Jeremiah 5:4-6

The Voice

⁴ And I thought to myself, “How could they know any better?
    They are poor and senseless people, unfamiliar with the ways of the Eternal,
Unaware of what their God requires.
⁵ So I will go to their leaders and share what I see.
    They will do the right thing because they know the Eternal’s ways.
Surely, they will do what their God requires.”
    But to a person, I was wrong; leaders were no different;
They, too, had broken the yoke, burst the bonds,
    and pulled away from God’s guidance and correction.
⁶ Therefore, from the forest, a lion will strike.
    From the desert, a wolf will pounce and destroy.
And from the shadows, a leopard now stalks their villages,
    waiting to tear apart any who dare wander outside.
Such is the fate of all who fall away,
    for their rebellion is great; their sins are many.