Jeremiah 5
1 Run to and from by the streetes of Ierusalem, and beholde nowe, and knowe, and inquire in the open places thereof, if ye can finde a man, or if there be any that executeth iudgement, and seeketh the trueth, and I will spare it.
“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 though they say, The Lord liueth, yet doe they sweare falsely.
For even though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in this, too, they swear falsely.”
3 O Lord, are not thine eyes vpon the trueth? thou hast striken them, but they haue not sorowed: thou hast consumed them, but they haue refused to receiue correction: they haue made their faces harder then a stone, and haue refused to returne.
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 Therefore I saide, Surely they are poore, they are foolish, for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the iudgement of their God.
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 I will get me vnto the great men, and will speake vnto them: for they haue knowen the way of the Lord, and the iudgement of their God: but these haue altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bondes.
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 Wherefore a lyon out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolfe of the wildernesse shall destroy them: a leopard shall watch ouer their cities: euery one that goeth out thence, shall be torne in pieces, because their trespasses are many, and their rebellions are increased.
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 Howe should I spare thee for this? thy children haue forsaken me, and sworne by them that are no gods: though I fed them to the full, yet they committed adulterie, and assembled them selues by companies in the harlots houses.
“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 rose vp in the morning like fed horses: for euery man neyed after his neighbours wife.
They have become like wild horses in heat; each one was neighing after his neighbor’s wife.
9 Shall I not visite for these things, saith the Lord? Shall not my soule be auenged on such a nation as this?
Shall I not visit against these things, says the Lord? And shall my soul not take vengeance on a nation such as this?
10 Clime vp vpon their walles, and destroy them, but make not a full ende: take away their batilments, for they are not the Lords.
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 Iudah haue grieuously trespassed against me, saith the Lord.
For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have greatly transgressed against me, says the Lord.
12 They haue denied the Lord, and saide, It is not he, neither shall the plague come vpon vs, neither shall we see sworde nor famine.
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 And the Prophetes shall be as winde, and the worde is not in them: thus shall it come vnto them.
The prophets have spoken into the wind, and there was no answer with them. Therefore, these things will happen to them.”
14 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hostes, Because ye speake such wordes, beholde, I will put my wordes into thy mouth, like a fire, and this people shall be as wood, and it shall deuoure them.
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 Loe, I will bring a nation vpon you from farre, O house of Israel, saith the Lord, which is a mightie nation, and an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither vnderstandest what they say.
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 Whose quiuer is as an open sepulchre: they are all very strong.
Their quiver is like an open sepulcher. They are all strong.
17 And they shall eate thine haruest and thy bread: they shall deuoure thy sonnes and thy daughters: they shall eate vp thy sheepe and thy bullocks: they shall eate thy vines and thy figge trees: they shall destroy with the sworde thy fenced cities, wherein thou didest trust.
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 Neuerthelesse at those dayes, sayth the Lord, I will not make a full ende of you.
Yet truly, in those days, says the Lord, I will not bring the consummation over you.
19 And when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God doe these things vnto vs? then shalt thou answere them, Like as ye haue forsaken me and serued strange gods in your land, so shall ye serue strangers in a land that is not yours.
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 Declare this in the house of Iaakob, and publish it in Iudah, saying,
Announce this to the house of Jacob, and make it known in Judah, saying:
21 Heare nowe this, O foolish people, and without vnderstanding, which haue eyes and see not, which haue eares and heare not.
Listen, O foolish people who have no heart! You have eyes, but you do not see, and ears, but you do not hear.
22 Feare ye not me, saith the Lord? or will ye not be afraide at my presence, which haue placed the sand for the bounds of the sea by the perpetuall decree that it cannot passe it, and though the waues thereof rage, yet can they not preuaile, though they roare, yet can they not passe ouer it?
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 this people hath an vnfaithfull and rebellious heart: they are departed and gone.
But the heart of this people has become incredulous and provocative; they have turned away and departed.
24 For they say not in their heart, Let vs nowe feare the Lord our God, that giueth raine both early and late in due season: hee reserueth vnto vs the appointed weekes of the haruest.
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 Yet your iniquities haue turned away these things, and your sinnes haue hindred good things from you.
Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have held back good things from you.
26 For among my people are founde wicked persons, that lay waite as hee that setteth snares: they haue made a pit, to catch men.
For the impious are found among my people; they lie in ambush like fowlers setting snares, for they set traps to catch men.
27 As a cage is full of birdes, so are their houses full of deceite: thereby they are become great and waxen riche.
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 are waxen fat and shining: they doe ouerpasse the deedes of the wicked: they execute no iudgement, no not the iudgement of the fatherlesse: yet they prosper, though they execute no iudgement for the poore.
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 visite for these things, sayth the Lord? or shall not my soule be auenged on such a nation as this?
Shall I not visit against these things, says the Lord? Or shall my soul not take vengeance on a nation of this kind?
30 An horrible and filthie thing is committed in the land.
Astonishing and wondrous things have been done upon the earth.
31 The Prophets prophesie lies, and ye Priests receiue giftes in their handes, and my people delite therein. What will ye then doe in the ende thereof?
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?”
