Jeremiah 5

1 “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.

Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And see I pray you and know and seek out in the broad places thereof, Whether ye can find, a man, Whether there is one Doing justice Demanding fidelity, —That I may pardon her.

2 Although they say, 'As Yahweh lives,' yet they are swearing falsely.”

Even though they say By the life of Yahweh, Yet in fact falsely, do they swear.

3 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.

O Yahweh! thine own eyes, are they not directed to fidelity? Thou hast smitten them Yet have they not grieved, Thou hast consumed them—They have refused to receive correction, —They have made their faces bolder than a cliff, They have refused to return.

4 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.

And, I, said, —Only, poor people, are they, —They act foolishly, For they know not the way of Yahweh, the justice of their God!

5 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.

I will betake me unto the great men, and will speak, with them! For, they, know the way of Yahweh, the justice of their God! Yea but, they, with one accord have broken the yoke, torn off the bands.

6 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.

For this cause, hath the lion out of the forest smitten them, The wolf of the waste plains, preyeth upon them, The leopard, is keeping watch over their cities, Every one that goeth out from thence, is torn in pieces, —For they have multiplied their transgressions, Numerous are their apostasies.

7 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.

How, for this, can I pardon thee? Thine own sons, have forsaken me, And have sworn by No-gods, —When I had fed them to the full, Then committed they adultery, And the house of the unchaste woman, they used to throng:

8 They were horses in heat. They roamed about wanting to mate. Each man neighed to his neighbor's wife.

Lusty, well-fed horses, had they become, Every man unto his neighbour’s wife, would neigh!

9 So should I not punish them—this is Yahweh's declaration— and should I not avenge myself on a nation that is like this?

For these things, shall I not punish? Demandeth Yahweh: Yea on a nation such as this, must not my soul avenge herself?

10 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.

Scale ye her walls and destroy, But a full end, do not make, —Remove her tendrils, For not to Yahweh, do, they, belong!

11 For the houses of Israel and Judah have completely betrayed me—this is Yahweh's declaration.

For very treacherously, have the house of Israel and the house of Judah dealt with me, Declareth Yahweh.

12 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.

They have acted deceptively against Yahweh, And have said, Not He! Neither shall there come upon us, calamity, Nor sword nor famine, shall we see;

13 The prophets will become wind, the word is not in them, so let what they say be done to them.”

But the prophets, shall prove to be wind, And there is no one speaking in them, —Thus, shall it be done to themselves!

14 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.

Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh, God of hosts, Because ye have spoken this word, —Behold me! making my words in thy mouth to be fire, And, this people, —wood, So shall it devour them.

15 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.

Behold me! bringing upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, Declareth Yahweh, —A nation invincible, it is, A nation from age-past times, hath it been, A nation whose tongue thou shalt not know, Neither shalt thou understand what it speaketh:

16 Its quiver is like an open tomb. They are all soldiers.

Its quiver, is like an open sepulchre, —They all, are heroes:

17 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.

Then shall it eat thy harvest and thy bread which thy sons and thy daughters should eat, —It shall eat thy flock and thy herd, It shall eat thy vine and thy fig-tree, —It shall destroy thy defenced cities wherein thou, art trusting, with the sword.

18 But even in those days—this is Yahweh's declaration—I do not intend to destroy you completely.

Yet, even in those days, Declareth Yahweh, Will I not make of you, a full end.

19 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.'

And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, For what cause hath Yahweh our God done to us all these things? Then shalt thou say unto them, —As ye forsook me, and served the gods of the foreigner in your own land, So, shall ye serve aliens in a land not your own.

20 Report this to the house of Jacob and let it be heard in Judah. Say,

Tell ye this, throughout the house of Jacob, —And let it be heard throughout Judah saying:

21 'Hear this, you foolish people who have no understanding; who have eyes but you cannot see, and you have ears but you cannot hear.

Hear this, I pray you ye people—foolish and without heart, —Eyes, have they, and see not, Ears, have they, and hear not!

22 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.

Even for me, will ye have no reverence? Enquireth Yahweh, And because of me, will ye not be pained? In that though I placed the sand as a bound to the sea, A decree age-abiding, and it should not pass beyond it, —When they would toss themselves Then should they not prevail, When the waves thereof would roar Then should they not pass beyond it,

23 But this people has a stubborn heart. It turns away in rebellion and goes away.

Yet, this people hath an obstinate and rebellious heart, —They have turned aside, and gone their way;

24 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.”

Neither have they said in their heart, —Let us we pray you, revere Yahweh our God, Who giveth rain, even the early and the latter, in its season, —The appointed weeks of harvest, he reserveth for us.

25 Your iniquities kept these things from happening. Your sins have stopped good from coming to you.

Your iniquities, have thrust away these things, Yea, your sins, have withholden that which is good from you.

26 For wicked men are found with my people. They watch as someone crouches to capture birds; they set a trap and catch people.

For there have been found among my people lawless men, —One lieth in wait, as with the stooping of fowlers, They have set a trap, they capture men:

27 Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit. So they grow large and become rich.

As, a cage, is full of birds, So, are, their houses, full of unrighteous gain, —For this cause, have they become great and waxen rich:

28 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.

They have waxed fat, they shine Yea they have overpassed the records of wickedness. The right, have they not determined, the right of the fatherless that they might prosper, —Yea justice to the helpless, have they not decreed.

29 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?

Upon these things, shall I not bring punishment? Demandeth Yahweh. Or, on a nation such as this, shall not my soul avenge herself?

30 Atrocities and horrors have occurred in the land.

An astounding and horrible thing, hath been brought to pass in the land:

31 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?'”

The prophets, have prophesied, falsely, And the priests tread down by their means, And, my people, love it, so, —What then can ye do as to her latter end?