Jeremiah 5
The LORD commanded Jeremiah to search the streets of Jerusalem for one man who executes judgment and seeks truth, and He would pardon the city. But the people had sworn falsely, refused correction, and broken the yoke. Their prophets prophesied lies and the priests ruled by their own power, and Jeremiah asked what would happen in the end.
| v | King James Version | Modern English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 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. | "Roam through the streets of Jerusalem. Look around and take note. Search the public squares. See if You can find one person who acts justly and seeks truth. If You find one, I will forgive this city. |
| 2 | And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely. | Even when they say, 'As the LORD lives,' they are swearing 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. | LORD, do Your eyes not look for truth? 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 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. | I thought, "These are only the poor and foolish — they do not know the way of the LORD or the law 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. | So I went to the leaders and spoke to them. They surely know the way of the LORD and the law of their God. But these also had broken the yoke together and snapped off the chains. |
| 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. | Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the desert will destroy them. A leopard will lurk near their cities. Everyone who comes out will be torn to pieces, because their transgressions are many and their rebellion is great. |
| 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. | "How shall I pardon You for this? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, they 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. | They are like well-fed, lusty stallions, each one neighing for another man'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? | Should I not punish them for this?" says the LORD. "Should I not take revenge on a nation like 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. | Go through her vineyards and destroy them, but do not make a full end. Strip away her branches, for they do not belong to the LORD. |
| 11 | For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD. | The house of Israel and the house of Judah have been completely unfaithful to Me," says 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: | They have lied about the LORD, saying, "He will do nothing. No disaster will come upon us. We will not see sword or famine. |
| 13 | And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. | The prophets are just hot air — the word of God is not in them. Let what they predict happen to them." |
| 14 | Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye have spoken this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. | Therefore this is what the LORD God of hosts says: "Because You have spoken this, I will make My words fire in Your mouth, and this people will be the wood it consumes. |
| 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. | I am bringing a distant nation against You, Israel," says the LORD. "It is an enduring nation, an ancient nation, whose language You do not know and whose speech You do not understand. |
| 16 | Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. | Their quivers are like open graves. They are all mighty warriors. |
| 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 fortified cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. | They will devour Your harvest and Your food — what Your sons and daughters should have eaten. They will devour Your flocks and Your herds. They will devour Your vines and Your fig trees. With the sword they will destroy Your fortified cities in which You trust. |
| 18 | Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you. | "Yet even in those days," says the LORD, "I will not destroy You completely. |
| 19 | And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doth 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. | When You ask, 'Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?' you will tell them: 'Just as You abandoned the LORD and served foreign gods in Your own land, so You will serve foreigners in a land that is not Your own.'" |
| 20 | Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, | "Announce this to the house of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah: |
| 21 | Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: | Listen to this, you foolish and senseless people — you who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear. |
| 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? | Do You not fear Me?" says the LORD. "Do You not tremble before Me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea — a permanent limit it cannot cross. The waves may toss but they cannot prevail. They may roar but they cannot pass over it. |
| 23 | But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. | But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart. They have turned away and left. |
| 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. | They do not say in their hearts, 'Let us fear the LORD our God, Who gives the autumn and spring rains in season and keeps for us the appointed weeks of harvest.' |
| 25 | Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good from you. | Your iniquities have turned these blessings away. Your sins have kept 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. | Among My people are wicked men who lurk like hunters crouching in ambush. They set traps to catch people. |
| 27 | As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. | Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of dishonest gain. They have become great and grown 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. | They have grown fat and sleek. They have surpassed all the limits of evil. They do not defend the rights of the fatherless or plead the case of the needy. |
| 29 | Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? | "Should I not punish them for this?" says the LORD. "Should I not take revenge on a nation like this? |
| 30 | A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; | Something horrible and shocking has happened in this 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? | The prophets prophesy lies. The priests rule by their own authority. And My people love it this way. But what will You do at the end of it all?" |