Jeremiah 5
1 Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and notice, and search in its broad places, if ye can find one man, if there be one that executeth justice, that searcheth for truth: and I will pardon it.
“Rush about through the streets of Jerusalem; search in her city squares, too. Then look and think about this: If you can find a man or anyone who is acting justly and trying to act faithfully, then I will forgive Jerusalem.
2 And though they say, “As the Lord liveth!” surely they only swear to a falsehood.
Although they say, 'As Yahweh lives,' yet they are swearing falsely.”
3 O Lord, are not thy eyes [directed] to the truth? thou didst strike them, but they felt it not; thou didst make an end of them, [yet] they refused to accept correction: they made their faces harder than a rock, they refused to return.
Yahweh, do your eyes not look for faithfulness? You struck the people, but they do not feel pain. You have completely defeated them, but they still refuse to receive discipline. They make their faces harder than rock, for they refuse to repent.
4 Yet I myself thought, Oh these are but poor; they are foolish; for they knew not the way of the Lord, the ordinance of their God.
So I said, “Surely these are only poor people. They are foolish, for they do not know Yahweh's ways, nor their God's decrees.
5 I had better go unto the great men, and let me speak with them; for these surely know the way of the Lord, the ordinance of their God; but these altogether have broken the yoke, burst the bands.
I will go to the important people and declare God's messages to them, for they at least know Yahweh's ways, the decrees of their God.” But they all broke their yoke together; they all tore apart the chains that bound them to God.
6 Therefore slayeth them the lion out of the forest, the wolf of the deserts wasteth them, the leopard lieth in wait against their cities: every one that cometh out thence shall be torn in pieces; because many are their transgressions, very numerous are their backslidings.
So a lion from a thicket will attack them. A wolf from the Arabah will ruin them. A lurking panther will come against their cities. Anyone who goes outside his city will be torn apart. For their transgressions increase. Their acts of faithlessness are unlimited.
7 How shall I for this pardon thee? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by those that are not gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlot's house.
Why should I pardon these people? Your sons have abandoned me and have made oaths by what are not gods. I fed them fully, but they committed adultery and walked in great numbers to the houses of prostitutes.
8 As robust horses they rose by times in the morning: every one neighed after the wife of his neighbor.
They were horses in heat. They roamed about wanting to mate. Each man neighed to his neighbor's wife.
9 Shall I not for these things inflict punishment? saith the Lord: and shall on a nation such as this my soul not be avenged?
So should I not punish them—this is Yahweh's declaration— and should I not avenge myself on a nation that is like this?
10 Scale ye her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: remove her young shoots; for they are not the Lord's.
Go up onto her vineyards' terraces and destroy. But do not bring complete destruction to them. Trim their vines, since those vines do not come from Yahweh.
11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord.
For the houses of Israel and Judah have completely betrayed me—this is Yahweh's declaration.
12 They have denied the Lord, and said, “He existeth not; nor will evil come over us; and the sword and famine shall we not see.
They have spoken falsely about Yahweh and they said, “He will do nothing; no harm will come upon us, and we will 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.
The prophets will become wind, the word is not in them, so let what they say be done to them.”
14 Therefore thus hath said the Lord the God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth to be a fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
So Yahweh, the God of hosts says this, “Because you have said this, see, I am about to place my word in your mouth. It will be like a fire, and this people will be like wood! For it will consume them.
15 Lo, I will bring over you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is a most ancient nation, a nation whose language thou wilt not know, and thou wilt not understand what they speak.
Behold! I am about to bring a nation against you from far away, house of Israel—this is Yahweh's declaration— it is a lasting nation, an ancient nation! It is a nation whose language you do not know, nor will you understand what they say.
16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre: they are all mighty men.
Its quiver is like an open tomb. They are all soldiers.
17 And they shall consume thy harvest, and thy bread; they shall consume thy sons and thy daughters; they shall consume thy flocks and thy herds; they shall consume thy vines and thy fig-trees; they shall depopulate thy fortified cities, those wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.
So your harvest will be consumed, your sons and daughters also, and your food. They will eat your flocks and cattle; they will eat the fruit from your vines and fig trees. They will beat down with a sword your fortified cities that you trusted in.
18 Nevertheless even in those days, saith the Lord, will I not make a full end of you.
But even in those days—this is Yahweh's declaration—I do not intend to destroy you completely.
19 And it shall come to pass, when ye will say, For what reason hath the Lord our God done all these things unto us? that thou shalt say unto them, In the same manner as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
When you, Israel and Judah, say, 'Why has Yahweh our God done all these things to us?' then you, Jeremiah, will say to them, 'Just as you abandoned Yahweh and served foreign gods in your land, so you must also serve strangers in a land that is not your own.'
20 Announce this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,
Report this to the house of Jacob and let it be heard in Judah. Say,
21 Do now hear this, O sottish people, who have no heart; who have eyes, and see not; who have ears, and hear not;
'Hear this, you foolish people who have no understanding; who have eyes but you cannot see, and you have ears but you cannot hear.
22 Will ye not fear me? saith the Lord; will ye not tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand as a bound for the sea by an everlasting law, which it can never pass over? and though the waves thereof be upheaved, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it.
Do you not fear me—this is Yahweh's declaration—or tremble before my face? I have placed a border of sand against the sea, an ongoing decree that it does not violate— even though the sea rises and falls, still it does not violate it. Even though its waves roar, they do not cross it.
23 But this people hath a stubborn and a rebellious heart: they have departed [from the right] and have gone their way.
But this people has a stubborn heart. It turns away in rebellion and goes away.
24 And they have not said in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, the early and the latter rain, in its season: the appointed weeks of the harvest doth he ever preserve for us.
For they do not say in their hearts, “Let us fear Yahweh our God, the one who brings the rain —the early rain and the late rains—in their right time, keeping the fixed weeks of the harvest for us.”
25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden what is good from you.
Your iniquities kept these things from happening. Your sins have stopped good from coming to you.
26 For there are found among my people wicked men: they lie in wait, as he that layeth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
For wicked men are found with my people. They watch as someone crouches to capture birds; they set a trap and catch people.
27 As a coop is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore are they become great, and grown rich.
Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit. So they grow large and become rich.
28 They are grown fat, they are stout; yea, they surpass even the deeds of the wicked: they pronounce no [just] sentence, the sentence of the fatherless, that they might prosper; and the cause of the needy do they not judge.
They have become fat; they shine with well-being. They crossed over all bounds of wickedness. They do not plead the cause of the people, or the cause of the orphan. They prosper even though they have not given justice to the needy.
29 shall I not for these things inflict punishment? saith the Lord: or shall on a nation such as this my soul not be avenged?
Should I not punish them for these things—this is Yahweh's declaration— and will I not take vengeance for myself on a nation like this?
30 An astonishing and horrible thing is committed in the land;
Atrocities and horrors have occurred in the land.
31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so; but what will ye do in the end thereof?
The prophets prophesy with deceit, and the priests rule with their own power. My people love it this way, but what will happen in the end?'”
