Jeremiah 5
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
The Depravity of Jerusalem
5 Roam(A) through the streets of Jerusalem.
Investigate;[a]
search in her squares.
If you find one person,(B)
any who acts justly,
who pursues faithfulness,
then I will forgive her.(C)
2 When they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’(D)
they are swearing falsely.(E)
3 Lord, don’t your eyes look for faithfulness?(F)
You have struck them, but they felt no pain.(G)
You finished them off,
but they refused to accept discipline.(H)
They made their faces harder than rock,(I)
and they refused to return.(J)
4 Then I thought:
They are just the poor;
they have been foolish.
For they don’t understand the way of the Lord,(K)
the justice of their God.(L)
5 I will go to the powerful
and speak to them.
Surely they know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.(M)
However, these also had broken the yoke
and torn off the chains.(N)
6 Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down.(O)
A wolf from arid plains will ravage them.
A leopard(P) stalks their cities.
Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces
because their rebellious acts are many,(Q)
their unfaithful deeds numerous.(R)
7 Why should I forgive you?
Your children have abandoned me
and sworn by those who are not gods.(S)
I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery;(T)
they gashed themselves(U) at the[b] prostitute’s house.
8 They are well-fed,[c] eager[d] stallions,(V)
each neighing(W) after someone else’s wife.(X)
9 Should I not punish them for these things?(Y)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge myself(Z)
on such a nation as this?
10 Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them,(AA)
but do not finish them off.(AB)
Prune away her shoots,
for they do not belong to the Lord.(AC)
11 They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
have dealt very treacherously with me.(AD)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
12 They have contradicted the Lord
and insisted, ‘It won’t happen.[e](AE)
Harm won’t come to us;
we won’t see sword or famine.’
13 The prophets become only wind,
for the Lord’s word is not in them.
This will in fact happen to them.
Coming Judgement
14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Armies says:
Because you have spoken this word,
I am going to make my words
become fire in your mouth.(AF)
These people are the wood,
and the fire will consume them.(AG)
15 I am about to bring a nation
from far away against you,(AH)
house of Israel.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
It is an established nation,
an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know
and whose speech you do not understand.(AI)
16 Their quiver is like an open grave;(AJ)
they are all warriors.
17 They will consume your harvest and your food.(AK)
They will consume your sons and your daughters.
They will consume your flocks and your herds.
They will consume your vines and your fig trees.
With the sword they will destroy
your fortified cities(AL) in which you trust.
18 ‘But even in those days’ – this is the Lord’s declaration – ‘I will not finish you off.(AM) 19 When people ask, “For what offence has the Lord our God done all these things to us? ”, you will respond to them, “Just as you abandoned me(AN) and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.” (AO)
20 ‘Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying:
21 Hear this,
you foolish and senseless[f] people.(AP)
They have eyes, but they don’t see.
They have ears, but they don’t hear.(AQ)
22 Do you not fear me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Do you not tremble before me,
the one who set the sand as the boundary of the sea,
an enduring barrier that it cannot cross?(AR)
The waves surge, but they cannot prevail.
They roar, but cannot pass over it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.(AS)
They have turned aside and have gone away.
24 They have not said to themselves,
“Let’s fear the Lord our God,(AT)
who gives the seasonal rains, both autumn and spring,(AU)
who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.”
25 Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you.
Your sins have withheld my bounty from you,(AV)
26 for wicked men live among my people.
They watch like hunters[g] lying in wait.[h](AW)
They set a trap;(AX)
they catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
so their houses are full of deceit.(AY)
Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.
28 They have become fat(AZ) and sleek.
They have also excelled in evil matters.
They have not taken up cases,
such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,
and they have not defended the rights of the needy.(BA)
29 Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge myself(BB)
on such a nation as this?
