Jeremiah 5

1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that doeth justly, that seeketh truth; and I will pardon her.

“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 And though they say, As the LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.

For even though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in this, too, they swear falsely.”

3 O LORD, do not thine eyes look upon truth? thou hast stricken them, but they were not grieved; thou hast 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, 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 Then I said, Surely these are poor: they are foolish; for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment 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 unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they know the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God. But these with one accord have broken the yoke, and burst the bands.

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 lion out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities, every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, [and] their backslidings 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 How can I pardon thee? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they committed adultery, and assembled themselves in troops at 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 were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife.

They have become like wild horses in heat; each one was neighing after his neighbor’s wife.

9 shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged 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 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her branches: for they are not the LORD’S.

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 Judah have dealt very treacherously 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 have denied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword 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 prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto 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, 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.

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 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest 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 Their quiver is an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.

Their quiver is like an open sepulcher. They are all strong.

17 And they shall eat up thine harvest and thy bread, [which] thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall beat down thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustest, with the sword.

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 But even in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you.

Yet truly, in those days, says the Lord, I will not bring the consummation over you.

19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD our God done all these things unto us? then shalt thou say unto them, Like 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 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 ye this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,

Announce this to the house of Jacob, and make it known 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:

Listen, O foolish people who have no heart! You have eyes, but you do not see, and ears, but you do not hear.

22 Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye 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.

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 a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.

But the heart of this people has become incredulous and provocative; they have turned away and departed.

24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in its season; that reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.

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 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good 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 found wicked men: they watch, as fowlers lie in wait; they set a trap, they 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 birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.

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, they shine: yea, they overpass in deeds of wickedness: they plead not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they should prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.

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 visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged 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 A wonderful and horrible thing is come to pass in the land;

Astonishing and wondrous things have been done upon the earth.

31 the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end 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?”