Jeremiah 5

¹Run 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.

²And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely.

³O 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.

⁴Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God.

⁵I 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.

⁶Wherefore 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.

⁷How 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.

⁸They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife.

⁹Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

¹⁰Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord’s.

¹¹For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord.

¹²They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:

¹³And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.

¹⁴Wherefore 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.

¹⁵Lo, 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.

¹⁶Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.

¹⁷And 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.

¹⁸Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you.

¹⁹And 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 yours.

²⁰Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,

²¹Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:

²²Fear 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?

²³But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.

²⁴Neither 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.

²⁵Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.

²⁶For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.

²⁷As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.

²⁸They 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.

²⁹Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

³⁰A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;

³¹The 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?

Jeremiah 5

¹Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broadways thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be [any] that doeth justice, that seeketh fidelity; and I will pardon it.

²And if they say, [As] Jehovah liveth! surely they swear falsely.

³Jehovah, are not thine eyes upon fidelity? Thou hast smitten them, but they are not sore; thou hast consumed them, they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

⁴And I said, Surely these are the wretched ones, they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jehovah, the judgment of theirGod.

⁵I will go unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they know the way of Jehovah, the judgment of theirGod; but these have altogether broken the yoke, have burst the bonds.

⁶Therefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the evenings shall waste them; the leopard lurketh against their cities, every one that goeth out thence is torn in pieces: for their transgressions are multiplied, their backslidings are increased.

⁷Wherefore should I pardon thee? Thy children have forsaken me, and swear by them that are notGod. I have satiated them, and they have committed adultery, and they troop to the harlots' house.

⁸[As] well fed horses, they roam about, every one neigheth after his neighbour's wife.

⁹Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah, and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

¹⁰Go up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end; take away her battlements, for they are not Jehovah's.

¹¹For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith Jehovah.

¹²They have denied Jehovah, and say, He is not; and evil shall not come upon us, nor shall we see sword nor famine;

¹³and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.

¹⁴Therefore thus saith Jehovah, theGod 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.

¹⁵Behold, I bring a nation upon you from afar, house of Israel, saith Jehovah: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest thou what they say.

¹⁶Their quiver is as an open sepulchre; they are all mighty men.

¹⁷And they shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread, they shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters, they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds, they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees; they shall destroy with the sword thy strong cities, wherein thou trustedst.

¹⁸Nevertheless in those days, saith Jehovah, I will not make a full end with you.

¹⁹And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore hath Jehovah ourGod done all these things unto us? then shalt thou say to them, As ye have forsaken me, and served strangegods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

²⁰Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,

²¹Hear now this, O foolish and heartless people, who have eyes and see not; who have ears, and hear not.

²²Will ye not fear me? saith Jehovah. Will ye not tremble at my presence, who have set the sand a bound for the sea by a perpetual decree, and it shall not pass it? and its waves toss themselves, but they do not prevail; and they roar, yet can they not pass over it?

²³But this people hath a stubborn and a rebellious heart; they have turned aside and are gone.

²⁴And they say not in their heart, Let us now fear Jehovah ourGod, that giveth rain, both the early and the latter, in its season; who preserveth unto us the appointed weeks of harvest.

²⁵Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden from you what is good.

²⁶For among my people are found wicked [men]: they lay wait, as fowlers stoop down; they set a trap, they catch men.

²⁷As a cage full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and have enriched themselves.

²⁸They are become fat, they shine, yea, they surpass in deeds of wickedness; they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, and they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not adjudge.

²⁹Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

³⁰An appalling and horrible thing is committed in the land:

³¹the prophets prophesy falsehood, and the priests rule by their means; and my people love [to have it] so. But what will ye do in the end thereof?