1
"Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And looknow and takenote. And seek in her opensquares, If you can find a man, Ifthere is one who doesjustice, who seekstruth, Then I will pardon her.
3
O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You have smitten them, But they did not weaken; You have consumed them, But they refused to takecorrection. They have made their facesharderthanrock; They have refused to repent.
5
"I will go to the great And will speak to them, For they know the way of the LORD And the ordinance of their God." But they too, with oneaccord, have broken the yoke And burst the bonds.
6
Therefore* a lion from the forest will slay them, A wolf of the deserts will destroy them, A leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many, Their apostasies are numerous.
7
"Why should I pardon you? Your sons have forsaken Me And sworn by those who are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, They committedadultery And trooped to the harlot'shouse.
14
Therefore, thussays the LORD, the God of hosts, "Because you have spokenthisword, Behold, I am making My words in your mouthfire And thispeoplewood, and it will consume them.
15
"Behold, I am bringing a nationagainst you from afar, O house of Israel," declares the LORD. "It is an enduringnation, It is an ancientnation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understandwhat they say.
16
"Their quiver is like an opengrave, All of them are mightymen.
~yirw{BiG ~'LUK ;x.Wt'P r,b,q.K w{t'P.v;a
17
"They will 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 vines and your figtrees; They will demolish with the sword your fortifiedcities in which you trust.
19
"It shall come about when they say, 'Why* has the LORD our Goddoneallthesethings to us?' then you shall say to them, 'As you have forsaken Me and servedforeigngods in your land, so you will servestrangers in a land that is not yours.'
22
'Do you not fear Me?' declares the LORD. 'Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternaldecree, so it cannotcrossover it. Though the wavestoss, yet they cannotprevail; Though they roar, yet they cannotcrossover it.
24
'They do not say in their heart, "Let us nowfear the LORD our God, Who givesrain in its season, Both the autumnrain and the springrain, Who keeps for us The appointedweeks of the harvest."
28
'They are fat, they are sleek, They alsoexcel in deeds of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper; And they do not defend the rights of the poor.