Jeremiah 5
5
Jerusalem Refused to Repent
1 # [2 Chr. 16:9] Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
look and take note!
Search her squares to see
# See Gen. 18:23-32 if you can find a man,
one who does justice
and seeks truth,
# [ver. 7] that I may pardon her.
2 # [Titus 1:16] Though they say, “As the Lord lives,”
# ch. 7:9 yet they swear falsely.
3O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?
# See ch. 2:30 You have struck them down,
but they felt no anguish;
you have consumed them,
but they refused to take correction.
#
Ezek. 3:8
They have made their faces harder than rock;
they have refused to repent.
4Then I said, “These are only the poor;
they have no sense;
# ch. 8:7; Mic. 3:1 for they do not know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.
5I will go to the great
and will speak to them,
for they know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.”
# ch. 2:20; Ps. 2:3; 107:14 But they all alike had broken the yoke;
they had burst the bonds.
6Therefore #See ch. 4:7 a lion from the forest shall strike them down;
a #Hab. 1:8; Zeph. 3:3 wolf from the desert shall devastate them.
#
Hos. 13:7 A leopard is watching their cities;
everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,
because their transgressions are many,
their #ch. 2:19apostasies are great.
7 # [ver. 1] “How can I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me
#
Deut. 32:21; Josh. 23:7; 2 Chr. 13:9; Gal. 4:8 and have sworn by those who are no gods.
#
Deut. 32:15 When I fed them to the full,
# ch. 9:2; 23:10 they committed adultery
#
Mic. 5:1
and trooped to the houses of whores.
8They were well-fed, lusty stallions,
# ch. 13:27; 50:11 each neighing #Ezek. 22:11for his neighbor’s wife.
9 # ver. 29; ch. 9:9; [Rom. 2:2] Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the Lord;
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?
10 # [ch. 39:8] “Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
# See ch. 4:27 but make not a full end;
strip away her branches,
for they are not the Lord’s.
11 # ch. 3:20 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
have been utterly treacherous to me,
declares the Lord.
12They have spoken falsely of the Lord
and have said, ‘He will do nothing;
# [Gen. 3:4] no disaster will come upon us,
# [ch. 14:13; Isa. 28:15] nor shall we see sword or famine.
13The prophets will become wind;
the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them!’”
The Lord Proclaims Judgment
14Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts:
“Because you have spoken this word,
behold, #[ch. 1:9, 10] I am making my words in your mouth #[Obad. 18; Zech. 12:6; Rev. 11:5]a fire,
and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.
15 # ch. 34:21, 22; Deut. 28:49; [ch. 1:15; Amos 6:14] Behold, I am bringing against you
a nation from afar, O house of Israel,
declares the Lord.
It is an enduring nation;
it is an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know,
#
Isa. 33:19
nor can you understand what they say.
16 # See Isa. 5:28 Their quiver is like #Ps. 5:9an open tomb;
they are all mighty warriors.
17 #
Lev. 26:16; Deut. 28:31, 33, 51 They shall eat up your harvest and your food;
they shall eat up your sons and your daughters;
they shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
your #[Hos. 8:14]fortified cities in which you trust
they shall beat down with the sword.”
18“But even in those days, declares the Lord, #[See ver. 10 above]I will not make a full end of you. 19And when your people say, #ch. 13:22; 16:10, 11; 22:8, 9; Deut. 29:24, 25; 1 Kgs. 9:8, 9 ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, #Deut. 4:27, 28; 28:47, 48, 68so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’”
20Declare this in the house of Jacob;
proclaim it in Judah:
21“Hear this, #Deut. 32:6; Isa. 6:9 O foolish and senseless people,
# [Matt. 13:14] who have eyes, but see not,
who have ears, but hear not.
22 # ch. 10:7 Do you not fear me? declares the Lord.
Do you not tremble before me?
I placed the sand #Job 26:10; 38:10, 11; Ps. 104:9 as the boundary for the sea,
a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
though #ch. 51:55; [Ps. 46:3]they roar, they cannot pass over it.
23 # ch. 6:28 But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
they have turned aside and gone away.
24They do not say in their hearts,
‘Let us fear the Lord our God,
# ch. 14:22; Deut. 11:14; Job 5:10; Ps. 147:8; Matt. 5:45 who gives the rain in its season,
the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us
#
Gen. 8:22
the weeks appointed for the harvest.’
25 # ch. 3:3 Your iniquities have turned these away,
and your sins have kept good from you.
