5 The Lord said,
‘Run along all the streets of Jerusalem.
Look carefully all around you.
Look in all the public places of the city.
Try to find one person who is honest.
Try to find one person who wants to know the truth.
If you find one person like that,
I will forgive all the people in the city.
2 They make promises and they say,
“I will do it, as surely as the Lord lives.”
But what they say is all lies.’
3 Lord , you want people to be honest and true.
You have punished your people,
but they did not feel any pain.
You nearly destroyed them,
but they still refuse to change.
Their minds have become as hard as rock.
They refuse to turn back to you.
4 I thought, ‘These are poor, foolish people.
They do not understand what the Lord wants them to do.
They do not know his commands.
5 So I will go to speak to the leaders.
They will surely understand what the Lord wants.
They will know his commands.’
But all of them have turned against the Lord too.
They refuse to obey his authority.
6 So lions will come out of the forest to attack them.
Wolves will come from the desert to destroy them.
Leopards will wait outside their cities.
They will kill anyone who goes outside. [ a ]
That will happen because the people have turned against the Lord .
They have done many bad things.
7 The Lord said,
‘Jerusalem, I have to punish you.
Your people have turned away from me.
They have served gods that are not true gods.
I gave them everything that they needed.
But they left me, like a wife who leaves her husband.
The men hurry to the houses of prostitutes.
8 They are like strong male horses.
They cannot wait to have sex with another man's wife.’
9 The Lord says this:
‘I must punish them for what they have done.
I will pay back this wicked nation for their sins.’
10 The Lord says this to Judah's enemies:
‘March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah,
and destroy the vines.
But do not destroy them completely.
Pull the branches from the trees.
Do this, because these people do not belong to the Lord . [ b ]
11 The people of Israel and Judah have turned against me.
12 They have told lies about the Lord .
They have said, “He will not punish us!
No trouble will come to us.
There will be no war. There will be no famine.
13 The prophets speak empty words.
They do not speak the Lord 's messages.
The troubles that they talk about should happen to them, not us!” ’
14 Because of that, the Lord God Almighty said to me,
‘That is what the people are saying.
So I will give you a strong message to speak to them.
It will be like fire that comes out of your mouth.
And the people will burn like wood in that fire.’
15 The Lord says this:
‘Listen to me, you people of Israel.
I will bring an army to attack you.
They will come from a nation that is far away.
It is a strong nation that started long ago.
You do not know their language.
You cannot understand what they say.
16 They are all brave soldiers.
They shoot arrows that will kill you.
17 They will eat all the crops in your fields
and the food that you have stored.
They will take your sons and your daughters for themselves.
They will kill your sheep and your cows for food.
They will eat all your grapes and your figs.
They will attack your strong cities
where you thought you would be safe.
Their soldiers will knock down the walls.’
18 But the Lord says this: ‘Even at that time, I will not destroy you completely. 19 So, Jeremiah, the people may ask you, “Why has the Lord our God done this to us?” Then tell them, “It is because you have turned away from me. You have chosen to serve foreign gods in your own land. So now you will have to serve foreign people and their gods in a land that is not your own land.”
20 Tell this message to the descendants of Jacob.
Shout it everywhere in Judah.
21 Tell them, “Hear this message,
you foolish and stupid people.
You have eyes, but you do not see properly.
You have ears, but you do not hear properly.” ’
22 The Lord says, ‘You should respect me and obey me.
You should shake with fear when you come to me.
I made the sand as an edge for the sea.
It is like a wall that the sea cannot cross.
The sea's waves may attack the shore,
but it cannot go further than that edge.
23 But these people do not obey me, as the waves do.
They have turned away from me.
They have chosen to go their own way.
24 They do not say to themselves,
“We should respect the Lord our God.
He sends rain for us in the autumn and in the spring.
He makes sure that we have a harvest from our crops.”
25 But instead, your sins have stopped these good things.
You have not received God's blessing.
26 There are wicked men among my people.
They like to catch people and rob them.
They hide like someone who wants to catch a bird.
They put out their traps to kill what they want.
27 Their houses are full of valuable things,
like a trap that is full of beautiful birds.
They have cheated people
and they have robbed them.
That is how they have become rich and powerful.
28 They are very fat and healthy.
They will never stop doing evil things.
