Jeremiah 5
5
1 “Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem,
and look please, and take note,
and search at its public squares,
if you can find a person who does justice,
who seeks honesty,
so that I may forgive it.
2And though they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,’#Literally “Life of Yahweh”
therefore#Literally “to thus” they swear falsely.”
3O Yahweh, do not your eyes look for honesty?
You have struck them, but they felt no pain,
you have destroyed them, they refused to take discipline.
They have hardened their faces more than rock,
they have refused to turn back.
4Then I said, “They are just simple people,
they are foolish,
for they know not the way of Yahweh,
the law#Or “ordinance” of their God.
5Let me go to the great,
and let me speak with them,
for they know the way of Yahweh,
the law#Or “ordinance” of their God.”
However, they together have broken the yoke,
they have torn to pieces the bonds.
6Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them,
A wolf from the desert plains#Or “Arabah” will devastate them.
A leopard is watching their cities,
everyone who goes out from there will be torn,
because their transgressions are many,
their apostasies are numerous.
7“How#Literally “Why to this” can I forgive you?
Your children have forsaken me,
and they have sworn by those who are not gods.
But I fed them to the full,
and they committed adultery,
and flocked to the house of a prostitute.
8They were well-fed lusty horses,
they neighed each to the wife of his neighbor.
9Because of these things shall I not punish?” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“and on a nation who is like this, shall I not take revenge?
10Go up through her vineyards and destroy,
but you must not make complete destruction.
Remove her branches,
for they are not to Yahweh.
11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
have dealt utterly treacherously with me,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
12“They have denied Yahweh, and have said,
‘Not he, for#Literally “and” evil will not come on us,
we will see neither sword nor famine.
13And the prophets are like wind,
and the word is not in them.’
Thus it will be done to them.”
14Therefore#Literally “To thus” thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts,
“Because you have spoken this word,
look, I am making my words in your mouth like a fire,
and this people wood, and it will devour them.
15Look, I am about to bring on you a nation from afar,
O house of Israel,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
“It is an enduring nation, it is an ancient nation.#Literally “a nation from a long time ago”
A nation whose language you do not know,
and you cannot understand what they speak.
16Their quiver is like an open tomb,
all of them are warriors.
17And they will eat your harvest and your food,
they will eat your sons and your daughters,
they will eat your flock and your herd,
they will eat your vine and your fig tree,
they will smash with the sword your fortified cities,#Literally “the cities of your fortification”
in which you trust.
18“But even in those days,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19And then,#Literally “And it will happen” when you people say, ‘Why has Yahweh our God done all of these things to us?’ Then you will say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and have served gods of a foreign land in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that does not belong to you.’#Literally “a land not to you”
20“Declare this in the house of Jacob,
and proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21‘Hear this please, O foolish and senseless#Literally “without heart” people,
who have eyes#Literally “eyes for them” but do not see,
who have ears#Literally “ears for them” but do not hear.’
22Do you not revere me?” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“Do you not tremble before me?#Literally “from the face of me”
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
as an everlasting limit,#Literally “a limit of eternity” and it cannot pass over it,
and they rise and fall loudly, but they cannot prevail,
and its waves roar, but they cannot pass over it.
23But for this people is a stubborn and rebellious heart,
they have turned aside and have gone away.
24And they do not say in their hearts,
‘Let us fear please Yahweh our God,
the one who gives the autumn rain#Hebrew “early rain” and the spring rain#Hebrew “late rain” in its season,
the set times of the harvest#Literally “weeks due harvest” he keeps for us.’
25Your iniquities have disturbed these,
and your sins have kept away the good from you.
26For wicked people are found among my people,
they lie in wait like the hiding of fowlers,
they set up a trap,
they catch humans.
27Like a cage full of birds,#Hebrew “bird”
so their houses are full of fraud.
Therefore#Literally “Unto thus” they have become great,
and they have become rich.
28They have grown fat,
they have grown sleek,
also, their evil deeds have no limit.#Literally “they cross over evil deeds”
They do not judge with justice,
the legal cause of the orphan,
or allow it to succeed,
and the legal case of the poor,
they do not defend.
29Because of these things shall I not punish?” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“and on a nation who is like this, shall I not take revenge?
