Jeremiah 5:14-24

14 The Lord God of hosts saith these things, For ye spake this word, lo! I give my words in thy mouth into fire, and this people into trees, and it shall devour them. (The Lord God of hosts saith these things, Because ye spoke these words, lo! I shall make my words in thy mouth into fire, and this people into wood, and it shall devour them.)
15 Lo! thou house of Israel, saith the Lord, I shall bring on you a folk from [a]far; a strong folk, an old folk, a folk whose language thou shalt not know, neither shalt understand what it speaketh. (Lo! O house of Israel, saith the Lord, I shall bring upon you a nation from far away; a strong nation, an old nation, a nation whose language thou shalt not know, nor shalt thou understand what they say.)
16 The arrow case thereof is as an open sepulchre; all be strong men. (Its arrow case, or its quiver, is an open grave, or an empty tomb; they all be strong men.)
17 And it shall eat thy corns, and it shall devour thy bread, thy sons and thy daughters; it shall eat thy flock, and thy droves, it shall eat also thy vinery, and thy fig tree; it shall all-break thy strong cities with sword, in which thou hast trusted. (And they shall eat thy corn, or thy harvest, and shall devour thy bread, or thy food, and thy sons and thy daughters; they shall eat thy flocks, and thy herds, and they shall eat thy vines, and thy fig trees; and they shall all-break with the sword thy strong cities, in which thou hast trusted.)
18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I shall not make you into (a) [full] ending. (Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I shall not make an end of you.)
19 That if ye say, Why hath our Lord God done all these things to us? thou shalt say to them, As ye forsook me, and served an alien god in your land, so ye shall serve alien gods in a land not yours. (And when they ask, Why hath the Lord our God done all these things to us? thou shalt say to them, As ye deserted me, and served a strange, or a foreign, god in your own land, so now ye shall serve strange, or foreign, gods in a land not your own.)
20 Tell ye this to the house of Jacob, and make ye (it) heard in Judah, and say ye,
21 Hear, thou fond people, that hast none heart; which have eyes, and see not, and ears, and hear not. (Listen, O foolish people, ye who have no heart; yea, ye who have eyes, but cannot see, and ears, but cannot hear.)
22 Therefore shall not ye dread me, saith the Lord, and shall not ye make sorrow for my face? Which have set gravel to be a term, either end, to the sea, an everlasting commandment, which it shall not pass; and the waves thereof shall be moved, and shall not have power; and shall wax great, and shall not pass it. (And so shall ye not fear me, saith the Lord, and shall ye not tremble before my face? Yea, before I, who hath set the sand to be the term, or the boundary, of the sea, by an everlasting commandment, which it shall not pass over; and its waves shall be moved, but they shall not have the power to pass over it; yea, they shall grow great, but they shall not pass over it.)
23 Forsooth an heart unbelieveful and stirring (me) to wrath is made to this people; they departed, and went away, (But this people hath an unbelieving heart, and stirreth me to anger; they departed, and went away,)
24 and they said not in their heart, Dread we our Lord God, that giveth to us rain timeful, and lateful in his time; that keepeth to us the plenty of harvest of the year. (and they did not say in their hearts, Let us fear the Lord our God/Let us revere the Lord our God, who giveth us timely rain, and late rain in its time; and who giveth us the plenty of the harvest every year.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.