They do not help poor people or children who have no family.
They do not try to get justice for them.’
29 The Lord says,
‘I will certainly punish them for what they have done.
I will pay back this wicked nation for their sins.
30 A terrible thing is happening in the land of Judah.
31 The prophets speak messages that are not true.
The priests make their own rules for people to obey.
And my people love to live like this!
But when all this comes to an end,
my people will be helpless!’
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?
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?
5 “ ( A ) Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look and take notice.
And seek in her public squares,
If you can ( B ) find a person,
( C ) If there is one who does justice, who seeks honesty,
Then I will forgive [ a ] her.
2 And ( D ) although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’
Certainly they swear falsely.”
3 Lord , do ( E ) Your eyes not look for honesty?
You have ( F ) struck them,
But they did not [ b ] weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they ( G ) refused to accept discipline.
They have ( H ) made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent.
4 Then I said, “They are only the poor,
They are foolish;
For they ( I ) do not know the way of the Lord
Or the judgment of their God.
5 I will go to the great
And speak to them,
For ( J ) they know the way of the Lord
And the judgment of their God.”
But together they too have ( K ) broken the yoke
And burst the restraints.
6 Therefore ( L ) a lion from the forest will kill them,
A ( M ) wolf of the deserts will destroy them,
A ( N ) leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,
Because their ( O ) wrongdoings are many,
Their apostasies are numerous.
7 “Why should I forgive you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And ( P ) sworn by those who are ( Q ) not gods.
When I had fed them to the full,
They ( R ) committed adultery
And stayed at the prostitute’s house.
8 They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing at his ( S ) neighbor’s wife.
9 Shall I not punish them for these things ?” declares the Lord ,
“And ( T ) shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?
10 “Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
But do not execute a complete destruction;
Strip away her branches,
For they are not the Lord ’ s .
11 For the ( U ) house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares the Lord .
12 They have ( V ) lied about the Lord
And said, “ [ c ] ( W ) Not He;
Misfortune will ( X ) not come upon us,
( Y ) Nor will we see sword or famine.
13 The ( Z ) prophets are as wind,
And the word is not in them.
So it will be done to them!”
14 Therefore, this is what the Lord , the God of armies says:
“Because you have spoken this word,
Behold, I am ( AA ) making My words fire in your mouth,
And this people wood, and it will consume them.
15 Behold, I am ( AB ) bringing a nation against you from far away, you house of Israel,” declares the Lord .
“It is an enduring nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose ( AC ) language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
16 Their ( AD ) quiver is like an ( AE ) open grave,
All of them are warriors.
17 They will ( AF ) devour your harvest and your food;
They will devour your sons and your daughters;
They will devour your flocks and your herds;
They will devour your ( AG ) vines and your fig trees;
They will demolish your ( AH ) fortified cities, in which you trust, with the sword.
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord , “I will not make a complete destruction of you. 19 And it shall come about ( AI ) when [ d ] they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Just as you have abandoned Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will ( AJ ) serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21 ‘Now hear this, you foolish and [ e ] senseless people,
Who have ( AK ) eyes but do not see,
Who have ears but do not hear.
22 Do you not ( AL ) fear Me?’ declares the Lord .
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have ( AM ) placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal limit, and it will not cross over it.
Though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, they will not cross over it.
23 But this people has a ( AN ) stubborn and rebellious heart;
They have turned aside and departed.
24 They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
Who ( AO ) gives rain in its season,
Both ( AP ) the autumn rain and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The ( AQ ) appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 Your ( AR ) wrongdoings have turned these away,
And your sins have kept good away from you.
26 For wicked people are found among My people,
They ( AS ) watch like fowlers [ f ] lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch people.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of ( AT ) deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
28 They are ( AU ) fat, they are sleek,
They also [ g ] excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the [ h ] ( AV ) orphan, so that they may be successful;
And they do not [ i ] defend the rights of the poor.
29 ( AW ) Shall I not punish them for these things ?’ declares the Lord ,
‘Or shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?’
30 “An appalling and ( AX ) horrible thing
Has happened in the land:
31 The ( AY ) prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule [ j ] on their own authority;
And My people ( AZ ) love it this way!
But what will you do [ k ] when the end comes?
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?
