in its wide streets. If you can find a man exercising judgment and seeking faith, then I will be forgiving to them.
2 For even though they say, 'As the Lord lives,' in this, too, they swear falsely."
3 O Lord, your eyes look with favor upon faith. You have struck them, and they have not grieved. You have bruised them, and they have refused to accept discipline. They have hardened their faces more than rock, and they are not willing to return.
4 But I said: Perhaps these are the poor and the senseless, who are ignorant of the way of the Lord, of the judgment of their God.
5 Therefore, I will go to great men, and I will speak with them. For they have known the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God. And behold, these ones have broken the yoke all the more; they have torn apart the bonds.
6 For this reason, a lion from the forest has struck them down, a wolf toward evening has laid waste to them, a leopard lies in wait over their cities. All who go out from there will be taken. For their transgressions have been multiplied; their rebellions have been strengthened.
7 "Over which things am I able to be merciful to you? Your sons have forsaken me, and they swear by those who are not gods. I gave them everything, and they committed adultery, and they indulged themselves in the house of the harlot.
8 They have become like wild horses in heat; each one was neighing after his neighbor's wife.
9 Shall I not visit against these things, says the Lord? And shall my soul not take vengeance on a nation such as this?
10 Scale its walls and tear them down. But do not be willing to bring about its very end. Take away its plantings, for they are not the Lord's.
11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have greatly transgressed against me, says the Lord.
12 They have denied the Lord, and they have said, 'It is not him,' and, 'Evil will not overwhelm us. We will not see famine and the sword.'
13 The prophets have spoken into the wind, and there was no answer with them. Therefore, these things will happen to them."
14 Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: "Since you have spoken this word, behold, I will make my words in your mouth like fire and this people like wood, and it will devour them.
15 Behold, O house of Israel, I will lead over you a far away nation, says the Lord, a robust nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you will not know, nor will you understand what they are saying.
16 Their quiver is like an open sepulcher. They are all strong.
17 And they will consume your grain fields and your bread. They will devour your sons and your daughters. They will consume your flocks and your herds. They will consume your vineyards and your figs. And with the sword, they will crush your fortified cities, in which you have placed your trust.
18 Yet truly, in those days, says the Lord, I will not bring the consummation over you.
19 And if they say, 'Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?' You shall say to them: 'Just as you have abandoned me and have served a strange god in your own land, so will you serve strangers in a land not your own.'
20 Announce this to the house of Jacob, and make it known in Judah, saying:
21 Listen, O foolish people who have no heart! You have eyes, but you do not see, and ears, but you do not hear.
22 So then, will you not fear me, says the Lord. And will you not have sorrow before my face? I have placed the shore as a limit for the sea, as an everlasting precept that it will not transgress. And its waves will crash, but they will not prevail; and its waves will swell, but they will not go across.
23 But the heart of this people has become incredulous and provocative; they have turned away and departed.
24 And they have not said in their heart: 'Let us dread the Lord our God, who gives us the timely and the late rains, in their proper time, who guards the full measure of the yearly harvest for us.'
25 Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have held back good things from you.
26 For the impious are found among my people; they lie in ambush like fowlers setting snares, for they set traps to catch men.
27 Just as a snare is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit. As a result, they have become exalted and enriched.
28 They have grown stout and fat. And they have transgressed my words most wickedly. They have not judged the case of the widow; they have not given guidance to the case of the orphan; and they have not judged a judgment for the poor.
29 Shall I not visit against these things, says the Lord? Or shall my soul not take vengeance on a nation of this kind?
30 Astonishing and wondrous things have been done upon the earth.
31 The prophets have prophesied lies, and the priests have applauded with their hands, and my people have loved these things. So then, what shall be done at the very end?"
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