| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 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 executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it. | 1"Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city. |
| 2And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely. | 2Although they say, 'As surely as the LORD lives,' still they are swearing falsely." |
| 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. | 3LORD, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent. |
| 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. | 4I thought, "These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God. |
| 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. | 5So I will go to the leaders 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. |
| 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. | 6Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great and their backslidings many. |
| 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. | 7"Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes. |
| 8They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife. | 8They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man'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? | 9Should I not punish them for this?" declares the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as 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. | 10"Go through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not destroy them completely. Strip off 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 the LORD. | 11The people of Israel and the people of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me," declares the LORD. |
| 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 lied about the LORD; they said, "He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine. |
| 13And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. | 13The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them." |
| 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. | 14Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty says: "Because the people have spoken these words, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes. |
| 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. | 15People of Israel," declares the LORD, "I am bringing a distant nation against you-- an ancient and enduring nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you do not understand. |
| 16Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. | 16Their quivers are like an open grave; all of them are mighty warriors. |
| 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 devour your harvests and food, devour your sons and daughters; they will devour your flocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust. |
| 18Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you. | 18"Yet even in those days," declares the LORD, "I will not destroy you 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. | 19And when the people ask, 'Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?' you will tell them, 'As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.' |
| 20Declare 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; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: | 21Hear 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 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? | 22Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. |
| 23But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. | 23But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. |
| 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 to themselves, 'Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.' |
| 25Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. | 25Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good. |
| 26For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. | 26"Among my people are the wicked who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who 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 waxen rich. | 27Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful |
| 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. | 28and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not seek justice. They do not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just cause of the poor. |
| 29Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? | 29Should I not punish them for this?" declares the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? |
| 30A wonderful and horrible thing is committed 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? | 31The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end? |
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