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Jeremiah 5
Easy-to-Read Version
Jeremiah 5
Easy-to-Read Version
The Evil of the People of Judah
5 The Lord says, “Walk the streets of Jerusalem. Look around and think about these things. Search the public squares of the city. See if you can find one good person, one who does honest things and who searches for the truth. If you find one good person, I will forgive Jerusalem. 2 The people make promises and say, ‘As the Lord lives.’ But they don’t really mean it!”
3 Lord, I know that you want people
to be loyal to you.
You hit the people of Judah,
but they did not feel any pain.
You destroyed them,
but they refused to learn their lesson.
They became very stubborn.
They refused to be sorry for the bad things they did.
4 But I said to myself,
“It must be only the poor who are so foolish.
They have not learned the way of the Lord.
They don’t know the teachings of their God.
5 So I will go to the leaders of Judah.
I will talk to them.
Surely the leaders know the way of the Lord.
Surely they know the law of their God.”
But the leaders had all joined together
to break away from serving God.
6 So a lion from the forest will attack them.
A wolf from the desert will kill them.
A leopard is hiding near their cities,
to tear to pieces anyone who comes out.
That’s because the people have sinned again and again.
Many times they have wandered away from God.
7 God says, “People of Judah, why should I forgive you?
Your children have abandoned me.
They made promises to idols that are not really gods!
I gave your children everything they needed,
but they were still unfaithful to me!
They spent their time with prostitutes.
8 They are like horses that have had plenty to eat and are ready to mate.
They are like a horse that is calling its neighbor’s wife.
9 Should I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?”
This message is from the Lord.
“You know I should punish a nation such as this.
I should give it the punishment it deserves.
10 “Go along the rows of Judah’s grapevines.
Cut down the vines. (But don’t completely destroy them.)
Cut off all their branches, because they don’t belong to the Lord.
11 The family of Israel and the family of Judah
have been unfaithful to me in every way.”
This message is from the Lord.
12 “Those people lied about the Lord.
They said, ‘He will not do anything to us.
Nothing bad will happen to us.
We will never see an army attack us.
We will never starve.’
13 The prophets are only empty wind.[a]
The word of God is not in them.[b]
Bad things will happen to them.”
14 The Lord God All-Powerful said these things:
“The people said I would not punish them.
So, Jeremiah, the words I give you will be like fire,
and these people will be like wood.
That fire will burn them up completely.”
15 Family of Israel, this message is from the Lord.
“I will soon bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It is an old nation;
it is an ancient nation.
The people of that nation speak a language that you do not know.
You cannot understand what they say.
16 Their arrow bags are like open graves.
All their men are strong soldiers.
17 They will eat all the crops that you gathered.
They will eat all your food.
They will destroy your sons and daughters.
They will eat your flocks and your herds.
They will eat your grapes and your figs.
They will destroy your strong cities with their swords.
They will destroy the strong cities that you trust in.”
18 This message is from the Lord: “But, Judah, when these terrible days come, I will not fully destroy you. 19 The people of Judah will ask you, ‘Jeremiah, why has the Lord our God done this bad thing to us?’ Give them this answer: ‘You people of Judah have left me, and you have served foreign idols in your own land. You did these things, so now you will serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.’
20 “Tell this message to the family of Jacob,
and tell it in the nation of Judah.
21 Hear this message,
you foolish people who have no sense.
You have eyes, but you don’t see!
You have ears, but you don’t listen!
22 Surely you are afraid of me.”
This message is from the Lord.
“You should shake with fear in front of me.
I am the one who made the sandy shores to hold back the sea.
I made it that way to keep the water in its place forever.
The waves may pound the beach, but they will not destroy it.
The waves may roar as they come in, but they cannot go beyond the beach.
23 But the people of Judah are stubborn.
They are always planning ways to turn against me.
They turned away from me and left me.
24 The people of Judah never say to themselves,
‘Let’s fear and respect the Lord our God.
He gives us autumn and spring rains at just the right time.
He makes sure that we have the harvest at just the right time.’
25 You don’t have these blessings because you have done wrong.
Your sins have kept these good things away from you.
