Yirmeyah 5
Orthodox Jewish Bible
5 Run ye to and fro through the chutzot Yerushalayim (streets of Jerusalem), and see now, and know, and seek in the rechovot thereof, if ye can find an ish, if there be any that dispenseth mishpat (justice), that seeketh the emunah (faith); and I will forgive her [Jerusalem].
2 And though they say, Chai Hashem; surely they swear lasheker (falsely).
3 Hashem, are not Thine eyes upon emunah? Thou hast struck them, but they felt no anguish; Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to accept musar [cf Isa 53:5]; they have made their faces harder than stone; they have refused to make teshuvah.
4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish; for they know not the Derech Hashem, nor the Mishpat Eloheihem.
5 I will get me unto the Gedolim, and will speak unto them; for they have known the Derech Hashem, and the Mishpat Eloheihem; but these have altogether broken off the ol (yoke), and burst the bonds.
6 Therefore an aryeh (lion) out of the forest shall slay them, and a ze’ev (wolf) of the deserts shall destroy them, a namer (leopard) shall prowl near their towns; every one that ventureth out from there shall be torn to pieces; because their peysha’im (rebellions) are many, and their meshuvot (backslidings) are increased.
7 How shall I forgive thee for this? Thy banim have forsaken Me, and sworn by them that are no elohim; when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and trooped to the bais zonah.
8 They were like well-fed, lusty susim: every one neighed after the isha of his neighbor.
9 Shall I not visit [to punish] for these things? saith Hashem; and shall not My Nefesh be avenged on such a Goy as this?
10 Go ye up through her rows of vines, and cut down; but make not a full end; take away her branches; for they are not Hashem’s.
11 For Bais Yisroel and Bais Yehudah have dealt very treacherously against Me, saith Hashem.
12 They have spoken lies about Hashem, and said, Lo hu (not He); neither shall ra’ah come upon us; neither shall we see cherev nor ra’av (famine);
13 And the nevi’im shall become ru’ach, and the Devar is not in them; thus shall it be done unto them.
14 Therefore thus saith Hashem Elohei Tzva’os, Because ye speak this devar, hinei, I will make My Devarim in thy mouth an eish, and HaAm HaZeh etzim (wood), and it shall consume them.
15 Hineni, I will bring a Goy (Nation) upon you from afar, O Bais Yisroel, saith Hashem; it is a powerful nation, a goy me’olam (an ancient nation), a nation whose leshon thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
16 Their quiver is as an open kever (grave), they are all gibborim.
17 And they shall devour thine katzir (harvest), and thy lechem, which thy banim and thy banot should eat; they shall devour thy tzon and thine bakar; they shall eat up thy gefen and thy te’enah (fig tree); they shall impoverish thy fortified cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the cherev.
18 Nevertheless in those days, saith Hashem, I will not make a full end with you.
19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Why doeth Hashem Eloheinu all these things unto us? Then shalt thou answer them, As ye have forsaken Me, and served elohei nechar (foreign g-ds, strange g-ds) in your land, so shall ye serve zarim in an eretz not your own.
20 Declare this in Bais Ya’akov, and publish it in Yehudah, saying,
21 Hear now this, O Am Sakhal (foolish people) without understanding; which have eynayim (eyes), and see not; which have oznayim (ears), and hear not;
22 Fear ye not Me? saith Hashem; will ye not tremble at My Presence, Who hath placed the chol (sand) as the boundary of the yam by a chok olam, that it cannot transgress; and though the waves thereof toss, yet they cannot prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
23 But HaAm Hazeh hath a lev sorer (stubborn heart) and moreh (rebellious); they have revolted and departed.
24 Neither say they in their lev, Let us now fear Hashem Eloheinu, that giveth geshem, both the yoreh (former rain, autumn rain) and the malkosh (latter rain, spring rain) in season; He secureth unto us shavu’ot chukkot katzir (the appointed weeks of the harvest).
25 Your avonot (iniquities) have turned away these things, and your chatta’ot (sins) have deprived hatov from you.
26 For among Ami are found resha’im; they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a mashkhit (trap), they catch anashim.
