Jeremiah 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.

1God says: Run up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look around. Search the open squares. See if you can find even one person who is fair and honest. If you find one, I will forgive this city.

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

2The people say, "As surely as the LORD lives." But they do not mean it. They are lying.

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.

3Jeremiah says: LORD, You are looking for truth. You punished the people, but they did not care. You wore them down, but they would not learn. Their faces are harder than stone. They will not turn back to You.

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.

4So I thought: These are just the poor people. They act foolish. They do not know God's ways or what God says is right.

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.

5I will go to the important people and talk to them. Surely they know God's ways and what God says is right. But they had all thrown off God's rules, like an ox breaking its harness.

Note"Broken the yoke" means throwing off God's rules. A yoke is the wooden bar that keeps oxen pulling together.

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.

6So a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the dry land will tear them apart. A leopard will wait near their towns. Anyone who steps outside will be torn to pieces. They have turned away from God again and again.

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.

7God says: Why should I forgive you? Your children have left Me. They made promises using gods that are not real gods. I gave them all they needed. Still they were unfaithful to their husbands and wives. They crowded into the houses of women who sold their bodies.

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

8They were like strong, well-fed horses. Each man wanted his neighbor'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?

9God says: Should I not punish them for this? Should I not pay back a nation like 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.

10Go up through her vineyards and tear them up. But do not finish them off completely. Strip off her branches, because they do not belong to the LORD.

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

11God says: The people of Israel and the people of Judah have not been true to Me at all.

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

12They have told lies about the LORD. They said, "He will not do anything. Nothing bad will happen 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.

13The prophets are only wind. God's word is not in them. Let what they say happen to them instead." A prophet is someone who tells people what God says.

NoteIn old English, "the prophets shall become wind" means the prophets are just empty talk.

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.

14So the LORD God of Heaven's Armies says: Because you talk like that, I will make My words in your mouth like fire. These people will be the wood. The fire will burn them up.

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.

15God says: Listen. I am bringing a nation from far away to attack you, people of Israel. It is a strong nation. It is a very old nation. You do not know their language. You cannot understand what they say.

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

16Their arrow bags are like open graves. All their men are strong fighters.

NoteA quiver is the bag a soldier keeps his arrows in. Saying it is like an open grave means their arrows bring death.

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.

17They will eat up your crops and your food. They will eat what your sons and daughters should eat. They will eat your sheep and your cattle. They will eat your grapes and your figs. With swords they will break down the walled cities you trusted.

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

18God says: Even in those days, I will not finish you off completely.

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.

19One day the people will ask, "Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?" Then you will tell them this: You left Me and served other gods in your own land. So now you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

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

20Say this to the family of Jacob. Tell it out loud in Judah:

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

21Listen to this, you foolish people who do not understand. You have eyes, but you do not see. You have ears, but you do not hear.

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?

22God says: Do you not respect Me? Should you not shake before Me? I set the sand as a wall for the sea. The sea can never cross it. The waves toss and roar, but they cannot win. They cannot go past it.

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

23But these people have stubborn hearts that say no to God. They have turned away 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.

24They do not say in their hearts, "Let us respect the LORD our God. He sends the fall rain and the spring rain at the right time. He keeps the harvest weeks for us."

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

25Your wrong deeds have pushed these good gifts away. Your sins have kept 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.

26Among My people there are bad men. They hide and watch, like men trapping birds. They set a trap to catch people.

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

27Their houses are full of lies, like cages full of birds. That is how they got powerful and 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.

28They have grown fat and sleek. They do worse things than wicked people do. They will not help children whose fathers have died. They will not stand up for poor people's rights.

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

29God says: Should I not punish them for this? Should I not pay back a nation like this?

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

30Something horrible and shocking is happening 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?

31The prophets tell lies. The priests rule however they want. And My people like it this way. But what will you do when the end comes?