Jeremias (Jeremiah) 5
5
1Go about through the streets of Jerusalem, and see and consider, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man that executeth judgement and seeketh faith: and I will be merciful unto it.
2And though they say: The Lord liveth; this also they will swear falsely.
3O Lord, thy eyes are upon truth: thou hast struck them, and they have not grieved: thou hast bruised them, and they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than the rock and they have refused to return.
4But I said: Perhaps these are poor and foolish, that know not the way of the Lord, the judgement of their God.
5I will go therefore to the great men and I will speak to them: for they known the way of the Lord, the judgement of their God. And, behold, these have together broken the yoke more and have burst the bonds.
6Wherefore a lion out of the wood hath slain them, a wolf in the evening hath spoiled them, a leopard watcheth for their cities: every one that shall go out thence shall be taken, because their transgressions are multiplied, their rebellions are strengthened.
7How can I be merciful to thee? Thy children have forsaken me and swear by them that are not gods: I fed them to the full, and they committed adultery and rioted in the harlot's house.
8They are become as amorous horses and stallions: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife.
9Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord? And shall not my soul take revenge on such a nation?
10Scale down the walls thereof and throw them down, but do not utterly destroy: take away the branches thereof, because they are not the Lord's.
11For the house of Israel and the house of Juda have greatly transgressed against me, saith the Lord.
12They have denied the Lord and said: It is not he and the evil shall not come upon us. We shall not see the sword and famine.
13The prophets have spoken in the wind, and there was no word of God in them: these things therefore shall befall them.
14Thus saith the Lord the God of hosts: Because you have spoken this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth as fire and this people as wood; and it shall devour them.
15Behold, I will bring upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: a strong nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou shalt not know, nor understand what they say.
16Their quiver is as an open sepulchre: they are all valiant.
17And they shall eat up thy corn and thy bread: they shall devour thy sons and thy daughters: they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds: they shall eat thy vineyards and thy figs: and with the sword they shall destroy thy strong cities, wherein thou trustest.
18Nevertheless, in those days, saith the Lord, I will not bring you to utter destruction.
19And if you shall say: Why hath the Lord our God done all these things to us? Thou shalt say to them: As you have forsaken me and served a strange god in your own land, so shall you serve strangers in a land that is not your own.
20Declare ye this to the house of Jacob and publish it in Juda, saying:
21Hear, O foolish people, and without understanding: who have eyes and see not, and ears and hear not.
22Will not you then fear me? saith the Lord. And will you not repent at my presence? I have set the sand a bound for the sea, an everlasting ordinance which it shall not pass over. And the waves thereof shall toss themselves and shall not prevail: they shall swell, and shall not pass over it.
23But the heart of this people is become hard of belief and provoking: they are revolted and gone away.
24And they have not said in their heart: Let us fear the Lord our God, who giveth us the early and the latter rain in due season: who preserveth for us the fullness of the yearly harvest.
25Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have withholden good things from you.
26For among my people are found wicked men that lie in wait as fowlers, setting snares and traps to catch men.
27As a net is full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit: therefore are they become great and enriched.
28They are grown gross and fat: and have most wickedly transgressed my words. They have not judged the cause of the widow, they have not managed the cause of the fatherless, they have not judged the judgement of the poor.
29Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord? Or shall not my soul take revenge on such a nation?
30Astonishing and wonderful things have been done in the land.
31The prophets prophesied falsehood, and the priests clapped their hands: and my people loved such things. What then shall be done in the end thereof?
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Jeremias (Jeremiah) 5: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Jeremiah 5
5
Universal Corruption
1Roam the streets of Jerusalem,
look about and observe,
Search through her squares,
to find even one
Who acts justly
and seeks honesty,
and I will pardon her!
2They say, “As the Lord lives,”
but in fact they swear falsely.
3Lord, do your eyes not search for honesty?
You struck them, but they did not flinch;
you laid them low, but they refused correction;
They set their faces harder than stone,
and refused to return.#Jer 2:30.
