Jeremiah 5
1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broadways thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be [any] that doeth justice, that seeketh fidelity; and I will pardon it.
Go everywhere through the streets of Jerusalem. Look and pay attention! Search all through her city squares to see if you can find even just one person who does what's right, anyone who is faithful, and I'll forgive the city.
2 And if they say, [As] Jehovah liveth! surely they swear falsely.
They may make promises in my name, but they're not sincere.
3 Jehovah, are not thine eyes upon fidelity? Thou hast smitten them, but they are not sore; thou hast consumed them, they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
Lord, aren't you always looking for faithfulness? You beat them, but they didn't care. You just about destroyed them, but they refused to accept your discipline. They were stubborn, hard as rock, and they wouldn't repent.
4 And I said, Surely these are the wretched ones, they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jehovah, the judgment of their God.
Then I said to myself, “These people are only the poor—they're just fools who don't know any better. They certainly don't know what the Lord wants, God's right way of living.
5 I will go unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they know the way of Jehovah, the judgment of their God; but these have altogether broken the yoke, have burst the bonds.
Let me go to and talk to the ones in charge. They would surely know what the Lord wants, God's right way of living.” But they had all broken off the yoke as well, and ripped off the chains.
6 Therefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the evenings shall waste them; the leopard lurketh against their cities, every one that goeth out thence is torn in pieces: for their transgressions are multiplied, their backslidings are increased.
As a result a lion from the forest will attack them; a wolf from the desert will rip them apart. A leopard will lie in wait for them near their towns, ready to tear to pieces anyone who goes outside. For they keep on rebelling, and turn away from me so often.
7 Wherefore should I pardon thee? Thy children have forsaken me, and swear by them that are not God. I have satiated them, and they have committed adultery, and they troop to the harlots' house.
Why should I forgive you? Your children have abandoned me and believe in gods that are not gods. I gave them everything they need, yet they went and committed adultery, gathering together at prostitutes' houses.
8 [As] well fed horses, they roam about, every one neigheth after his neighbour's wife.
They're like virile stallions wanting sex, each of them neighing with lust after his neighbor's wife.
9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah, and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Shouldn't I punish them for all this? declares the Lord. Shouldn't I retaliate for what this nation has done?
10 Go up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end; take away her battlements, for they are not Jehovah's.
Go through her vineyards and damage them, but don't destroy them completely. Rip off her branches, because they don't belong to the Lord.
11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith Jehovah.
The people of Israel and Judah have completely betrayed me, declares the Lord.
12 They have denied Jehovah, and say, He is not; and evil shall not come upon us, nor shall we see sword nor famine;
They have lied about the Lord, saying, “He won't do anything. Nothing bad will happen to us. We won't have war 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 are just like the wind. The Lord doesn't speak through them. What they predict can happen to them!”
14 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, 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.
So this is the reply from the Lord God Almighty: Because of what you've said, I will make my words like a fire in your mouth and you people like the wood it burns up.
15 Behold, I bring a nation upon you from afar, house of Israel, saith Jehovah: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest thou what they say.
Look! I am bringing a nation from far away to attack you, people of Israel, declares the Lord. It's a powerful nation that has existed for a long time; it's a nation whose language you don't know, and when they speak you can't understand them.
16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre; they are all mighty men.
Their arrows bring death; they are all strong warriors.
17 And they shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread, they shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters, they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds, they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees; they shall destroy with the sword thy strong cities, wherein thou trustedst.
They will consume your harvest and your food; they will destroy your sons and your daughters; they will eat your flocks and your herds; they will feed on your vines and your fig trees. They will attack and will destroy the fortified towns that you have so much confidence in.
18 Nevertheless in those days, saith Jehovah, I will not make a full end with you.
But even at that time I won't completely destroy you, declares the Lord.
19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore hath Jehovah our God done all these things unto us? then shalt thou say to them, 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 people ask you Jeremiah, “Why did the Lord our God do all these things to us?” you are to tell them, “In the same way you have abandoned me and served foreign gods here in your country, so you will serve foreigners in a country that isn't your own.”
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,
Announce this to the people of Jacob and Judah:
21 Hear now this, O foolish and heartless people, who have eyes and see not; who have ears, and hear not.
Listen to this, you foolish, stupid people, who have eyes but don't see, who have ears but don't hear.
22 Will ye not fear me? saith Jehovah. Will ye not tremble at my presence, who have set the sand a bound for the sea by a perpetual decree, and it shall not pass it? and its waves toss themselves, but they do not prevail; and they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
Aren't you afraid of what I can do? declares the Lord. Don't you think you should tremble in my presence? I am the one who set up the shore as the sea's boundary, an everlasting limit that it can't cross. The waves crash against it, but they can't defeat it. They roar, but they can't cross the barrier.
23 But this people hath a stubborn and a rebellious heart; they have turned aside and are gone.
But you people have a stubborn and rebellious attitude. You have left me and gone your own way.
24 And they say not in their heart, Let us now fear Jehovah our God, that giveth rain, both the early and the latter, in its season; who preserveth unto us the appointed weeks of harvest.
You didn't think to say, “We should appreciate the Lord our God, who sends the autumn and spring rains at the right time, who makes sure we can have a harvest every year.”
25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden from you what is good.
Your wrong actions have taken these benefits from you; your sins have deprived you of my blessings.
26 For among my people are found wicked [men]: they lay wait, as fowlers stoop down; they set a trap, they catch men.
For there are wicked men among my people. They're like bird-trappers, secretly watching and waiting to catch people in their snare.
27 As a cage full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and have enriched themselves.
Their homes are full of their ill-gotten gains, like cages full of birds. That's why they've become powerful and rich.
28 They are become fat, they shine, yea, they surpass in deeds of wickedness; they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, and they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not adjudge.
They've grown fat and smooth, and have become experts in evil. They deny justice to orphans, and they don't defend the rights of those in need.
29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Shouldn't I punish them for all this? declares the Lord. Shouldn't I retaliate for what this nation has done?
30 An appalling and horrible thing is committed in the land:
Something horrible, something terrible has happened here in this country.
31 the prophets prophesy falsehood, and the priests rule by their means; and my people love [to have it] so. But what will ye do in the end thereof?
The prophets give false prophecies; the priests rule as they please. My people love it like this, but what will you do when it all falls apart?
