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Jeremiah 5
Living Bible
Jeremiah 5
Living Bible
5 Run up and down through every street in all Jerusalem; search high and low and see if you can find even one person who is fair and honest! Search every square, and if you find just one, I’ll not destroy the city! 2 Even under oath, they all lie.
3 O Lord, you are looking for faithfulness. You have tried to get them to be honest, for you have punished them, but they won’t change! You have destroyed them, but they refuse to turn from their sins. They are determined, with faces hard as rock, not to repent.
4 Then I said, “But what can we expect from the poor and ignorant? They don’t know the ways of God. How can they obey him?”
5 I will go now to their leaders, the men of importance, and speak to them, for they know the ways of the Lord and the judgment that follows sin. But they too had utterly rejected their God.
6 So I will send upon them the wild fury of the “lion from the forest”; the “desert wolves” shall pounce upon them, and a “leopard” shall lurk around their cities so that all who go out shall be torn apart. For their sins are very many; their rebellion against me is great.
7 How can I pardon you? For even your children have turned away and worship gods that are not gods at all. I fed my people until they were fully satisfied, and their thanks was to commit adultery wholesale and to gang up at the city’s brothels. 8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor’s mate. 9 Shall I not punish them for this? Shall I not send my vengeance on such a nation as this? 10 Go down the rows of the vineyards and destroy them! But leave a scattered few to live. Strip the branches from each vine, for they are not the Lord’s.
11 For the people of Israel and Judah are full of treachery against me, says the Lord. 12 They have lied and said, “He won’t bother us! No evil will come upon us! There will be neither famine nor war! 13 God’s prophets,” they say, “are windbags full of words with no divine authority. Their claims of doom will fall upon themselves, not us!”
14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Hosts says to his prophets: Because of talk like this, I’ll take your words and prophecies and turn them into raging fire and burn up these people like kindling wood. 15 See, I will bring a distant nation against you, O Israel, says the Lord. It is a mighty nation, an ancient nation[a] whose language you don’t understand. 16 Their weapons are deadly; the men are all mighty. 17 And they shall eat your harvest and your children’s bread, your flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, yes, and your grapes and figs; and they shall sack your walled cities that you think are safe.
18 But I will not completely blot you out. So says the Lord.
19 And when your people ask, “Why is it that the Lord is doing this to us?” then you shall say, “You rejected him and gave yourselves to other gods while in your land; now you must be slaves to foreigners in their lands.”
20 Make this announcement to Judah and to Israel:
21 Listen, O foolish, senseless people—you with the eyes that do not see and the ears that do not listen— 22 have you no respect at all for me? the Lord God asks. How can it be that you don’t even tremble in my presence? I set the shorelines of the world by perpetual decrees, so that the oceans, though they toss and roar, can never pass those bounds. Isn’t such a God to be feared and worshiped?
23-24 But my people have rebellious hearts; they have turned against me and gone off into idolatry. Though I am the one who gives them rain each year in spring and fall and sends the harvesttimes, yet they have no respect or fear for me. 25 And so I have taken away these wondrous blessings from them. This sin has robbed them of all of these good things.
26 Among my people are wicked men who lurk for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind. They set their traps for men. 27 Like a coop full of chickens their homes are full of evil plots. And the result? Now they are great and rich, 28 they are well fed and well groomed, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. They refuse justice to orphans and the rights of the poor. 29 Should I sit back and act as though nothing is going on? the Lord God asks. Shouldn’t I punish a nation such as this?
30 A horrible thing has happened in this land— 31 the priests are ruled by false prophets, and my people like it so! But your doom is certain.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 5:15 an ancient nation. The kingdom of Babylonia, being revived in Jeremiah’s time (around 626 B.C.) had a long and illustrious history. The old Babylonian Empire lasted from about 1900 B.C.–1550 B.C. (the days of the Hebrew patriarchs), and earlier kingdoms had ruled on Babylonian soil as early as 3000 B.C.
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?
Jeremiah 5
King James Version
Jeremiah 5
King James Version
5 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
2 And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely.
3 O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
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.
7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.
8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife.
9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
10 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's.
11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord.
12 They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
13 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
14 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.
17 And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.
18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you.
19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not your's.
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,
21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
22 Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.
24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.
26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
30 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;
31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
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