Jeremiah 5:1–8:22
5 “Go up and downs the streets of Jerusalem,
look around and consider,t
search through her squares.
If you can find but one personu
who deals honestlyv and seeks the truth,
I will forgivew this city.
2 Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’x
still they are swearing falsely.y”
3 Lord, do not your eyesz look for truth?
You strucka them, but they felt no pain;
you crushed them, but they refused correction.b
They made their faces harder than stonec
and refused to repent.d
4 I thought, “These are only the poor;
they are foolish,e
for they do not knowf the way of the Lord,
the requirements of their God.
5 So I will go to the leadersg
and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the Lord,
the requirements of their God.”
But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
and torn off the bonds.h
6 Therefore a lion from the foresti will attack them,
a wolf from the desert will ravagej them,
a leopardk will lie in wait near their towns
to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
and their backslidings many.l
Your children have forsaken me
and swornm by gods that are not gods.n
I supplied all their needs,
yet they committed adulteryo
and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.p
8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
each neighing for another man’s wife.q
9 Should I not punish them for this?”r
declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenges myself
on such a nation as this?
10 “Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
but do not destroy them completely.t
Strip off her branches,
for these people do not belong to the Lord.
11 The people of Israel and the people of Judah
have been utterly unfaithfulu to me,”
declares the Lord.
12 They have liedv about the Lord;
they said, “He will do nothing!
No harm will come to us;w
we will never see sword or famine.x
13 The prophetsy are but windz
and the word is not in them;
so let what they say be done to them.”
14 Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says:
“Because the people have spoken these words,
I will make my words in your moutha a fireb
and these people the wood it consumes.c
15 People of Israel,” declares the Lord,
“I am bringing a distant nationd against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
a people whose languagee you do not know,
whose speech you do not understand.
16 Their quiversf are like an open grave;
all of them are mighty warriors.
17 They will devourg your harvests and food,
devourh your sons and daughters;
they will devouri your flocks and herds,
devour your vines and fig trees.j
With the swordk they will destroy
the fortified citiesl in which you trust.m
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not destroyn you completely. 19 And when the people ask,o ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign godsp in your own land, so now you will serve foreignersq in a land not your own.’
20 “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob
and proclaimr it in Judah:
21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,s
who have eyest but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear:u
22 Should you not fearv me?” declares the Lord.
“Should you not tremblew in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,x
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar,y but they cannot cross it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebelliousz hearts;
they have turned asidea and gone away.
24 They do not say to themselves,
‘Let us fearb the Lord our God,
who gives autumn and spring rainsc in season,
who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’d
25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
your sins have deprived you of good.e
26 “Among my people are the wickedf
who lie in waitg like men who snare birds
and like those who set trapsh to catch people.
their houses are full of deceit;i
they have become richj and powerful
28 and have grown fatk and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
they do not seek justice.
They do not promote the case of the fatherless;l
they do not defend the just cause of the poor.m
29 Should I not punish them for this?”
declares the Lord.
“Should I not avengen myself
on such a nation as this?
30 “A horribleo and shocking thing
has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy lies,p
the priestsq rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?r
6 “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!
Flee from Jerusalem!
Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!u
For disaster looms out of the north,v
even terrible destruction.
2 I will destroy Daughter Zion,w
so beautiful and delicate.x
3 Shepherdsy with their flocks will come against her;
they will pitch their tents aroundz her,
each tending his own portion.”
4 “Prepare for battle against her!
Arise, let us attack at noon!a
But, alas, the daylight is fading,
and the shadows of evening grow long.
5 So arise, let us attack at night
and destroy her fortresses!”
6 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Cut down the treesb
and build siege rampsc against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished;
it is filled with oppression.d
7 As a well pours out its water,
so she pours out her wickedness.
Violencee and destructionf resound in her;
her sickness and wounds are ever before me.
or I will turn awayg from you
and make your land desolate
so no one can live in it.”
9 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Let them glean the remnanth of Israel
as thoroughly as a vine;
pass your hand over the branches again,
like one gathering grapes.”
10 To whom can I speak and give warning?
Who will listeni to me?
so they cannot hear.k
The wordl of the Lord is offensive to them;
they find no pleasure in it.
11 But I am full of the wrathm of the Lord,
and I cannot hold it in.n
“Pour it out on the children in the street
and on the young meno gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
and the old, those weighed down with years.p
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,q
together with their fields and their wives,r
when I stretch out my hands
against those who live in the land,”
declares the Lord.
13 “From the least to the greatest,
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.v
14 They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
when there is no peace.w
15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush.x
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when I punishy them,”
says the Lord.
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,z
ask where the good waya is, and walk in it,
and you will find restb for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 I appointed watchmenc over you and said,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’d
But you said, ‘We will not listen.’e
18 Therefore hear, you nations;
you who are witnesses,
observe what will happen to them.
19 Hear, you earth:f
I am bringing disasterg on this people,
the fruit of their schemes,h
because they have not listened to my wordsi
and have rejected my law.j
20 What do I care about incense from Shebak
or sweet calamusl from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;m
your sacrificesn do not please me.”o
21 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“I will put obstacles before this people.
Parents and children alike will stumblep over them;
neighbors and friends will perish.”
22 This is what the Lord says:
“Look, an army is coming
from the land of the north;q
a great nation is being stirred up
from the ends of the earth.r
23 They are armed with bow and spear;
they are cruel and show no mercy.s
They sound like the roaring seat
as they ride on their horses;u
they come like men in battle formation
to attack you, Daughter Zion.v”
24 We have heard reports about them,
and our hands hang limp.w
Anguishx has gripped us,
pain like that of a woman in labor.y
25 Do not go out to the fields
or walk on the roads,
for the enemy has a sword,
and there is terror on every side.z
26 Put on sackcloth,a my people,
and roll in ashes;b
mourn with bitter wailingc
as for an only son,d
for suddenly the destroyere
will come upon us.
27 “I have made you a testerf of metals
and my people the ore,
that you may observe
and test their ways.
28 They are all hardened rebels,g
going about to slander.h
They are bronze and iron;i
they all act corruptly.
to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refiningj goes on in vain;
the wicked are not purged out.
30 They are called rejected silver,k
because the Lord has rejected them.”l
7 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Standm at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:
“ ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your waysn and your actions, and I will let you liveo in this place. 4 Do not trustp in deceptiveq words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” 5 If you really changer your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly,s 6 if you do not oppresst the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent bloodu in this place, and if you do not follow other godsv to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the landw I gave your ancestorsx for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trustingy in deceptivez words that are worthless.
9 “ ‘Will you steala and murder,b commit adulteryc and perjury,a d burn incense to Baale and follow other godsf you have not known, 10 and then come and standg before me in this house,h which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things?i