27 As a cage is full of oph, so are their batim (houses) full of mirmah; therefore they are become powerful and oshir (rich, wealthy).
28 They have grown fat and sleek; yea, their wicked deeds are without limit; the cause of the yatom they do not plead, yet they prosper; and the mishpat evyonim (right of the poor people) they do not defend.
29 Shall I not visit [to punish] for these things? saith Hashem; shall not My nefesh be avenged on such a Goy (Nation) as this?
30 An astonishing and horrible thing is committed in HaAretz;
31 The nevi’im prophesy falsely, and the kohanim rule at their direction; and My people love to have it this way; but what will ye do in the end?
Jeremiah 5
English Standard Version
Jerusalem Refused to Repent
5 (A)Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
look and take note!
Search her squares to see
(B)if you can find a man,
one who does justice
and seeks truth,
(C)that I may pardon her.
2 (D)Though they say, “As the Lord lives,”
(E)yet they swear falsely.
3 O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?
(F)You have struck them down,
but they felt no anguish;
you have consumed them,
but they refused to take correction.
(G)They have made their faces harder than rock;
they have refused to repent.
4 Then I said, “These are only the poor;
they have no sense;
(H)for they do not know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.
5 I will go to the great
and will speak to them,
for they know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.”
(I)But they all alike had broken the yoke;
they had burst the bonds.
6 Therefore (J)a lion from the forest shall strike them down;
a (K)wolf from the desert shall devastate them.
(L)A leopard is watching their cities;
everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,
because their transgressions are many,
their (M)apostasies are great.
7 (N)“How can I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me
(O)and have sworn by those who are no gods.
(P)When I fed them to the full,
(Q)they committed adultery
(R)and trooped to the houses of whores.
8 They were well-fed, lusty stallions,
(S)each neighing (T)for his neighbor's wife.
9 (U)Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the Lord;
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?
10 (V)“Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
(W)but make not a full end;
strip away her branches,
for they are not the Lord's.
11 (X)For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
have been utterly treacherous to me,
declares the Lord.
12 They have spoken falsely of the Lord
and have said, ‘He will do nothing;
(Y)no disaster will come upon us,
(Z)nor shall we see sword or famine.
13 The prophets will become wind;
the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them!’”
The Lord Proclaims Judgment
14 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts:
“Because you have spoken this word,
behold, (AA)I am making my words in your mouth (AB)a fire,
and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.
15 (AC)Behold, I am bringing against you
a nation from afar, O house of Israel,
declares the Lord.
It is an enduring nation;
it is an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know,
(AD)nor can you understand what they say.
16 (AE)Their quiver is like (AF)an open tomb;
they are all mighty warriors.
17 (AG)They shall eat up your harvest and your food;
they shall eat up your sons and your daughters;
they shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
your (AH)fortified cities in which you trust
they shall beat down with the sword.”
18 “But even in those days, declares the Lord, (AI)I will not make a full end of you. 19 And when your people say, (AJ)‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, (AK)so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’”
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob;
proclaim it in Judah:
21 “Hear this, (AL)O foolish and senseless people,
(AM)who have eyes, but see not,
who have ears, but hear not.
22 (AN)Do you not fear me? declares the Lord.
Do you not tremble before me?
I placed the sand (AO)as the boundary for the sea,
a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
though (AP)they roar, they cannot pass over it.
23 (AQ)But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
they have turned aside and gone away.
24 They do not say in their hearts,
‘Let us fear the Lord our God,
(AR)who gives the rain in its season,
the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us
(AS)the weeks appointed for the harvest.’
25 (AT)Your iniquities have turned these away,
and your sins have kept good from you.
26 For wicked men are found among my people;
(AU)they lurk like fowlers lying in wait.[a]
(AV)They set a trap;
they catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;
therefore they have become great and rich;
28 (AW)they have grown fat and sleek.
They know no bounds in deeds of evil;
(AX)they judge not with justice
the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,
and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
29 (AY)Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?”
30 An appalling and (AZ)horrible thing
has happened in the land:
31 (BA)the prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests rule at their direction;
(BB)my people love to have it so,
but what will you do when the end comes?
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 5:26 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