耶利米書 5
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
耶路撒冷的罪
5 耶和華說：
「你們在耶路撒冷街頭四處看看，
在廣場找找，
如果你們能找到一個公正誠實的人，
我就赦免這城。
2 雖然他們憑永活的耶和華起誓，
卻口是心非。」
3 耶和華啊，你要的不是誠實嗎？
你責打他們，他們不感到疼痛；
你嚴懲他們，他們仍不受教。
他們屢教不改，
臉比石頭還硬。
4 我想：「他們貧窮、愚昧，
不明白他們上帝耶和華的道，
也不知道祂的法令。
5 我要找他們的首領說話，
因為這些首領明白耶和華的道，
知道他們上帝的法令。」
然而，他們卻一致違背耶和華的律法，
不服從祂的法令。
6 因此，林中的獅子必襲擊他們，
荒野的豺狼必殘害他們，
豹子也蹲伏在他們的城外，
伺機撕裂出城的人，
因為他們罪大惡極，屢屢叛道。
7 耶和華說：
「耶路撒冷啊，我怎能赦免你呢？
你的兒女背棄我，
憑假神起誓。
我供應他們的一切需要，
他們卻縱情淫亂，
湧向娼妓的家。
8 他們像吃得肥壯、發情的公馬，
垂涎鄰居的妻子。
9 我怎能不懲罰他們呢？
我怎能不親自報應這樣的國民呢？
這是耶和華說的。
10 你們要去毀壞她的葡萄園，
但不可徹底毀壞。
要砍掉枝子，
因為那些枝子不屬於耶和華。
11 以色列人和猶大人根本不忠於我。
這是耶和華說的。
12 「他們撒謊說，
『耶和華不會管我們，
我們必不會遇到災禍、戰爭和饑荒。
13 先知的話不過是一陣風，
不是來自上帝，
他們預言的災禍必降臨到自己身上。』」
14 因此，萬軍之上帝耶和華對我說：
「因為他們說了這話，
我要使我的話在你口中成為火，
使他們像柴一樣被燒毀。
15 以色列人啊，我要使一個國家，
一個歷久不衰的古國從遠方來攻擊你們，
你們不明白他們的語言，
也聽不懂他們說的話。
這是耶和華說的。
16 他們都是勇士，
他們的弓箭殺人無數。
17 他們必吞噬你們的兒女、牛羊、
糧食、葡萄和無花果，
用刀劍摧毀你們所依靠的堅城。」
18 耶和華說：「即使在那時，我也不會徹底毀滅你們。 19 耶利米啊，如果有人問，『為什麼我們的上帝耶和華這樣待我們？』你可以對他們說，『你們怎樣背棄耶和華，在自己的土地上供奉外族的神明，也要怎樣在異地他鄉服侍外族人。』
20 「要在猶大向雅各家高聲宣佈，
21 『聽著，你們這群愚昧無知的人啊，
你們視而不見，
聽而不聞。
22 難道你們不敬畏我嗎？
這是耶和華說的。
難道你們在我面前不顫抖嗎？
我以沙石為海的界限，
使水永遠不能越過它。
洶湧的波濤不能逾越，
澎湃的海浪不能漫過。
23 但你們這些人頑固不化，
悖逆成性。
你們離我而去。
24 你們心中從未說，
我們要敬畏我們的上帝耶和華，
祂按時降下秋雨和春雨，
讓我們按時收割。
25 你們的罪過使你們不再風調雨順，
你們的罪惡使你們失去祝福。』
26 我的子民中有惡人，
他們像捕鳥人一樣埋伏等候，
設下網羅陷害人。
27 他們的家裡充滿了詭詐，
就像籠子裝滿了鳥。
他們變得有財有勢，
28 吃得肥胖紅潤，
壞事做盡，不為孤兒伸冤，
不為窮人主持公道。」
29 耶和華說：「我怎能坐視不理呢？
我怎能不懲罰這樣的國家呢？
30 這地方發生了一件令人震驚、恐懼的事，
31 就是先知說假預言，
祭司濫用權力，
我的子民卻以此為樂。
但當最後的結局來臨時，
他們還能做什麼呢？
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