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
1Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broadways thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that doeth justice, that seeketh fidelity; and I will pardon it. 2And if they say, As Jehovah liveth! surely they swear falsely. 3Jehovah, are not thine eyes upon fidelity? Thou hast smitten them, but they are not sore; thou hast consumed them, they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. 4And I said, Surely these are the wretched ones, they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jehovah, the judgment of their God#GodHebrew: Elohim 5I will go unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they know the way of Jehovah, the judgment of their God#GodHebrew: Elohim but these have altogether broken the yoke, have burst the bonds. 6Therefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the evenings shall waste them; the leopard lurketh against their cities, every one that goeth out thence is torn in pieces: for their transgressions are multiplied, their backslidings are increased. 7Wherefore should I pardon thee? Thy children have forsaken me, and swear by them that are not God#GodHebrew: Elohim I have satiated them, and they have committed adultery, and they troop to the harlots' house. 8As well fed horses, they roam about, every one neigheth after his neighbour's wife. 9Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah, and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
10Go up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end; take away her battlements, for they are not Jehovah's. 11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith Jehovah. 12They have denied Jehovah, and say, He is not; and evil shall not come upon us, nor shall we see sword nor famine; 13and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. 14Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God#GodHebrew: Elohim of hosts: Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. 15Behold, I bring a nation upon you from afar, house of Israel, saith Jehovah: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest thou what they say. 16Their quiver is as an open sepulchre; they are all mighty men. 17And they shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread, they shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters, they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds, they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees; they shall destroy with the sword thy strong cities, wherein thou trustedst. 18Nevertheless in those days, saith Jehovah, I will not make a full end with you. 19And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore hath Jehovah our God#GodHebrew: Elohim done all these things unto us? then shalt thou say to them, As ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
20Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, 21Hear now this, O foolish and heartless people, who have eyes and see not; who have ears, and hear not. 22Will ye not fear me? saith Jehovah. Will ye not tremble at my presence, who have set the sand a bound for the sea by a perpetual decree, and it shall not pass it? and its waves toss themselves, but they do not prevail; and they roar, yet can they not pass over it? 23But this people hath a stubborn and a rebellious heart; they have turned aside and are gone. 24And they say not in their heart, Let us now fear Jehovah our God#GodHebrew: Elohim that giveth rain, both the early and the latter, in its season; who preserveth unto us the appointed weeks of harvest.
25Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden from you what is good. 26For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as fowlers stoop down; they set a trap, they catch men. 27As a cage full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and have enriched themselves. 28They are become fat, they shine, yea, they surpass in deeds of wickedness; they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, and they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not adjudge. 29Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? 30An appalling and horrible thing is committed in the land: 31the prophets prophesy falsehood, and the priests rule by their means; and my people love to have it so. But what will ye do in the end thereof?
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.