Jeremiah 5:20–31

20  Declare this in the house of Jacob;

proclaim it in Judah:

21  “Hear this, iO foolish and senseless people,

jwho have eyes, but see not,

who have ears, but hear not.

22  kDo you not fear me? declares the Lord.

Do you not tremble before me?

I placed the sand las the boundary for the sea,

a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;

though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;

though mthey roar, they cannot pass over it.

23  nBut this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;

they have turned aside and gone away.

24  They do not say in their hearts,

‘Let us fear the Lord our God,

owho gives the rain in its season,

the autumn rain and the spring rain,

and keeps for us

pthe weeks appointed for the harvest.’

25  qYour iniquities have turned these away,

and your sins have kept good from you.

26  For wicked men are found among my people;

rthey lurk like fowlers lying in wait.1

sThey set a trap;

they catch men.

27  Like a cage full of birds,

their houses are full of deceit;

therefore they have become great and rich;

28  tthey have grown fat and sleek.

They know no bounds in deeds of evil;

uthey judge not with justice

the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,

and they do not defend the rights of the needy.

29  vShall I not punish them for these things?

declares the Lord,

and shall I not avenge myself

on a nation such as this?”

30  An appalling and whorrible thing

has happened in the land:

31  xthe prophets prophesy falsely,

and the priests rule at their direction;

ymy people love to have it so,

but what will you do when the end comes?