Jeremiah 5:20-31

New King James Version

²⁰“Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
²¹‘Hear this now, O ^(A)foolish people,
Without ^[a]understanding,
Who have eyes and see not,
And who have ears and hear not:
²²^(B)Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord.
‘Will you not tremble at My presence,
Who have placed the sand as the ^(C)bound of the sea,
By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?
And though its waves toss to and fro,
Yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
²³But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart;
They have revolted and departed.
²⁴They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
^(D)Who gives rain, both the ^(E)former and the latter, in its season.
^(F)He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”
²⁵^(G)Your iniquities have turned these things away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.

²⁶‘For among My people are found wicked men;
They ^(H)lie in wait as one who sets snares;
They set a trap;
They catch men.
²⁷As a cage is full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
²⁸They have grown ^(I)fat, they are sleek;
Yes, they ^[b]surpass the deeds of the wicked;
They do not plead ^(J)the cause,
The cause of the fatherless;
^(K)Yet they prosper,
And the right of the needy they do not defend.
²⁹^(L)Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’

³⁰“An astonishing and ^(M)horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
³¹The prophets prophesy ^(N)falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people ^(O)love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?