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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Jeremiah 5
5
Jerusalem’s Godlessness
1“Roam back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look now and take note.
And look in her open squares
To see if you can find a man [as Abraham sought in Sodom],
One who is just, who [has integrity and moral courage and] seeks truth (faithfulness);
Then I will pardon Jerusalem—[for the sake of one uncompromisingly righteous person]. [Gen 18:22-32]
2“And though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’
Surely they swear [their oaths] falsely.”
3O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth?
You [have seen their faithless heart and] have stricken them,
But they did not weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they refused to take correction or instruction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent and return to You.
4¶Then I said, “[Surely] these are only the poor (uneducated);
They are [sinfully] foolish and have no [spiritual] understanding,
For they do not know the way of the Lord
Or the ordinance of their God [and the requirements of His just and righteous law].
5“I will go to the great [men]
And speak to them,
For they [must] know the way of the Lord,
The ordinance of their God.”
But [I found the reverse to be true, that] they too had all alike broken the yoke [of God’s law]
And had burst the bonds [of obedience to Him].
6Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them,
A wolf of the deserts will destroy them,
A leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many,
Their desertions of faith are countless.
7¶“Why should I [overlook these offenses and] forgive you?
Your children have abandoned (rejected) Me
And sworn [their oaths] by those who are not gods.
When I had fed them until they were full [and bound them to Me by a promise],
They committed [spiritual] adultery,
Assembling in troops at the houses of prostitutes (idols).
8“They were like well-fed, lusty stallions,
Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.
9“Shall I not punish them [for these things]?” says the Lord;
“Shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?”
10¶“Go up through the rows of Jerusalem’s vineyards and destroy [them],
But do not completely destroy everything.
Strip away her branches and the tendrils [of her vines],
For they are not the Lord’s.
11“For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously (faithlessly) with Me,” declares the Lord.
12They have lied about and denied the Lord
By saying, “It is not He [who speaks through His prophets];
Misfortune and evil shall not come on us,
Nor will we see war or famine.
13“The prophets are like the #5:13 The same Hebrew word (ruach) means both “wind” and “spirit,” so this statement was actually a subtle wordplay insulting not only the prophets but also the Holy Spirit who inspired them.wind [their prophecy will not come to pass],
And the word [of God] is not in them.
In this manner it will be done to them [as they prophesied, not to us].”
Judgment Proclaimed
14¶Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts,
“Because you [people] have spoken this word,
Behold, I am making My words a fire in your mouth [Jeremiah]
And this people wood, and My words will consume them.
15“Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from far away, O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
“It is a mighty and enduring nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language you do not know,
Whose words you do not comprehend.
16“Their quiver is [filled with the dead] like an open grave;
They are all mighty men [heroes of their nation].
17“They will consume your harvest and [eat up] your bread;
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.
With the sword they will break down and demolish your fortified cities in which you trust.
18“But even in those days,” says the Lord, “I will not totally destroy you. 19It will come about when your people say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘As you have abandoned (rejected) Me,’ [says the Lord,] ‘and have served strange and foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
20¶“Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying:
21‘Now hear this, O foolish people without heart,
Who have eyes but do not see,
Who have ears but do not hear. [Is 6:9, 10; Matt 13:10-15; Mark 8:17, 18]
22‘Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord.
‘Do you not tremble [in awe] in My presence?
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal decree and a perpetual barrier beyond which it cannot pass.
Though the waves [of the sea] toss and break, yet they cannot prevail [against the sand ordained to hold them back];
Though the waves and the billows roar, yet they cannot cross over [the barrier].
[Is not such a God to be feared?]
23‘But this people has a stubborn heart and a rebellious will [that draws them away from Me];
They have turned away and have gone [into idolatry].
24‘They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear and worship the Lord our God [with profound awe and reverence],
Who gives rain in its season,
Both the autumn and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25‘Your wickedness has turned these [blessings] away,
And your sins have withheld good [harvests] from you.
26‘For wicked men are found among My people,
They watch like fowlers who lie in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch men.
27‘As a cage is full of birds,
So are their houses full of deceit and treachery;
Therefore they have become influential and rich.
28‘They are fat and they are sleek (prosperous),
They #5:28 Lit pass over, or, overlook deeds.excel in acts of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, so that they [the wicked] may prosper,
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
29‘Shall I not punish them [for these things]?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself
On such a nation as this?’
30¶“An appalling and horrible thing [bringing desolation and destruction]
Has come to pass in the land:
31The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule #5:31 Lit by their own hands.on their own authority;
And My people love [to have] it so!
But what will you do when the end comes?
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