26 There are evil men among my people.
They are like men who make nets for catching birds.[c]
They set their traps,
but they catch people instead of birds.
27 Their houses are full of lies,
like a cage full of birds.
Their lies made them rich and powerful.
28 They have grown big and fat from the evil they have done.
There is no end to the evil they do.
They will not plead the case of children who have no parents.
They will not help these orphans.
They will not let the poor be judged fairly.
29 Should I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?”
This message is from the Lord.
“You know I should punish a nation such as this.
I should give it the punishment it deserves.
30 “A terrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land of Judah.
31 The prophets tell lies.
The priests will not do what they were chosen to do,[d]
and my people love it this way!
But what will you people do when your punishment comes?
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 5:13 wind This is a wordplay. The Hebrew word for wind is like the word for spirit.
- Jeremiah 5:13 The word … them Literally, “And the ‘He said’ is not in them.”
- Jeremiah 5:26 men … birds The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
- Jeremiah 5:31 priests … were chosen to do The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
Jeremiah 5
New International Version
Jeremiah 5
New International Version
Not One Is Upright
5 “Go up and down(A) the streets of Jerusalem,
look around and consider,(B)
search through her squares.
If you can find but one person(C)
who deals honestly(D) and seeks the truth,
I will forgive(E) this city.
2 Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’(F)
still they are swearing falsely.(G)”
3 Lord, do not your eyes(H) look for truth?
You struck(I) them, but they felt no pain;
you crushed them, but they refused correction.(J)
They made their faces harder than stone(K)
and refused to repent.(L)
4 I thought, “These are only the poor;
they are foolish,(M)
for they do not know(N) the way of the Lord,
the requirements of their God.
5 So I will go to the leaders(O)
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.(P)
6 Therefore a lion from the forest(Q) will attack them,
a wolf from the desert will ravage(R) them,
a leopard(S) will lie in wait near their towns
to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
and their backslidings many.(T)
7 “Why should I forgive you?
Your children have forsaken me
and sworn(U) by gods that are not gods.(V)
I supplied all their needs,
yet they committed adultery(W)
and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.(X)
8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
each neighing for another man’s wife.(Y)
9 Should I not punish them for this?”(Z)
declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge(AA) myself
on such a nation as this?
10 “Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
but do not destroy them completely.(AB)
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 unfaithful(AC) to me,”
declares the Lord.
12 They have lied(AD) about the Lord;
they said, “He will do nothing!
No harm will come to us;(AE)
we will never see sword or famine.(AF)
13 The prophets(AG) are but wind(AH)
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 mouth(AI) a fire(AJ)
and these people the wood it consumes.(AK)
15 People of Israel,” declares the Lord,
“I am bringing a distant nation(AL) against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
a people whose language(AM) you do not know,
whose speech you do not understand.
16 Their quivers(AN) are like an open grave;
all of them are mighty warriors.
17 They will devour(AO) your harvests and food,
devour(AP) your sons and daughters;
they will devour(AQ) your flocks and herds,
devour your vines and fig trees.(AR)
With the sword(AS) they will destroy
the fortified cities(AT) in which you trust.(AU)
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not destroy(AV) you completely. 19 And when the people ask,(AW) ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods(AX) in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners(AY) in a land not your own.’
20 “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob
and proclaim(AZ) it in Judah:
21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,(BA)
who have eyes(BB) but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear:(BC)
22 Should you not fear(BD) me?” declares the Lord.
“Should you not tremble(BE) in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,(BF)
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar,(BG) but they cannot cross it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious(BH) hearts;
they have turned aside(BI) and gone away.
24 They do not say to themselves,
‘Let us fear(BJ) the Lord our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains(BK) in season,
who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’(BL)
25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
your sins have deprived you of good.(BM)
26 “Among my people are the wicked(BN)
who lie in wait(BO) like men who snare birds
and like those who set traps(BP) to catch people.
27 Like cages full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;(BQ)
they have become rich(BR) and powerful
28 and have grown fat(BS) and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
they do not seek justice.
They do not promote the case of the fatherless;(BT)
they do not defend the just cause of the poor.(BU)
29 Should I not punish them for this?”
declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge(BV) myself
on such a nation as this?
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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