Jeremiah 5
Expanded Bible
No One Is Right
5 The Lord says, “·Walk [or Run] up and down the streets of Jerusalem.
Look around and ·discover [know] these things.
Search the public squares of the city.
If you can find one person who does ·honest [just] things,
who ·searches for the truth [or seeks to be faithful],
I will forgive this city.
2 Although the people say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’
they ·don’t really mean it [L swear/take an oath falsely].”
3 Lord, ·don’t you [L do your eyes] look for ·truth [faithfulness] in people?
You struck ·the people of Judah [L them],
but they didn’t feel any ·pain [anguish].
You ·crushed [consumed] them,
but they refused to ·learn what is right [L take your correction/instruction].
·They became more stubborn [L Their faces became harder] than a rock;
they refused to ·turn back to God [L return; repent].
4 But I thought,
“These are only the poor, ·foolish people [L they have no sense].
They ·have not learned [L do not know] the ·way [path] of the Lord
and ·what their God wants them to do [L the ordinances/judgments of their God].
5 So I will go to the ·leaders [great; or rich]
and talk to them.
Surely they ·understand [L know] the ·way [path] of the Lord
and ·know what God wants them to do [L the ordinances/judgments of their God].”
But even ·the leaders [L they] had all joined together to break their yoke [C abandoning God];
they had snapped off their ropes [C rejecting their dependence on God; 2:20].
6 So a lion from the forest will ·attack [L strike] them.
A wolf from the desert will ·kill [destroy] them.
A leopard is ·waiting for [L watching] them near their towns.
It will ·tear to pieces [make prey of] anyone who comes out of the city,
because the people of Judah have ·sinned [rebelled; transgressed] greatly.
·They have wandered away from the Lord many times [Their apostasies are great].
7 The Lord said, “·Tell me why I should [L How can I…?] forgive you.
Your children have ·left [abandoned; forsaken] me
and have ·made promises [L sworn] to those who are not gods at all [C idols].
I ·gave your children everything they needed [L satisfied/sated them],
but they still ·were like an unfaithful wife to me [committed adultery].
They ·spent much time in [frequented; trooped to] houses of prostitutes.
8 They are like well-fed horses filled with ·sexual desire [lust];
each one ·wants [L neighs after] another man’s wife [3:6–10].
9 Shouldn’t I punish them [C the people of Judah] for doing these things?” says the Lord.
“Shouldn’t I ·give a nation such as this the punishment [L get revenge on a nation as] it deserves?
10 “Go along and ·cut down [destroy] her [C Judah’s] ·vineyards [rows of vines; Is. 5:1–7],
but do not ·completely destroy them [L make a complete end; 4:27].
Cut off its branches [C representing the people],
because they do not belong to the Lord.
11 The ·families [L houses] of Israel and Judah
have been completely ·unfaithful [traitorous; treasonous] to me,” says the Lord.
12 Those people have lied about the Lord
and said, “He will not do anything to us!
·Nothing bad [No evil/trouble/harm] will happen to us!
We will never see ·war [L sword] or ·hunger [famine]!
13 The prophets are wind [C empty];
the word [C of God] is not in them.
Let the bad things they say happen to them.”
14 So this is what the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:
“Because they have spoken this word [C that God would not punish them].
the words I ·give you [L place in your mouth] will be like fire,
and these people will be like wood that it ·burns up [consumes; devours].
15 Listen, ·family [L house] of Israel,” says the Lord,
“I will soon bring a nation from far away ·to attack [L against] you.
It is an ·old [ancient] nation that has ·lasted [endured] a long time [C Babylon].
·The people there speak a language [Its language/L tongue] you do not know [C Aramaic or Akkadian];
you cannot ·understand [L hear] what they say.
16 Their ·arrows bring death [L quiver is like an open grave].
All their people are strong warriors.
17 They will ·eat [consume; devour] your crops and your food.
They will ·eat [consume; devour] your sons and daughters.
They will ·eat [consume; devour] your flocks and herds.
They will ·eat [consume; devour] your ·grapes [L vines] and ·figs [L fig trees].
They will destroy with their swords
the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities you ·trust [have confidence in].
18 “Yet even ·then [L in those days],” says the Lord, “I will not ·destroy you completely [L make a complete end; v. 10; 4:27]. 19 When the people [C of Judah] ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us [C his acts of judgment]?’ then give them this answer: ‘You have ·left [abandoned; forsaken] the Lord and served foreign gods [C idols] in your own land. So now you will serve ·foreigners [L strangers] in a land that does not belong to you.’
20 “·Announce this message [Proclaim this] to the ·family [L house] of Jacob [C Israel],
and ·tell it to the nation of [L make this heard in] Judah:
21 Hear this message, you foolish people who have no ·sense [L heart].
They have eyes, but they don’t really see.
They have ears, but they don’t really listen [C God’s people are like the idols they worship; Ps. 115:6; 135:17].
22 ·Surely you are afraid of me [L Do you not fear me?],” says the Lord.
“·You should shake with fear [L Do you not tremble…?] in my presence.
I am the one who ·made the beaches [L set sand] to be a border for the sea,
a ·border [limit] the water can never go past.
·The waves may pound the beach [L They may rise and fall], but they can’t win over it.
·They [L The waves] may roar, but they cannot go beyond it.
23 But this people [C of Judah] ·are stubborn and have turned against me [L have a stubborn and rebellious heart].
They have turned aside and gone away from me.
24 They do not say ·to themselves [L in their hearts],
‘We should fear the Lord our God [Prov. 1:7],
who gives us ·autumn [early] and ·spring [late] rains in their seasons,
who ·makes sure we have the harvest at the right time [brings us unfailingly the weeks appointed for harvests].’
25 But your ·evil [iniquities] has kept these [C rain and harvest] away.
Your sins have kept you from enjoying good things.
26 There ·are wicked men [L wicked are found] among my people.
Like ·those who make nets for catching birds [fowlers],
they set their traps to catch people.
27 Like cages full of birds,
their houses are full of ·lies [deceit].
They have become ·powerful [great] and rich.
28 They have grown fat and sleek.
There is no end to the evil things they do.
They do not judge justly.
They won’t plead the case of the orphan [Ex. 22:22–24; Deut. 10:18; 24:17, 19–21; 27:19]
or help the poor be judged fairly [Ex. 22:25–27; 23:6, 11; Deut. 15:11].
29 Shouldn’t I punish them [C the people of Judah] for doing these things?” says the Lord.
“Shouldn’t I ·give a nation such as this the punishment [L get revenge on a nation as] it deserves [v. 9]?
30 “A terrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land [C of Judah]:
31 The prophets ·speak lies [L prophesy falsely; Deut. 18:14–22],
and the priests ·take power [rule] ·into their own hands [or by their hand/control],
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do when the end comes?
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?
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.