4I thought: These are only the lowly,
they behave foolishly;
For they do not know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.#Jer 8:7.
5Let me go to the leaders
and speak with them;
For they must know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.
But, one and all, they have broken the yoke,
torn off the harness.#Jer 6:13.
6Therefore, lions from the forest slay them,
wolves of the desert ravage them,
Leopards keep watch round their cities:
all who come out are torn to pieces,
For their crimes are many,
their rebellions numerous.
7Why should I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me,
they swear by gods that are no gods.
I fed them, but they commit adultery;
to the prostitute’s house they throng.
8They are lustful stallions,
each neighs after the other’s wife.#Jer 13:27.
9Should I not punish them for this?—oracle of the Lord;
on a nation like this should I not take vengeance?
10Climb her terraces, and ravage them,
destroy them completely.
Tear away her tendrils,
they do not belong to the Lord.#Jer 2:21.
11For they have openly rebelled against me,
both the house of Israel and the house of Judah—
oracle of the Lord.#Jer 3:20.
12They denied the Lord,#They denied the Lord: the people act as though God does not matter and will not interfere.
saying, “He is nothing,
No evil shall come to us,
neither sword nor famine shall we see.#Jer 14:13; Is 28:15.
13The prophets are wind,
and the word is not with them.
Let it be done to them!”
14Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts,
because you have said this—
See! I make my words
a fire in your mouth,
And this people the wood
that it shall devour!—
15Beware! I will bring against you
a nation from far away,
O House of Israel—oracle of the Lord;
A long-lived nation, an ancient nation,
a people whose language you do not know,
whose speech you cannot understand.#Dt 28:49.
16Their quivers are like open graves;
all of them are warriors.
17They will devour your harvest and your bread,
devour your sons and your daughters,
Devour your sheep and cattle,
devour your vines and fig trees;
With their swords they will beat down
the fortified cities in which you trust.#Dt 28:31.
18Yet even in those days—oracle of the Lord—I will not completely destroy you.#Jer 4:27. 19And when they ask, “Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?” say to them, “As you have abandoned me to serve foreign gods in your own land, so shall you serve foreigners in a land not your own.”
20Announce this to the house of Jacob,
proclaim it in Judah:
21Pay attention to this,
you foolish and senseless people,
Who have eyes and do not see,
who have ears and do not hear.#Is 6:9.
22Should you not fear me—oracle of the Lord—
should you not tremble before me?
I made the sandy shore the sea’s limit,
which by eternal decree it may not overstep.
Toss though it may, it is to no avail;
though its billows roar, they cannot overstep.#Jb 38:10–11.
23But this people’s heart is stubborn and rebellious;
they turn and go away,
24And do not say in their hearts,
“Let us fear the Lord, our God,
Who gives us rain
early and late,#Rain early and late: autumn and spring rains respectively. Appointed weeks of harvest: the seven weeks between the Passover (Dt 16:9–10) and the feast of Weeks (Pentecost), when it did not ordinarily rain. in its time;
Who watches for us
over the appointed weeks of harvest.”#Gn 8:22; Dt 11:14.
25Your crimes have prevented these things,
your sins have turned these blessings away from you.#Jer 2:17, 19.
26For criminals lurk among my people;
like fowlers they set traps,
but it is human beings they catch.#Prv 1:11.
27Their houses are as full of treachery
as a bird-cage is of birds;
Therefore they grow powerful and rich,
28fat and sleek.
They pass over wicked deeds;
justice they do not defend
By advancing the claim of the orphan
or judging the cause of the poor.#Jer 12:1; Is 1:23.
29Shall I not punish these things?—oracle of the Lord;
on a nation such as this shall I not take vengeance?
30Something shocking and horrible
has happened in the land:
31The prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests teach on their own authority;
Yet my people like it this way;
what will you do when the end comes?#Jer 14:14; Mi 2:11.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc