Jeremiah 6:13–17

13 “From the least to the greatest,

all are greedy for gain;

prophets and priests alike,

all practice deceit.

14 They dress the wound of my people

as though it were not serious.

‘Peace, peace,’ they say,

when there is no peace.

15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?

No, they have no shame at all;

they do not even know how to blush.

So they will fall among the fallen;

they will be brought down when I punish them,”

says the Lord.

16 This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;

ask for the ancient paths,

ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

and you will find rest for your souls.

But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

17 I appointed watchmen over you and said,

‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’

But you said, ‘We will not listen.’

13 “For from the least to the greatest of them,

everyone is greedy for unjust gain;

and from prophet to priest,

everyone deals falsely.

14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,

saying, ‘Peace, peace,’

when there is no peace.

15 Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?

No, they were not at all ashamed;

they did not know how to blush.

Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”

says the Lord.

16 Thus says the Lord:

“Stand by the roads, and look,

and ask for the ancient paths,

where the good way is; and walk in it,

and find rest for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

17 I set watchmen over you, saying,

‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’

But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’

13 “From the least to the greatest,

their lives are ruled by greed.

From prophets to priests,

they are all frauds.

14 They offer superficial treatments

for my people’s mortal wound.

They give assurances of peace

when there is no peace.

15 Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions?

Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush!

Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered.

They will be brought down when I punish them,”

says the Lord.

16 This is what the Lord says:

“Stop at the crossroads and look around.

Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.

Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.

But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’

17 I posted watchmen over you who said,

‘Listen for the sound of the alarm.’

But you replied,

‘No! We won’t pay attention!’

13 “Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them,

Everyone is given to covetousness;

And from the prophet even to the priest,

Everyone deals falsely.

14 They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly,

Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’

When there is no peace.

15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?

No! They were not at all ashamed;

Nor did they know how to blush.

Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

At the time I punish them,

They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.

16 Thus says the Lord:

“Stand in the ways and see,

And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,

And walk in it;

Then you will find rest for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

17 Also, I set watchmen over you, saying,

‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’

But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

13 “Everyone, from the least important to the greatest,

is greedy for money.

Even the prophets and priests

all tell lies.

14 They tried to heal my people’s serious injuries

as if they were small wounds.

They said, ‘It’s all right, it’s all right.’

But really, it is not all right.

15 They should be ashamed of the terrible way they act,

but they are not ashamed at all.

They don’t even know how to blush about their sins.

So they will fall, along with everyone else.

They will be thrown to the ground when I punish them,” says the Lord.

16 This is what the Lord says:

“Stand where the roads cross and look.

Ask where the old way is,

where the good way is, and walk on it.

If you do, you will find rest for yourselves.

But they have said, ‘We will not walk on the good way.’

17 I set watchmen over you

and told you, ‘Listen for the sound of the war trumpet!’

But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. 14 They have healed also the hurt of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. 15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith Jehovah.

16 Thus saith Jehovah, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk therein. 17 And I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet; but they said, We will not hearken.

13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely. 14 And they have healed the breach of the daughter of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace! when there is no peace. 15 Are they ashamed that they have committed abomination? Nay, they are not at all ashamed, neither know they what it is to blush. Therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them they shall stumble, saith Jehovah. 16 Thus saith Jehovah: Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the ancient paths, which is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. 17 Also I have set watchmen over you: —Hearken ye to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

13 “All of them, from the least important to the most important, 

are eager to make money dishonestly. 

All of them, from prophets to priests, act deceitfully. 

14 They treat my people’s wounds as though they were not serious, saying, 

‘Everything is alright! Everything is alright!’ 

But it’s not alright. 

15 Are they ashamed when they do disgusting things? 

No, they’re not ashamed. 

They don’t even know how to blush. 

So they will die with those who die. 

They will be brought down when I punish them,” says the Lord. 

16 This is what the Lord says: 

Stand at the crossroads and look. 

Ask which paths are the old, reliable paths. 

Ask which way leads to blessings. 

Live that way, and find a resting place for yourselves. 

But you said that you wouldn’t live that way. 

17 I posted watchmen over you. 

Pay attention to the sound of the ram’s horn. 

But you said that you wouldn’t pay attention. 

13 For from the least to the greatest of them,

everyone is making profit dishonestly.

From prophet to priest,

everyone deals falsely.

14 They have treated My people’s brokenness superficially,

claiming, “Peace, peace,”

when there is no peace.

15 Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently?

They weren’t at all ashamed.

They can no longer feel humiliation.

Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.

When I punish them, they will collapse,

says the Lord.

16 This is what the Lord says:

Stand by the roadways and look.

Ask about the ancient paths:

Which is the way to what is good?

Then take it

and find rest for yourselves.

But they protested, “We won’t!”

17 I appointed watchmen over you

and said: Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.

But they protested, “We won’t listen!”

13 For from the least to the greatest of them,

everyone is greedy for unjust gain;

and from prophet to priest,

everyone deals falsely.

14 They have treated the wound of my people carelessly,

saying, “Peace, peace,”

when there is no peace.

15 They acted shamefully; they committed abomination,

yet they were not ashamed;

they did not know how to blush.

Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,

says the Lord.

16 Thus says the Lord:

Stand at the crossroads and look,

and ask for the ancient paths,

where the good way lies; and walk in it,

and find rest for your souls.

But they said, “We will not walk in it.”

17 Also I raised up sentinels for you:

“Give heed to the sound of the trumpet!”

But they said, “We will not give heed.”

13 “For from the smallest of them to the greatest of them,

everyone makes profit for unlawful gain.

And from the prophet to the priest,

everyone practices deceit.

14 And they have treated the wound of my people lightly,

saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace.

15 Have they acted ashamed, for they have committed a detestable thing?

Not at all, nor were they ashamed; they did not know to feel humiliated.

Therefore they will fall among those who fall at the time I punish them,

they will stumble,” says Yahweh.

16 Thus says Yahweh: “Stand at the roads and look,

and ask for the ancient paths, where the way of the good is,

and walk in it, and find rest for your inner selves.

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

17 And I raised up watchmen over you:

‘Listen attentively to the sound of a horn.’

But they said, ‘We will not listen attentively.’

13 Everyone wants to get richer and richer,

from the least important of them to the most important.

Prophets and priests alike

try to fool everyone they can.

14 They bandage the wounds of my people

as if they were not very deep.

‘Peace, peace,’ they say.

But there isn’t any peace.

15 Are they ashamed of their hateful actions?

No. They do not feel any shame at all.

They do not even know how to blush.

So they will fall like others who have already fallen.

They will be brought down when I punish them,”

says the Lord.

16 The Lord tells the people of Judah,

“Stand where the roads cross, and look around.

Ask where the old paths are.

Ask for the good path, and walk on it.

Then your hearts will find rest in me.

But you said, ‘We won’t walk on it.’

17 I appointed prophets to warn you. I said,

‘Listen to the sound of the trumpets!’

But you said, ‘We won’t listen.’

13 “For from the least of them even to the greatest of them,

Everyone is greedy for gain,

And from the prophet even to the priest

Everyone deals falsely.

14 “They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially,

Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’

But there is no peace.

15 “Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done?

They were not even ashamed at all;

They did not even know how to blush.

Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

At the time that I punish them,

They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.

16 Thus says the Lord,

“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,

Where the good way is, and walk in it;

And you will find rest for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

17 “And I set watchmen over you, saying,

‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’

But they said, ‘We will not listen.’