Jeremiah 5:4–6

4 I thought, “These are only the poor;

they are foolish,

for they do not know the way of the Lord,

the requirements of their God.

5 So I will go to the leaders

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.

6 Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them,

a wolf from the desert will ravage them,

a leopard will lie in wait near their towns

to tear to pieces any who venture out,

for their rebellion is great

and their backslidings many.

4 Then I said, “These are only the poor;

they have no sense;

for they do not know the way of the Lord,

the justice of their God.

5 I will go to the great

and will speak to them,

for they know the way of the Lord,

the justice of their God.”

But they all alike had broken the yoke;

they had burst the bonds.

6 Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down;

a wolf from the desert shall devastate them.

A leopard is watching their cities;

everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,

because their transgressions are many,

their apostasies are great.

4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God. 5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds. 6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.

4 Then I said, “But what can we expect from the poor?

They are ignorant.

They don’t know the ways of the Lord.

They don’t understand God’s laws.

5 So I will go and speak to their leaders.

Surely they know the ways of the Lord

and understand God’s laws.”

But the leaders, too, as one man,

had thrown off God’s yoke

and broken his chains.

6 So now a lion from the forest will attack them;

a wolf from the desert will pounce on them.

A leopard will lurk near their towns,

tearing apart any who dare to venture out.

For their rebellion is great,

and their sins are many.

4 But I thought,

“These are only the poor, foolish people.

They have not learned the way of the Lord

and what their God wants them to do.

5 So I will go to the leaders of Judah

and talk to them.

Surely they understand the way of the Lord

and know what God wants them to do.”

But even the leaders had all joined together to break away from the Lord;

they had broken their ties with him.

6 So a lion from the forest will attack them.

A wolf from the desert will kill them.

A leopard is waiting for them near their towns.

It will tear to pieces anyone who comes out of the city,

because the people of Judah have sinned greatly.

They have wandered away from the Lord many times.

4 Then I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jehovah, nor the law of their God: 5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they know the way of Jehovah, and the law of their God. But these with one accord have broken the yoke, and burst the bonds. 6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the evenings shall destroy them, a leopard shall watch against their cities; every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces; because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.

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. 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. 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.

4 I thought, “These are poor, foolish people. 

They don’t know the way of the Lord 

and the justice that God demands. 

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 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. 

4 Then I thought:

They are just the poor;

they have played the fool.

For they don’t understand the way of the Lord,

the justice of their God.

5 I will go to the powerful

and speak to them.

Surely they know the way of the Lord,

the justice of their God.

However, these also had broken the yoke

and torn off the chains.

6 Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down.

A wolf from an arid plain will ravage them.

A leopard keeps watch over their cities.

Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces

because their rebellious acts are many,

their unfaithful deeds numerous.

4 Then I said, “These are only the poor;

they have no sense,

for they do not know the way of the Lord,

the law of their God.

5 Let me go to the rich

and speak to them;

surely they know the way of the Lord,

the law of their God.”

But they all alike had broken the yoke;

they had burst the bonds.

6 Therefore a lion from the forest shall kill them;

a wolf from the desert shall destroy them.

A leopard is watching against their cities;

everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,

because their transgressions are many;

their faithlessness is great.

4 Then I said, “They are just simple people,

they are foolish,

for they know not the way of Yahweh,

the law of their God.

5 Let me go to the great,

and let me speak with them,

for they know the way of Yahweh,

the law of their God.”

However, they together have broken the yoke,

they have torn to pieces the bonds.

6 Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them,

A wolf from the desert plains will devastate them.

A leopard is watching their cities,

everyone who goes out from there will be torn,

because their transgressions are many,

their apostasies are numerous.

4 I thought, “The people of

Jerusalem are foolish.

They don’t know how the Lord wants them to live.

They don’t know what their God requires of them.

5 So I will go to the leaders.

I’ll speak to them.

They should know how the Lord wants them to live.

They must know what their God requires of them.”

But all of them had broken off the yoke the Lord had put on them.

They had torn off the ropes he had tied them up with.

6 So a lion from the forest will attack them.

A wolf from the desert will destroy them.

A leopard will hide and wait near their towns.

It will tear to pieces anyone who dares to go out.

Again and again they have refused to obey the Lord.

They have turned away from him many times.

4 Then I said, “They are only the poor,

They are foolish;

For they do 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 they know the way of the Lord

And the ordinance of their God.”

But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke

And burst the bonds.

6 Therefore a lion from the forest will slay them,

A wolf of the deserts will destroy them,

A leopard is watching their cities.

Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,

Because their transgressions are many,

Their apostasies are numerous.