Jeremiah 5–6

Not One Is Upright

5“Go up and down^s the streets of Jerusalem,

look around and consider,^t

search through her squares.

If you can find but one person^u

who deals honestly^v and seeks the truth,

I will forgive^w this city.

²Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’^x

still they are swearing falsely.^y”

³Lord, do not your eyes^z look for truth?

You struck^a them, but they felt no pain;

you crushed them, but they refused correction.^b

They made their faces harder than stone^c

and refused to repent.^d

⁴I thought, “These are only the poor;

they are foolish,^e

for they do not know^f the way of the Lord,

the requirements of their God.

⁵So I will go to the leaders^g

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

⁶Therefore a lion from the forestⁱ will attack them,

a wolf from the desert will ravage^j them,

a leopard^k 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

⁷“Why should I forgive you?

Your children have forsaken me

and sworn^m by gods that are not gods.ⁿ

I supplied all their needs,

yet they committed adultery^o

and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.^p

⁸They are well-fed, lusty stallions,

each neighing for another man’s wife.^q

⁹Should I not punish them for this?”^r

declares the Lord.

“Should I not avenge^s 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.

¹¹The people of Israel and the people of Judah

have been utterly unfaithful^u to me,”

declares the Lord.

¹²They have lied^v about the Lord;

they said, “He will do nothing!

No harm will come to us;^w

we will never see sword or famine.^x

¹³The prophets^y are but wind^z

and the word is not in them;

so let what they say be done to them.”

¹⁴Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says:

“Because the people have spoken these words,

I will make my words in your mouth^a a fire^b

and these people the wood it consumes.^c

¹⁵People of Israel,” declares the Lord,

“I am bringing a distant nation^d against you—

an ancient and enduring nation,

a people whose language^e you do not know,

whose speech you do not understand.

¹⁶Their quivers^f are like an open grave;

all of them are mighty warriors.

¹⁷They will devour^g your harvests and food,

devour^h your sons and daughters;

they will devourⁱ your flocks and herds,

devour your vines and fig trees.^j

With the sword^k they will destroy

the fortified cities^l in which you trust.^m

¹⁸“Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not destroyⁿ you completely. ¹⁹And 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 gods^p in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners^q in a land not your own.’

²⁰“Announce this to the descendants of Jacob

and proclaim^r it in Judah:

²¹Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,^s

who have eyes^t but do not see,

who have ears but do not hear:^u

²²Should you not fear^v me?” declares the Lord.

“Should you not tremble^w 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.

²³But these people have stubborn and rebellious^z hearts;

they have turned aside^a and gone away.

²⁴They do not say to themselves,

‘Let us fear^b the Lord our God,

who gives autumn and spring rains^c in season,

who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’^d

²⁵Your wrongdoings have kept these away;

your sins have deprived you of good.^e

²⁶“Among my people are the wicked^f

who lie in wait^g like men who snare birds

and like those who set traps^h to catch people.

²⁷Like cages full of birds,

their houses are full of deceit;ⁱ

they have become rich^j and powerful

²⁸and have grown fat^k 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

²⁹Should I not punish them for this?”

declares the Lord.

“Should I not avengeⁿ myself

on such a nation as this?

³⁰“A horrible^o and shocking thing

has happened in the land:

³¹The prophets prophesy lies,^p

the priests^q rule by their own authority,

and my people love it this way.

But what will you do in the end?^r

Jerusalem Under Siege

6“Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!

Flee from Jerusalem!

Sound the trumpet^s in Tekoa!^t

Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!^u

For disaster looms out of the north,^v

even terrible destruction.

²I will destroy Daughter Zion,^w

so beautiful and delicate.^x

³Shepherds^y with their flocks will come against her;

they will pitch their tents around^z 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.

⁵So arise, let us attack at night

and destroy her fortresses!”

⁶This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Cut down the trees^b

and build siege ramps^c against Jerusalem.

This city must be punished;

it is filled with oppression.^d

⁷As a well pours out its water,

so she pours out her wickedness.

Violence^e and destruction^f resound in her;

her sickness and wounds are ever before me.

⁸Take warning, Jerusalem,

or I will turn away^g from you

and make your land desolate

so no one can live in it.”

⁹This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Let them glean the remnant^h of Israel

as thoroughly as a vine;

pass your hand over the branches again,

like one gathering grapes.”

¹⁰To whom can I speak and give warning?

Who will listenⁱ to me?

Their ears are closed^aj

so they cannot hear.^k

The word^l of the Lord is offensive to them;

they find no pleasure in it.

¹¹But I am full of the wrath^m of the Lord,

and I cannot hold it in.ⁿ

“Pour it out on the children in the street

and on the young men^o gathered together;

both husband and wife will be caught in it,

and the old, those weighed down with years.^p

¹²Their houses will be turned over to others,^q

together with their fields and their wives,^r

when I stretch out my hand^s

against those who live in the land,”

declares the Lord.

¹³“From the least to the greatest,

all^t are greedy for gain;^u

prophets and priests alike,

all practice deceit.^v

¹⁴They dress the wound of my people

as though it were not serious.

‘Peace, peace,’ they say,

when there is no peace.^w

¹⁵Are 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 punish^y them,”

says the Lord.

¹⁶This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;

ask for the ancient paths,^z

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

and you will find rest^b for your souls.

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

¹⁷I appointed watchmen^c over you and said,

‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’^d

But you said, ‘We will not listen.’^e

¹⁸Therefore hear, you nations;

you who are witnesses,

observe what will happen to them.

¹⁹Hear, you earth:^f

I am bringing disaster^g on this people,

the fruit of their schemes,^h

because they have not listened to my wordsⁱ

and have rejected my law.^j

²⁰What do I care about incense from Sheba^k

or sweet calamus^l from a distant land?

Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;^m

your sacrificesⁿ do not please me.”^o

²¹Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“I will put obstacles before this people.

Parents and children alike will stumble^p over them;

neighbors and friends will perish.”

²²This 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

²³They are armed with bow and spear;

they are cruel and show no mercy.^s

They sound like the roaring sea^t

as they ride on their horses;^u

they come like men in battle formation

to attack you, Daughter Zion.^v”

²⁴We have heard reports about them,

and our hands hang limp.^w

Anguish^x has gripped us,

pain like that of a woman in labor.^y

²⁵Do 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

²⁶Put on sackcloth,^a my people,

and roll in ashes;^b

mourn with bitter wailing^c

as for an only son,^d

for suddenly the destroyer^e

will come upon us.

²⁷“I have made you a tester^f of metals

and my people the ore,

that you may observe

and test their ways.

²⁸They are all hardened rebels,^g

going about to slander.^h

They are bronze and iron;ⁱ

they all act corruptly.

²⁹The bellows blow fiercely

to burn away the lead with fire,

but the refining^j goes on in vain;

the wicked are not purged out.

³⁰They are called rejected silver,^k

because the Lord has rejected them.”^l