Jeremiah 5

1 Run 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.

Run you about in the streets of Jerusalem, and see, and know, and seek in her broad places, if you can find [one], if there is any one that does judgement, and seeks faithfulness; and I will pardon them, says the Lord.

2 And if they say, [As] Jehovah liveth! surely they swear falsely.

The Lord lives, they say; do they not therefore swear falsely?

3 Jehovah, 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.

O Lord, your eyes are upon faithfulness: you have scourged them, but they have not grieved; you have consumed them; but they would not receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; and they would not return.

4 And I said, Surely these are the wretched ones, they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jehovah, the judgment of their God.

Then I said, It may be they are poor; for they are weak, for they know not the way of the Lord, or the judgement of God.

5 I will go unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they know the way of Jehovah, the judgment of their God; but these have altogether broken the yoke, have burst the bonds.

I will go to the rich men, and will speak to them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgement of God: but, behold, with one consent they have broken the yoke, they have burst the bonds.

6 Therefore 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.

Therefore has a lion out of the forest struck them, and a wolf has destroyed them even to [their] houses, and a leopard has watched against their cities: all that go forth from them shall be hunted: for they have multiplied their ungodliness, they have strengthened themselves in their revoltings.

7 Wherefore should I pardon thee? Thy children have forsaken me, and swear by them that are not God. I have satiated them, and they have committed adultery, and they troop to the harlots' house.

In what [way] shall I forgive you for these things? Your sons have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: and I fed them to the full, and they committed adultery, and lodged in harlots' houses.

8 [As] well fed horses, they roam about, every one neigheth after his neighbour's wife.

They became as wanton horses: they neighed each one after his neighbour's wife.

9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah, and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

Shall I not visit for these things? says the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this.

10 Go up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end; take away her battlements, for they are not Jehovah's.

Go up upon her battlements, and break [them] down; but make not a full end: leave her buttresses: for they are the Lord's.

11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith Jehovah.

For the house of Israel have indeed dealt treacherously against me, says the Lord: the house of Juda also

12 They have denied Jehovah, and say, He is not; and evil shall not come upon us, nor shall we see sword nor famine;

have lied to their Lord, and they have said, These things are not so; no evils shall come upon us; and we shall not see sword or famine.

13 and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.

Our prophets became wind, and the word of the Lord was not in them.

14 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God 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.

Therefore thus says the Lord Almighty, Because you have spoken this word, behold, I have made my words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

15 Behold, 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.

Behold, I [will] bring upon you a nation from far, O house of Israel, says the Lord; a nation the sound of whose language one shall not understand.

16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre; they are all mighty men.

[They are] all mighty men:

17 And 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.

and they shall devour your harvest, and your bread; and shall devour your sons, and your daughters; and they shall devour your sheep, and your calves, and devour your vineyards, and your fig-plantations, and your olive yards: and they shall utterly destroy your strong cities, wherein you trusted, with the sword.

18 Nevertheless in those days, saith Jehovah, I will not make a full end with you.

And it shall come to pass in those days, says the Lord your God, that I will not utterly destroy you.

19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore hath Jehovah our God 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.

And it shall come to pass, when you shall say, Therefore has the Lord our God done all these things to us? that you shall say to them, Because you served strange gods in your land, so shall you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,

Proclaim these things to the house of Jacob, and let them be heard in the house of Juda.

21 Hear now this, O foolish and heartless people, who have eyes and see not; who have ears, and hear not.

Hear you now these things, O foolish and senseless people; who have eyes, and see not; and have ears, and hear not:

22 Will 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?

will you not be afraid of me? says the Lord; and will you not fear before me, who have set the sand for a bound to the sea, [as] a perpetual ordinance, and it shall not pass it: yes, it shall rage, but not prevail; and its waves shall roar, but not pass over it.

23 But this people hath a stubborn and a rebellious heart; they have turned aside and are gone.

But this people has a disobedient and rebellious heart; and they have turned aside and gone back:

24 And they say not in their heart, Let us now fear Jehovah our God, that giveth rain, both the early and the latter, in its season; who preserveth unto us the appointed weeks of harvest.

and they have not said in their heart, Let us fear now the Lord our God, who gives us the early and latter rain, according to the season of the fulfilment of the ordinance of harvest, and has preserved [it] for us.

25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden from you what is good.

Your transgressions have turned away these things, and your sins have removed good things from you.

26 For among my people are found wicked [men]: they lay wait, as fowlers stoop down; they set a trap, they catch men.

For amongst my people were found ungodly men; and they have set snares to destroy men, and have caught [them].

27 As a cage full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and have enriched themselves.

As a snare which has been set is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore have they grown great, and become rich:

28 They 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.

and they have transgressed [the rule of] judgement; they have not judged the cause of the orphan, nor have they judged the cause of the widow.

29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

Shall I not visit for these things? says the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

30 An appalling and horrible thing is committed in the land:

Shocking and horrible deeds have been done on the land;

31 the 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?

the prophets utter unrighteous prophecies, and the priests have clapped their hands: and my people has loved [to have it] thus: and what will you do for the future.