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 doeth justly, that seeketh truth; and I will pardon her.

1Run back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem, look around and take note. Search her public squares to see if you can find even one person who acts justly and seeks the truth; if you can, I will forgive the city.

2And though they say, As Jehovah liveth; surely they swear falsely.

2Even though they say, 'As the LORD lives,' they are actually swearing false oaths.

3O Jehovah, do not thine eyes look upon truth? thou hast stricken them, but they were 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.

3O LORD, do you not look for honesty? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused to be corrected. They made their faces harder than rock and refused to turn back to you.

4Then I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jehovah, nor the law of their God:

4Then I thought, 'These are just the poor and ignorant; they are foolish because they do not know the way of the LORD or the requirements of their God.'

5I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they know the way of Jehovah, and the law of their God. But these with one accord have broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.

5'I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the LORD and the laws of their God.' But they, too, had all broken off the yoke and torn off the chains of restraint.

6Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the evenings shall destroy them, a leopard shall watch against their cities; every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces; because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.

6Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will destroy them, and a leopard will lie in wait near their cities. Anyone who ventures out will be torn to pieces, because their rebellions are many and their sins are numerous.

7How can I pardon thee? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods. When I had fed them to the full, they committed adultery, and assembled themselves in troops at the harlots’ houses;

7'Why should I forgive you? Your children have abandoned me and sworn by gods that are not gods at all. I gave them everything they needed, yet they committed adultery and crowded into the houses of prostitutes.'

8they were as fed horses roaming at large; every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife.

8'They are like well-fed, lustful horses, each one neighing for his neighbor’s wife.'

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

9'Should I not punish them for this?' asks the LORD. 'Should I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?'

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

10'Go through her vineyards and destroy them, but do not wipe them out completely. Strip away her branches, for these people do not belong to the LORD.'

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

11'The people of Israel and the people of Judah have been completely unfaithful to me,' declares the LORD.

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

12They have lied about the LORD and said, 'He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see war or hunger.'

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

13'The prophets are nothing but wind; the word of God is not in them. Let their own predictions happen to them!'

14Wherefore thus saith Jehovah, the 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.

14Therefore, this is what the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies says: 'Because the people have said these things, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and this people the wood it consumes.'

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

15'Look, I am bringing a distant nation against you, O house of Israel,' declares the LORD. 'It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a people whose language you do not know and whose speech you cannot understand.'

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

16'Their quivers are like open graves; they are all mighty warriors.'

17And they shall eat up thy harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat; they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds; they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees; they shall beat down thy fortified cities, wherein thou trustest, with the sword.

17'They will devour your harvests and your food; they will finish off your sons and daughters. They will eat up your flocks and herds; they will consume your grapes and figs. With their swords, they will destroy the fortified cities you trust in.'

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

18'Yet even in those days,' declares the LORD, 'I will not completely destroy you.'

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

19'And when the people ask, "Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?" you shall tell them, "Just as you abandoned me to serve foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land that is not your own."'

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

20'Announce this to the descendants of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah:'

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

21'Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.'

22Fear ye not me? saith Jehovah: will ye not tremble at my presence, who 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.

22'Do you not fear me?' asks the LORD. 'Should you not tremble in my presence? I placed the sand as a boundary for the ocean, a permanent limit it cannot pass. Though the waves toss and roar, they cannot cross it.'

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

23'But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone their own way.'

24Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear Jehovah our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in its season; that preserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.

24'They do not say to themselves, "Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives us the autumn and spring rains in their season, and who ensures we have the harvest weeks at the right time."'

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

25'Your wrongdoings have taken these blessings away; your sins have kept good things from you.'

26For among my people are found wicked men: they watch, as fowlers lie in wait; they set a trap, they catch men.

26'Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait like hunters hiding in a blind; they set traps to catch people.'

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

27'Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit. This is how they have become powerful and rich.'

28They are waxed fat, they shine: yea, they overpass in deeds of wickedness; they plead not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.

28'They have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit. They do not demand justice for the orphan to help them succeed, and they do not defend the rights of the poor.'

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

29'Should I not punish them for these things?' asks the LORD. 'Should I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?'

30A wonderful and horrible thing is come to pass in the land:

30'A horrible and shocking thing has happened 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?

31'The prophets speak lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do when the end comes?'