Jeremiah 5
Legacy Standard Bible
Jerusalem Refuses to Repent
5 “(A)Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
And see now and know,
And seek in her open squares,
If you can (B)find a man,
(C)If there is one who does justice, who seeks faithfulness,
Then I will pardon her.
2 And (D)if they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,’
Then they swear to a lie.”
3 O Yahweh, do not (E)Your eyes look for faithfulness?
You have (F)struck them,
But they did not [a]weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they (G)refused to receive discipline.
They have (H)made their faces stronger than rock;
They have refused to [b]repent.
4 Then I said, “They are only the poor;
They are foolish;
For they (I)do not know the way of Yahweh
Or the legal judgment of their God.
5 Let me go to the great
And let me speak to them,
For (J)they know the way of Yahweh
And the legal judgment of their God.”
But they too, altogether, have (K)broken the yoke
And torn apart the bonds.
6 Therefore (L)a lion from the forest will strike them down;
A (M)wolf of the deserts will devastate them;
A (N)leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces
Because their (O)transgressions are many;
Their acts of faithlessness are mighty.
7 “Why should I pardon you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And (P)sworn by those who are (Q)not gods.
I had satisfied them to the full,
Then they (R)committed adultery
And trooped to the harlot’s house.
8 They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing after his (S)neighbor’s wife.
9 Shall I not punish [c]these people,” declares Yahweh,
“And on a nation such as this
(T)Shall I not avenge Myself?
10 “Go up through her vine rows and make them a ruin,
But do not make a complete destruction;
Remove her branches,
For they are not Yahweh’s.
11 For the (U)house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares Yahweh.
12 They have (V)dealt falsely about Yahweh
And said, “[d](W)Not He;
Calamity will (X)not come on us,
And we (Y)will not see sword or famine.
13 The (Z)prophets are as wind,
And the word is not in them.
Thus it will be done to them!”
A Stubborn and Rebellious People
14 Therefore, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts,
“Because you have spoken this word,
Behold, I am (AA)making My words in your mouth fire
And this people wood, and it will devour them.
15 Behold, I am (AB)bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh.
“It is an enduring nation;
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose (AC)tongue you do not know,
Nor can you [e]understand what they say.
16 Their (AD)quiver is like an (AE)open grave;
All of them are mighty men.
17 They will (AF)devour your harvest and your food;
They will devour your sons and your daughters;
They will devour your flocks and your herds;
They will devour your (AG)vines and your fig trees;
They will demolish with the sword your (AH)fortified cities in which you trust.
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares Yahweh, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19 It shall come about (AI)when [f]they say, ‘Why has Yahweh our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will (AJ)serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob
And cause it to be heard in Judah, saying,
21 ‘Now hear this, O people who are simpleminded fools and without a heart of wisdom,
Who have (AK)eyes but do not see,
Who have ears but do not hear.
22 Do you not (AL)fear Me?’ declares Yahweh.
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have (AM)placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
A perpetual statute, so it cannot cross over it.
Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.
23 But this people has a (AN)stubborn and rebellious heart;
They have turned aside and gone away.
24 They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear Yahweh our God,
Who (AO)gives rain in its season,
Both (AP)the [g]early rain and the [h]late rain,
Who keeps for us
The (AQ)appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 Your (AR)iniquities have turned these away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
26 For wicked men are found among My people;
They (AS)watch like fowlers [i]lying in wait;
They set a [j]trap;
They catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of (AT)deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
28 They are (AU)fat, they are sleek;
They also [k]excel in deeds of evil;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the [l](AV)orphan, that they may succeed;
And they do not [m]render justice for the poor.
29 (AW)Shall I not punish [n]these people?’ declares Yahweh,
‘On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?’
30 “A horrible and (AX)appalling thing
Has happened in the land:
31 The (AY)prophets prophesy with lying,
And the priests have dominion [o]by their own hand;
And My people (AZ)love it so!
But what will you do at the end of it?
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 5:3 Or become sick
- Jeremiah 5:3 Lit return
- Jeremiah 5:9 Or for these things
- Jeremiah 5:12 Lit He is not
- Jeremiah 5:15 Lit hear
- Jeremiah 5:19 Or you
- Jeremiah 5:24 Autumn
- Jeremiah 5:24 Spring
- Jeremiah 5:26 Lit subside
- Jeremiah 5:26 Lit destruction
- Jeremiah 5:28 Or overlook deeds; lit pass over
- Jeremiah 5:28 Or fatherless
- Jeremiah 5:28 Lit judge
- Jeremiah 5:29 Or for these things
- Jeremiah 5:31 Lit over their own hands
Jeremiah 5
International Standard Version
A Dialogue about Righteousness: The Lord Speaks
5 “Wander through the streets of Jerusalem.
Look and investigate;[a]
search through her squares
and see whether you find anyone—
even one person there—doing justice and seeking truth.