26For wicked men are found among my people;
# [Prov. 1:11] they lurk like fowlers lying in wait.#5:26 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
#
Ps. 10:9; [Ps. 124:7] They set a trap;
they catch men.
27Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;
therefore they have become great and rich;
28 #
Deut. 32:15 they have grown fat and sleek.
They know no bounds in deeds of evil;
# [ch. 7:6; Isa. 1:23; Zech. 7:10] they judge not with justice
the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,
and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
29 # See ver. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?”
30An appalling and #ch. 23:14; Hos. 6:10horrible thing
has happened in the land:
31 # ch. 6:13; 14:14, 18; 20:6; 23:21, 25; 27:10, 15; 29:9; Ezek. 13:6 the prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests rule at their direction;
# [Mic. 2:11] my people love to have it so,
but what will you do when the end comes?
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Jeremiah 5
5
Futile search for a good person
1Search every street in Jerusalem,
comb the squares,
look far and wide
for one person,
even one who acts justly
and seeks truth that I may pardon her!
2Even when making a pledge—“As the LORD lives”—
they swear falsely.
3 LORD, don’t you look for integrity?
You have struck them down,
but they didn’t even cringe.
You have crushed them,
but they have ignored your discipline.
They make their faces harder than rock
and refuse to return.
4Then I thought to myself,
These are the poor who don’t know better!
They don’t understand the LORD’s way
or the justice of their God.
5Let me go and speak to the powerful people,
for they will surely know the LORD’s way
and the justice of their God.
But they too have broken their yoke
and shattered the chains.
6Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them;
a wolf from the desert will destroy them;
a leopard prowling around their towns
will tear to pieces anyone venturing out—
because of their many crimes
and countless acts of unfaithfulness.
7How can I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me
and swear by gods that are not gods.
Although I could have satisfied them,
they committed adultery,
dashing off to the prostitution house.
8They are lusty stallions roving about,
snorting for another’s wife.
9The LORD declares:
Shouldn’t I confront these acts?
Shouldn’t I take revenge on such a nation?
Contempt for God
10Climb through her vineyards and ravage them,
although not completely.
Prune back her branches,
because they aren’t the LORD’s.
11The people of Israel and Judah
have been utterly faithless to me,
declares the LORD.
12They have lied about the LORD
and said, “He’ll do nothing!#5.12 Or not he
Disaster won’t come upon us;
we won’t see war or famine.”
13The prophets are so much wind;
the word isn’t in them.
Thus and so may it be done to them.
14Therefore, the LORD God of heavenly forces proclaims:
Because you have spoken this way,
I will put my words
in your mouth as a fire;
it will consume the people,
who are but kindling.
15I am about to bring a distant nation against you,
people of Israel,
declares the LORD.
It is an established nation,
an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you don’t know,
whose speech you won’t understand.
16Its weapons are deadly;#5.16 Or Its quiver is like an open grave
its warriors are many.
17It will devour your harvest and food;
it will devour your sons and daughters;
it will devour your flocks and herds;
it will devour your vines and fig trees;
it will shatter your fortified towns in which you trust—
with the sword!
18Yet even in those days, declares the LORD, I won’t completely destroy you. 19And when they ask, “Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?” you must reply, “Just as you have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land not your own.”
Shouldn’t you fear me?
20Declare this to the people of Jacob,
announce it in Judah:
21Listen, you foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes but don’t see
and ears but don’t hear.
22Shouldn’t you fear me,
declares the LORD,
and tremble before me,
the one who set the shoreline for the sea,
an ancient boundary that it can’t pass?
Though its waves may rise and roar,
they can’t pass the limits I have set.
23And yet the people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
they turn and go their own way.
24They don’t say in their hearts,
Let’s fear the LORD our God,
who provides rain in autumn and spring
and who assures us of a harvest in its season.
25Your wrongdoing has turned these blessings#5.25 Heb lacks blessings. away.
Your sin has robbed you of good.
26Criminals are found among my people;
they set traps to catch people,
like hunters lying in wait.#5.26 Heb uncertain
27Like a cage full of birds,
so their houses are full of loot.
No wonder they are rich and powerful
28and have grown fat and sleek!
To be sure, their evil deeds exceed all limits,
and yet they prosper.
They are indifferent to the plight of the orphan,
reluctant to defend the rights of the poor.
29Shouldn’t I punish such acts?
declares the LORD.
Shouldn’t I repay that nation for its deeds?
30An awful, a terrible thing
has happened in the land:
31The prophets prophesy falsely,
the priests rule at their sides,#5.31 Or by their hands
and my people love it this way!
But what will you do when the end comes?
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