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Jeremiah 5
New American Standard Bible 1995
Jeremiah 5
New American Standard Bible 1995
Jerusalem’s Godlessness
5 “(A)Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look now and take note.
And seek in her open squares,
If you can (B)find a man,
(C)If there is one who does justice, who seeks [a]truth,
Then I will pardon her.
2 “And (D)although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’
Surely they swear falsely.”
3 O Lord, do not (E)Your eyes look for [b]truth?
You have (F)smitten them,
But they did not [c]weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they (G)refused to take correction.
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 ordinance of their God.
5 “I will go to the great
And will speak to them,
For (J)they know the way of the Lord
And the ordinance of their God.”
But they too, with one accord, have (K)broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
6 Therefore (L)a lion from the forest will slay 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)transgressions are many,
Their apostasies are numerous.
7 “Why should I pardon 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 trooped to the harlot’s house.
8 “They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing after his (S)neighbor’s wife.
9 “Shall I not punish [d]these people,” declares the Lord,
“And on a nation such as this
(T)Shall I not avenge Myself?
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, “[e](W)Not He;
Misfortune will (X)not come on us,
And we (Y)will not see sword or famine.
13 “The (Z)prophets are as wind,
And the word is not in them.
Thus it will be done to them!”
Judgment Proclaimed
14 Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts,
“Because you have spoken this word,
Behold, I am (AA)making My words in your mouth fire
And this people wood, and it will consume them.
15 “Behold, I am (AB)bringing a nation against you from afar, O 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 mighty men.
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 with the sword your (AH)fortified cities in which you trust.
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19 It shall come about (AI)when [f]they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken 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, O foolish and [g]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 decree, so it cannot cross over it.
Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot 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)iniquities have turned these away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
26 ‘For wicked men are found among My people,
They (AS)watch like fowlers [h]lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch men.
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 [i]excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the [j](AV)orphan, that they may prosper;
And they do not [k]defend the rights of the poor.
29 ‘(AW)Shall I not punish [l]these people?’ declares the Lord,
‘On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?’
30 “An appalling and (AX)horrible thing
Has happened in the land:
31 The (AY)prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule [m]on their own authority;
And My people (AZ)love it so!
But what will you do at the end of it?
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 5:1 Lit faithfulness
- Jeremiah 5:3 Lit faithfulness
- Jeremiah 5:3 Or become sick
- Jeremiah 5:9 Or for these things
- Jeremiah 5:12 Lit He is not
- Jeremiah 5:19 Or you
- Jeremiah 5:21 Lit without heart
- Jeremiah 5:26 Perhaps, crouching down
- Jeremiah 5:28 Lit pass over, or, overlook deeds
- Jeremiah 5:28 Or fatherless
- Jeremiah 5:28 Lit judge
- Jeremiah 5:29 Or for these things
- Jeremiah 5:31 Lit over their own hands
Jeremiah 5
New International Version
Jeremiah 5
New International Version
Not One Is Upright
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?
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.