Then I’ll forgive them.[b]
2 Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
still they are swearing falsely.”[c]
The Prophet Speaks
3 Lord, don’t your eyes look for truth?
You struck[d] them, but they didn’t flinch.[e]
You brought them to an end,
but they refused to receive discipline.
They made their faces harder than stone,
and they refused to repent.
4 Then I said, “These are only the poor,
they’re foolish,
for they don’t know the Lord’s way,
the requirement[f] of their God.
5 Let me go to the leaders[g] and speak to them.
For they know the Lord’s way,
the requirement[h] of their God.”
The Lord Answers
“But they, all together, have broken the yoke
and torn off the restraints.[i]
6 Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them,
a wolf from the desert will devastate them.
A leopard is watching their towns,
and everyone who goes out of them
will be torn to pieces.
For their transgressions are many,
and their apostasies numerous.
7 Why should I forgive you?
Your sons have forsaken me,
and you have sworn by those
who aren’t gods.
When I gave them enough food to satisfy them,
they committed adultery
and marched to the prostitute’s house.
8 They were well-fed, lusty stallions,
each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.
9 “Should I not punish them for these things?”
asks the Lord,
“And on a nation like this,
should I not seek retribution?”
The People Reject God’s Warning
10 “Go through her rows of vines and destroy them,
but don’t completely destroy them.
Strip away her branches,
because they aren’t the Lord’s.
11 For both the house of Israel and the house of Judah
have been utterly unfaithful to me,”
declares the Lord.
12 “They have lied about the Lord
by saying, ‘He wouldn’t do that![j]
Disaster won’t come on us.
We won’t see sword and famine.
13 The prophets are nothing but[k] wind,
and the word is not in them.
So may the disaster happen to them!’”[l]
14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Because you people[m] have said this,
my words in your[n] mouth will become a fire
and these people the wood.
The fire[o] will destroy them.
15 People of Israel, I’m now bringing
a nation from far away to attack you,”
declares the Lord.
“It is an enduring nation,
an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you don’t know.
And you won’t understand what they say.
16 Their quiver is like an open grave,
and all of them are powerful warriors.
17 “They’ll devour your harvest and your food.
They’ll devour your sons and your daughters.
They’ll devour your vines and your fig trees.
With their swords they’ll batter down
your fortified cities in which you trust.
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I won’t destroy you completely. 19 When the people[p] ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you are to say to them, ‘Just as you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’”
The Lord Warns a Stubborn People
20 “Declare this to the descendants[q] of Jacob,
and proclaim it in Judah:
21 ‘Hear this, you foolish and stupid people:
They have eyes, but don’t see;
they have ears, but don’t hear.
22 ‘You don’t fear me, do you?’ declares the Lord.
‘You don’t tremble before me, do you?
I’m the one who put the sand as a boundary for the sea,
a perpetual barrier that it cannot cross.[r]
Though the waves toss, they cannot prevail against it,
though they roar, they cannot cross it.’
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.
They have turned aside and have gone away.
24 They don’t say to themselves,
‘Let’s fear the Lord our God,
who gives rain in its season,
both the autumn and the spring rain.
He sets aside for us the weeks appointed
for the harvest.’
25 Your iniquities have turned these things away,
and your sins have held back from you what is good.
26 “Evil men are found among my people.
They lie in wait like someone who traps birds.
They set a trap,
but they do so to catch people.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
so their houses are filled with treachery.
This is how they have become prominent and rich,
28 and have grown fat and sleek.
There is no limit[s] to their evil deeds.
They don’t argue the case of the orphan to secure[t] justice.
They don’t defend the rights of[u] the poor.
29 ‘Should I not punish them for this?’[v]
asks the Lord.
‘Should I not avenge myself
on a nation like this?’
30 “An appalling and horrible thing
has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
the priests rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 5:1 Lit. know
- Jeremiah 5:1 Lit. her; i.e. Judah
- Jeremiah 5:2 Or swearing to false gods
- Jeremiah 5:3 I.e. in discipline
- Jeremiah 5:3 Or did not weaken
- Jeremiah 5:4 Or judgments
- Jeremiah 5:5 Lit. great ones
- Jeremiah 5:5 Or judgments
- Jeremiah 5:5 Or cords
- Jeremiah 5:12 Lit. Not he
- Jeremiah 5:13 The Heb. lacks nothing but
- Jeremiah 5:13 Lit. so let it be done to them
- Jeremiah 5:14 Heb. you (pl.)
- Jeremiah 5:14 Heb. your (masculine sing.); i.e. in Jeremiah’s mouth
- Jeremiah 5:14 Lit. It
- Jeremiah 5:19 Lit. they
- Jeremiah 5:20 Or family
- Jeremiah 5:22 Or statute that it cannot transgress
- Jeremiah 5:28 Lit. pass over; or transgress
- Jeremiah 5:28 Lit. win
- Jeremiah 5:28 Lit. judge justly
- Jeremiah 5:29 Or punish these people
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