Jeremiah 5 (New American Standard)

Jerusalem's Godlessness

1 "¹Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And look now and take note. And seek in her open squares, If you can ²find a man, ³If there is one who does justice, who seeks ^atruth, Then I will pardon her. 2 "And ⁴although they say, 'As the LORD lives,' Surely they swear falsely." 3 O LORD, do not ⁵Your eyes look for ^btruth ? You have ⁶smitten them, But they did not ^cweaken ; You have consumed them, But they ⁷refused to take correction. They have ⁸made their faces harder than rock ; They have refused to repent. 4 Then I said, "They are only the poor, They are foolish ; For they ⁹do not know the way of the LORD Or the ordinance of their God. 5 "I will go to the great And will speak to them, For ¹⁰they know the way of the LORD And the ordinance of their God." But they too, with one accord, have ¹¹broken the yoke And burst the bonds. 6 Therefore ¹²a lion from the forest will slay them, A ¹³wolf of the deserts will destroy them, A ¹⁴leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces, Because their ¹⁵transgressions are many, Their apostasies are numerous. 7 "Why should I pardon you? Your sons have forsaken Me And ¹⁶sworn by those who are ¹⁷not gods. When I had fed them to the full, They ¹⁸committed adultery And trooped to the harlot's house. 8 "They were well-fed lusty horses, Each one neighing after his ¹⁹neighbor's wife. 9 "Shall I not punish ^dthese people," declares the LORD, "And on a nation such as this ²⁰Shall I not avenge Myself ? 10 "Go up through her vine rows and destroy, But do not execute a complete destruction ; Strip away her branches, For they are not the LORD'S. 11 "For the ²¹house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously with Me," declares the LORD. 12 They have ²²lied about the LORD And said, "^e23Not He; Misfortune will ²⁴not come on us, And we ²⁵will not see sword or famine. 13 "The ²⁶prophets are as wind, And the word is not in them. Thus it will be done to them!"

Judgment Proclaimed

14 Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, "Because you have spoken this word, Behold, I am ²⁷making My words in your mouth fire And this people wood, and it will consume them. 15 "Behold, I am ²⁸bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel," declares the LORD. "It is an enduring nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose ²⁹language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say. 16 "Their ³⁰quiver is like an ³¹open grave, All of them are mighty men. 17 "They will ³²devour 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 ³³vines and your fig trees ; They will demolish with the sword your ³⁴fortified cities in which you trust. 18 "Yet even in those days," declares the LORD, "I will not make you a complete destruction. 19 "It shall come about ³⁵when ^fthey 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 ³⁶serve 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 ^gsenseless people, Who have ³⁷eyes but do not see ; Who have ears but do not hear. 22 'Do you not ³⁸fear Me?' declares the LORD. 'Do you not tremble in My presence ? For I have ³⁹placed 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 ⁴⁰stubborn 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 ⁴¹gives rain in its season, Both ⁴²the autumn rain and the spring rain, Who keeps for us The ⁴³appointed weeks of the harvest." 25 'Your ⁴⁴iniquities have turned these away, And your sins have withheld good from you. 26 'For wicked men are found among My people, They ⁴⁵watch like fowlers ^hlying in wait ; They set a trap, They catch men. 27 'Like a cage full of birds, So their houses are full of ⁴⁶deceit ; Therefore they have become great and rich. 28 'They are ⁴⁷fat, they are sleek, They also ⁱexcel in deeds of wickedness ; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the ^j48orphan, that they may prosper ; And they do not ^kdefend the rights of the poor. 29 '⁴⁹Shall I not punish ^lthese people?' declares the LORD, 'On a nation such as this Shall I not avenge Myself ?' 30 "An appalling and ⁵⁰horrible thing Has happened in the land : 31 The ⁵¹prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule ^mon their own authority ; And My people ⁵²love it so ! But what will you do at the end of it?