Jeremiah 5
New American Standard Bible
Jerusalem’s Godlessness
5 “(A)Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look and take notice.
And seek in her public squares,
If you can (B)find a person,
(C)If there is one who does justice, who seeks honesty,
Then I will forgive [a]her.
2 And (D)although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’
Certainly they swear falsely.”
3 Lord, do (E)Your eyes not look for honesty?
You have (F)struck them,
But they did not [b]weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they (G)refused to accept discipline.
They have (H)made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent.
4 Then I said, “They are only the poor,
They are foolish;
For they (I)do not know the way of the Lord
Or the judgment of their God.
5 I will go to the great
And speak to them,
For (J)they know the way of the Lord
And the judgment of their God.”
But together they too have (K)broken the yoke
And burst the restraints.
6 Therefore (L)a lion from the forest will kill them,
A (M)wolf of the deserts will destroy them,
A (N)leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,
Because their (O)wrongdoings are many,
Their apostasies are numerous.
7 “Why should I forgive you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And (P)sworn by those who are (Q)not gods.
When I had fed them to the full,
They (R)committed adultery
And stayed at the prostitute’s house.
8 They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing at his (S)neighbor’s wife.
9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord,
“And (T)shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?
10 “Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
But do not execute a complete destruction;
Strip away her branches,
For they are not the Lord’s.
11 For the (U)house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares the Lord.
12 They have (V)lied about the Lord
And said, “[c](W)Not He;
Misfortune will (X)not come upon us,
(Y)Nor will we see sword or famine.
13 The (Z)prophets are as wind,
And the word is not in them.
So it will be done to them!”
Judgment Proclaimed
14 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of armies says:
“Because you have spoken this word,
Behold, I am (AA)making My words fire in your mouth,
And this people wood, and it will consume them.
15 Behold, I am (AB)bringing a nation against you from far away, you house of Israel,” declares the Lord.
“It is an enduring nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose (AC)language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
16 Their (AD)quiver is like an (AE)open grave,
All of them are warriors.
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 your (AH)fortified cities, in which you trust, with the sword.
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make a complete destruction of you. 19 And it shall come about (AI)when [d]they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Just as you have abandoned 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 proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21 ‘Now hear this, you foolish and [e]senseless people,
Who have (AK)eyes but do not see,
Who have ears but do not hear.
22 Do you not (AL)fear Me?’ declares the Lord.
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have (AM)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 (AN)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 (AO)gives rain in its season,
Both (AP)the autumn rain and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The (AQ)appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 Your (AR)wrongdoings have turned these away,
And your sins have kept good away from you.
26 For wicked people are found among My people,
They (AS)watch like fowlers [f]lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch people.
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 [g]excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the [h](AV)orphan, so that they may be successful;
And they do not [i]defend the rights of the poor.
29 (AW)Shall I not punish them for these things?’ declares the Lord,
‘Or shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?’
30 “An appalling and (AX)horrible thing
Has happened in the land:
31 The (AY)prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule [j]on their own authority;
And My people (AZ)love it this way!
But what will you do [k]when the end comes?
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 5:1 I.e., Jerusalem
- Jeremiah 5:3 Or become sick
- Jeremiah 5:12 Lit He is not
- Jeremiah 5:19 Or you
- Jeremiah 5:21 Lit without heart
- Jeremiah 5:26 Perhaps, crouching down
- Jeremiah 5:28 Lit pass over; or overlook deeds
- Jeremiah 5:28 Or fatherless
- Jeremiah 5:28 Lit judge
- Jeremiah 5:31 Lit over their own hands
- Jeremiah 5:31 Lit at the end of it
Jeremiah 5
Common English Bible
Futile search for a good person
5 Search every street in Jerusalem,
comb the squares,
look far and wide
for one person,
even one who acts justly
and seeks truth that I may pardon her!
2 Even when making a pledge—“As the Lord lives”—
they swear falsely.
3 Lord, don’t you look for integrity?
You have struck them down,
but they didn’t even cringe.
You have crushed them,
but they have ignored your discipline.
They make their faces harder than rock
and refuse to return.
4 Then I thought to myself,
These are the poor who don’t know better!
They don’t understand the Lord’s way
or the justice of their God.
5 Let me go and speak to the powerful people,
for they will surely know the Lord’s way
and the justice of their God.
But they too have broken their yoke
and shattered the chains.
6 Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them;
a wolf from the desert will destroy them;
a leopard prowling around their towns
will tear to pieces anyone venturing out—
because of their many crimes
and countless acts of unfaithfulness.
7 How can I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me
and swear by gods that are not gods.
Although I could have satisfied them,
they committed adultery,
dashing off to the prostitution house.
8 They are lusty stallions roving about,
snorting for another’s wife.
9 The Lord declares:
Shouldn’t I confront these acts?
Shouldn’t I take revenge on such a nation?
Contempt for God
10 Climb through her vineyards and ravage them,
although not completely.
Prune back her branches,
because they aren’t the Lord’s.
11 The people of Israel and Judah
have been utterly faithless to me,
declares the Lord.
12 They have lied about the Lord
and said, “He’ll do nothing![a]
Disaster won’t come upon us;
we won’t see war or famine.”
13 The prophets are so much wind;
the word isn’t in them.
Thus and so may it be done to them.
14 Therefore, the Lord God of heavenly forces proclaims:
Because you have spoken this way,
I will put my words
in your mouth as a fire;
it will consume the people,
who are but kindling.
15 I am about to bring a distant nation against you,
people of Israel,
declares the Lord.
It is an established nation,
an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you don’t know,
whose speech you won’t understand.
16 Its weapons are deadly;[b]
its warriors are many.
17 It will devour your harvest and food;
it will devour your sons and daughters;
it will devour your flocks and herds;
it will devour your vines and fig trees;
it will shatter your fortified towns in which you trust—
with the sword!
18 Yet even in those days, declares the Lord, I won’t completely destroy you. 19 And when they ask, “Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?” you must reply, “Just as you have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land not your own.”
Shouldn’t you fear me?
20 Declare this to the people of Jacob,
announce it in Judah:
21 Listen, you foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes but don’t see
and ears but don’t hear.
22 Shouldn’t you fear me,
declares the Lord,
and tremble before me,
the one who set the shoreline for the sea,
an ancient boundary that it can’t pass?
Though its waves may rise and roar,
they can’t pass the limits I have set.
23 And yet the people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
they turn and go their own way.
24 They don’t say in their hearts,
Let’s fear the Lord our God,
who provides rain in autumn and spring
and who assures us of a harvest in its season.
25 Your wrongdoing has turned these blessings[c] away.
Your sin has robbed you of good.
26 Criminals are found among my people;
they set traps to catch people,
like hunters lying in wait.[d]
27 Like a cage full of birds,
so their houses are full of loot.
No wonder they are rich and powerful
28 and have grown fat and sleek!
To be sure, their evil deeds exceed all limits,
and yet they prosper.
They are indifferent to the plight of the orphan,
reluctant to defend the rights of the poor.
29 Shouldn’t I punish such acts?
declares the Lord.
Shouldn’t I repay that nation for its deeds?
30 An awful, a terrible thing
has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
the priests rule at their sides,[e]
and my people love it this way!
But what will you do when the end comes?
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 5:12 Or not he
- Jeremiah 5:16 Or Its quiver is like an open grave
- Jeremiah 5:25 Heb lacks blessings.
- Jeremiah 5:26 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 5:31 Or by their hands
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible