< Jeremiah 5 >

1 Run all of you back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if all of you can find a man, if there be any that executes judgment, that seeks the truth; and I will pardon it.
Go quickly through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and get knowledge, and make a search in her wide places if there is a man, if there is one in her who is upright, who keeps faith; and she will have my forgiveness.
2 And though they say, The LORD lives; surely they swear falsely.
And though they say, By the living Lord; truly their oaths are false.
3 O LORD, are not your eyes upon the truth? you have stricken them, but they have not grieved; you have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
O Lord, do not your eyes see good faith? you have given them punishment, but they were not troubled; you have sent destruction on them, but they did not take your teaching to heart: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they would not come back.
4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.
Then I said, But these are the poor: they are foolish, for they have no knowledge of the way of the Lord or of the behaviour desired by their God.
5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.
I will go to the great men and have talk with them; for they have knowledge of the way of the Lord and of the behaviour desired by their God. But as for these, their one purpose is a broken yoke and burst bands.
6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goes out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
And so a lion from the woods will put them to death, a wolf of the waste land will make them waste, a leopard will keep watch on their towns, and everyone who goes out from them will be food for the beasts; because of the great number of their sins and the increase of their wrongdoing.
7 How shall I pardon you for this? your children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.
How is it possible for you to have my forgiveness for this? your children have given me up, taking their oaths by those who are no gods: when I had given them food in full measure, they were false to their wives, taking their pleasure in the houses of loose women.
8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife.
They were full of desire, like horses after a meal of grain: everyone went after his neighbour's wife.
9 Shall I not visit for these things? says the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Am I not to give punishment for these things? says the Lord: will not my soul take payment from such a nation as this?
10 Go all of you up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD's.
Go up against her vines and make waste; let the destruction be complete: take away her branches, for they are not the Lord's.
11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, says the LORD.
For the people of Israel and the people of Judah have been very false to me, says the Lord.
12 They have lied concerning the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
They would have nothing to do with the Lord, saying, He will do nothing, and no evil will come to us; we will not see the sword or be short of food:
13 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
And the prophets will become wind, and the word is not in them; so it will be done to them.
14 Wherefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, Because all of you speak this word, behold, I will make my words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
For this reason the Lord, the God of armies, has said: Because you have said this, I will make my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and they will be burned up by it.
15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, says the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you know not, neither understand what they say.
See, I will send you a nation from far away, O people of Israel, says the Lord; a strong nation and an old nation, a nation whose language is strange to you, so that you may not get the sense of their words.
16 Their quiver is as an open tomb, they are all mighty men.
Their arrows give certain death, they are all men of war.
17 And they shall eat up your harvest, and your bread, which your sons and your daughters should eat: they shall eat up your flocks and your herds: they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees: they shall impoverish your fenced cities, wherein you trusted, with the sword.
They will take all the produce of your fields, which would have been food for your sons and your daughters: they will take your flocks and your herds: they will take all your vines and your fig-trees: and with the sword they will make waste your walled towns in which you put your faith.
18 Nevertheless in those days, says the LORD, I will not make a full end with you.
But even in those days, says the Lord, I will not let your destruction be complete.
19 And it shall come to pass, when all of you shall say, Wherefore does the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shall you answer them, Like all of you have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall all of you serve strangers in a land that is not your's.
And it will come about, when you say, Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us? that you will say to them, As you gave me up, making yourselves servants to strange gods in your land, so will you be servants to strange men in a land which is not yours.
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,
Say this openly in Jacob and give it out in Judah, saying,
21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
Give ear now to this, O foolish people without sense; who have eyes but see nothing, and ears without the power of hearing:
22 Fear all of you not me? says the LORD: will all of you not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
Have you no fear of me? says the Lord; will you not be shaking with fear before me, who have put the sand as a limit for the sea, by an eternal order, so that it may not go past it? and though it is ever in motion, it is not able to have its way; though the sound of its waves is loud, they are not able to go past it.
23 But this people has a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.
But the heart of this people is uncontrolled and turned away from me; they are broken loose and gone.
24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that gives rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserves unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
And they do not say in their hearts, Now let us give worship to our God, who gives the rain, the winter and the spring rain, at the right time; who keeps for us the ordered weeks of the grain-cutting.
25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld good things from you.
Through your evil-doing these things have been turned away, and your sins have kept back good from you.
26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that sets snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
For there are sinners among my people: they keep watch, like men watching for birds; they put a net and take men in it.
27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and becoming rich.
As the fowl-house is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: for this reason they have become great and have got wealth.
28 They are becoming fat, they shine: yea, they pass over the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
They have become fat and strong: they have gone far in works of evil: they give no support to the cause of the child without a father, so that they may do well; they do not see that the poor man gets his rights.
29 Shall I not visit for these things? says the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Am I not to give punishment for these things? says the Lord: will not my soul take payment from such a nation as this?
30 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;
A thing of wonder and fear has come about in the land;
31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will all of you do in the end thereof?
The prophets give false words and the priests give decisions by their direction; and my people are glad to have it so: and what will you do in the end?

< Jeremiah 5 >