30A horrific event and something horrible has happened in the land.
31The prophets prophesy falsely,#Literally “in the lie”
and the priests rule by their own authority,#Literally “by their hands”
and my people love it#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation so much.
But what will you do when the end comes?#Literally “to end her”
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Jeremiah 5: LEB
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Jeremiah 5
5
The Sin of Jerusalem
1People of Jerusalem, run through your streets!
Look around! See for yourselves!
Search the market places!
Can you find one person
who does what is right
and tries to be faithful to God?
If you can, the LORD will forgive Jerusalem.
2Even though you claim to worship the LORD,
you do not mean what you say.
3Surely the LORD looks for faithfulness.
He struck you, but you paid no attention;
he crushed you, but you refused to learn.
You were stubborn and would not turn from your sins.
4Then I thought, “These are only the poor and ignorant.
They behave foolishly;
they don't know what their God requires,
what the LORD wants them to do.
5I will go to the people in power,
and talk with them.
Surely they know what their God requires,
what the LORD wants them to do.”
But all of them have rejected the LORD's authority
and refuse to obey him.
6That is why lions from the forest will kill them;
wolves from the desert will tear them to pieces,
and leopards will prowl through their towns.
If those people go out, they will be torn apart
because their sins are numerous
and time after time they have turned from God.
7The LORD asked, “Why should I forgive the sins of my people?
They have abandoned me
and have worshipped gods that are not real.
I fed my people until they were full,
but they committed adultery
and spent their time with prostitutes.
8They were like well-fed stallions wild with desire,
each lusting for his neighbour's wife.
9Shouldn't I punish them for these things
and take revenge on a nation such as this?
10I will send enemies to cut down my people's vineyards,
but not to destroy them completely.
I will tell them to strip away the branches,
because those branches are not mine.
11The people of Israel and Judah
have betrayed me completely.
I, the LORD, have spoken.”
The LORD Rejects Israel
12The LORD's people have denied him and have said, “He won't really do anything.#5.12 He won't… anything; or We don't want anything to do with him. We won't have hard times; we won't have war or famine.” 13-14They have said that the prophets are nothing but windbags and that they have no message from the LORD. The LORD God Almighty said to me, “Jeremiah, because these people have said such things, I will make my words like a fire in your mouth. The people will be like wood, and the fire will burn them up.”
15People of Israel, the LORD is bringing a nation from afar to attack you. It is a strong and ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know. 16Their bowmen are mighty soldiers who kill without mercy. 17They will devour your crops and your food; they will kill your sons and your daughters. They will slaughter your flocks and your herds and destroy your vines and fig trees. The fortified cities in which you trust will be destroyed by their army.
18The LORD says, “Yet even in those days I will not completely destroy my people. 19When they ask why I did all these things, tell them, Jeremiah, that just as they turned away from me and served foreign gods in their own land, so they will serve strangers in a land that is not theirs.”
God Warns his People
20The LORD says, “Tell the descendants of Jacob, tell the people of Judah: 21#Is 6.9–10; Ezek 12.2; Mk 8.18Pay attention, you foolish and stupid people, who have eyes, but cannot see, and have ears, but cannot hear. 22#Job 38.8–11I am the LORD; why don't you fear me? Why don't you tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary of the sea, a permanent boundary that it cannot cross. The sea may toss, but it cannot go beyond it; the waves may roar, but they cannot break through. 23But you people! You are stubborn and rebellious; you have turned aside and left me. 24You never thought to honour me, even though I send the autumn rains and the spring rains and give you the harvest season each year. 25Instead, your sins have kept these good things from you.
26“Evildoers live among my people; they lie in wait like those who spread nets to catch birds,#5.26 Probable text they… birds; Hebrew unclear. but they have set their traps to catch people. 27Just as a hunter fills a cage with birds, they have filled their houses with loot. That is why they are powerful and rich, 28why they are fat and well fed. There is no limit to their evil deeds. They do not give orphans their rights or show justice to the oppressed.
29“But I, the LORD, will punish them for these things; I will take revenge on this nation. 30A terrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: 31prophets speak nothing but lies; priests rule as the prophets command, and my people offer no objections. But what will they do when it all comes to an end?”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.