Jeremiah 5:20-31

New American Standard Bible

²⁰ “Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
²¹ ‘Now hear this, you foolish and ^[a]senseless people,
Who have ^(A)eyes but do not see,
Who have ears but do not hear.
²² Do you not ^(B)fear Me?’ declares the Lord.
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have ^(C)placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal limit, and it will not cross over it.
Though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, they will not cross over it.
²³ But this people has a ^(D)stubborn and rebellious heart;
They have turned aside and departed.
²⁴ They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
Who ^(E)gives rain in its season,
Both ^(F)the autumn rain and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The ^(G)appointed weeks of the harvest.”
²⁵ Your ^(H)wrongdoings have turned these away,
And your sins have kept good away from you.
²⁶ For wicked people are found among My people,
They ^(I)watch like fowlers ^[b]lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch people.
²⁷ Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of ^(J)deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
²⁸ They are ^(K)fat, they are sleek,
They also ^[c]excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the ^[d](L)orphan, so that they may be successful;
And they do not ^[e]defend the rights of the poor.
^29 (M)Shall I not punish them for these things?’ declares the Lord,
‘Or shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?’