Jeremiah 5:18-31
New American Standard Bible 1995
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19 It shall come about (A)when [a]they say, ‘Why has the Lord 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 (B)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, O foolish and [b]senseless people,
Who have (C)eyes but do not see;
Who have ears but do not hear.
22 ‘Do you not (D)fear Me?’ declares the Lord.
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have (E)placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal decree, 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 (F)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 (G)gives rain in its season,
Both (H)the autumn rain and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The (I)appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 ‘Your (J)iniquities have turned these away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
26 ‘For wicked men are found among My people,
They (K)watch like fowlers [c]lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch men.
27 ‘Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of (L)deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
28 ‘They are (M)fat, they are sleek,
They also [d]excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the [e](N)orphan, that they may prosper;
And they do not [f]defend the rights of the poor.
29 ‘(O)Shall I not punish [g]these people?’ declares the Lord,
‘On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?’
30 “An appalling and (P)horrible thing
Has happened in the land:
31 The (Q)prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule [h]on their own authority;
And My people (R)love it so!
But what will you do at the end of it?
Footnotes
- 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 5:29 Or for these things
- Jeremiah 5:31 Lit over their own hands
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
