The Darby Translation DBY
GOD'S WORD Translation GW
1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broadways thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be [any] that doeth justice, that seeketh fidelity; and I will pardon it.
1
Walk around the streets of Jerusalem. Look around, and think about these things. Search the city squares. See if you can find anyone who does what is right and seeks the truth. Then I will forgive Jerusalem.
2 And if they say, [As] Jehovah liveth! surely they swear falsely.
2
People say, "As the LORD lives...." Yet, they lie when they take this oath.
3 Jehovah, are not thine eyes upon fidelity? Thou hast smitten them, but they are not sore; thou hast consumed them, they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
3
LORD, your eyes look for the truth. You strike these people, but they don't feel it. You crush them, but they refuse to be corrected. They are more stubborn than rocks. They refuse to turn back.
4 And I said, Surely these are the wretched ones, they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jehovah, the judgment of their God.
4
I thought, "These are poor, foolish people. They don't know the way of the LORD and the justice that God demands.
5 I will go unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they know the way of Jehovah, the judgment of their God; but these have altogether broken the yoke, have burst the bonds.
5
Let me go to important people and speak to them. They know the way of the LORD and the justice that God demands." But they, too, had broken off their yokes and torn off their chains.
6 Therefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the evenings shall waste them; the leopard lurketh against their cities, every one that goeth out thence is torn in pieces: for their transgressions are multiplied, their backslidings are increased.
6
That is why a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the wilderness will destroy them. A leopard will lie in ambush outside their cities. All who leave the cities will be torn to pieces, because they rebel so often and they become more and more unfaithful.
7 Wherefore should I pardon thee? Thy children have forsaken me, and swear by them that are not God. I have satiated them, and they have committed adultery, and they troop to the harlots' house.
7
"Why should I forgive you? Your children abandoned me. They took godless oaths. They committed adultery, even though I satisfied their needs. They traveled in crowds to the houses of prostitutes.
8 [As] well fed horses, they roam about, every one neigheth after his neighbour's wife.
8
They are like well-fed stallions that are wild with desire. They neigh for their neighbors' wives.
9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah, and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
9
I will punish them for these things," declares the LORD. "I will punish this nation.
10 Go up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end; take away her battlements, for they are not Jehovah's.
10
"Go among Jerusalem's rows of grapevines and destroy them, but don't destroy all of them. Cut off the branches because they don't belong to the LORD.
11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith Jehovah.
11
The nations of Israel and Judah are unfaithful to me," declares the LORD.
12 They have denied Jehovah, and say, He is not; and evil shall not come upon us, nor shall we see sword nor famine;
12
They lie about the LORD and say, "He doesn't exist! Nothing bad will happen to us. We won't experience war or famine.
13 and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
13
The prophets are nothing but windbags. The LORD hasn't spoken through them, so let what they say happen to them."
14 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts: Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
14
This is what the LORD God of Armies says: Because you've talked like this, I'm going to put my words in your mouth like a fire. These people will be like wood. My words will burn them up.
15 Behold, I bring a nation upon you from afar, house of Israel, saith Jehovah: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest thou what they say.
15
Nation of Israel, I'm going to bring a nation from far away to attack you, declares the LORD. It is a nation that has lasted a long time. It is an ancient nation. You don't know the language of this nation. You can't understand what its people say.
16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre; they are all mighty men.
16
Their arrow quivers are like open graves. They are all mighty warriors.
17 And they shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread, they shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters, they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds, they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees; they shall destroy with the sword thy strong cities, wherein thou trustedst.
17
They will devour your harvest and your food. They will devour your sons and your daughters. They will devour your flocks and your cattle. They will devour your grapevines and your fig trees. With their swords they will destroy the fortified cities you trust.
18 Nevertheless in those days, saith Jehovah, I will not make a full end with you.
18
Yet, even in those days, declares the LORD, I won't destroy all of you.
19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore hath Jehovah our God done all these things unto us? then shalt thou say to them, As ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
19
They will ask, "Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?" Answer them, "You have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land. So you will serve foreigners in a land that isn't yours."
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,
20
"Tell this to the descendants of Jacob, and make this heard in Judah:
21 Hear now this, O foolish and heartless people, who have eyes and see not; who have ears, and hear not.
21
Hear this, you stupid and senseless people! You have eyes, but you cannot see. You have ears, but you cannot hear.
22 Will ye not fear me? saith Jehovah. Will ye not tremble at my presence, who have set the sand a bound for the sea by a perpetual decree, and it shall not pass it? and its waves toss themselves, but they do not prevail; and they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
22
Don't you fear me?" asks the LORD. "Don't you tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, a permanent barrier that it cannot cross. Although the waves toss continuously, they can't break through. Although they roar, they can't cross it.
23 But this people hath a stubborn and a rebellious heart; they have turned aside and are gone.
23
But these people are stubborn and rebellious. They have turned aside and wandered away from me.
24 And they say not in their heart, Let us now fear Jehovah our God, that giveth rain, both the early and the latter, in its season; who preserveth unto us the appointed weeks of harvest.
24
They don't say to themselves, 'We should fear the LORD our God. He sends rain at the right time, the autumn rain and the spring rain. He makes sure that we have harvest seasons.'
25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden from you what is good.
25
Your wickedness has turned these things away. Your sins have kept good things away from you.
26 For among my people are found wicked [men]: they lay wait, as fowlers stoop down; they set a trap, they catch men.
26
"Wicked people are found among my people. They lie in ambush like bird catchers. They set traps and catch people.
27 As a cage full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and have enriched themselves.
27
Like cages filled with birds, their houses are filled with deceit. That is why they become powerful and rich.
28 They are become fat, they shine, yea, they surpass in deeds of wickedness; they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, and they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not adjudge.
28
They grow big and fat. Their evil deeds have no limits. They have no respect for the rights of others. They have no respect for the rights of orphans. But they still prosper. They don't defend the rights of the poor.
29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
29
I will punish them for these things," declares the LORD. "I will punish this nation.
30 An appalling and horrible thing is committed in the land:
30
"Something horrible and disgusting is happening in the land:
31 the prophets prophesy falsehood, and the priests rule by their means; and my people love [to have it] so. But what will ye do in the end thereof?
31
Prophets prophesy lies. Priests rule under the prophets' directions, and my people love this. But what will you do in the end?"
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