Jeremiah 5
NKJV Parallel NLT [BSB CSB ESV HCS KJV ISV NAS NET NIV NLT HEB]
New King James VersionNew Living Translation
1“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; See now and know; And seek in her open places If you can find a man, If there is anyone who executes judgment, Who seeks the truth, And I will pardon her.1“Run up and down every street in Jerusalem,” says the LORD. “Look high and low; search throughout the city! If you can find even one just and honest person, I will not destroy the city.
2Though they say, ‘As the LORD lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.”2But even when they are under oath, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ they are still telling lies!”
3O LORD, are not Your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, But they have not grieved; You have consumed them, But they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to return.3LORD, you are searching for honesty. You struck your people, but they paid no attention. You crushed them, but they refused to be corrected. They are determined, with faces set like stone; they have refused to repent.
4Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor. They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God.4Then I said, “But what can we expect from the poor? They are ignorant. They don’t know the ways of the LORD. They don’t understand God’s laws.
5I will go to the great men and speak to them, For they have known the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God.” But these have altogether broken the yoke And burst the bonds.5So I will go and speak to their leaders. Surely they know the ways of the LORD and understand God’s laws.” But the leaders, too, as one man, had thrown off God’s yoke and broken his chains.
6Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them; A leopard will watch over their cities. Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many; Their backslidings have increased.6So now a lion from the forest will attack them; a wolf from the desert will pounce on them. A leopard will lurk near their towns, tearing apart any who dare to venture out. For their rebellion is great, and their sins are many.
7“How shall I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken Me And sworn by those that are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, Then they committed adultery And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.7“How can I pardon you? For even your children have turned from me. They have sworn by gods that are not gods at all! I fed my people until they were full. But they thanked me by committing adultery and lining up at the brothels.
8They were like well-fed lusty stallions; Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife.8They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor’s wife.
9Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD. “And shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?9Should I not punish them for this?” says the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?
10“Go up on her walls and destroy, But do not make a complete end. Take away her branches, For they are not the LORD’s.10“Go down the rows of the vineyards and destroy the grapevines, leaving a scattered few alive. Strip the branches from the vines, for these people do not belong to the LORD.
11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says the LORD.11The people of Israel and Judah are full of treachery against me,” says the LORD.
12They have lied about the LORD, And said, “It is not He. Neither will evil come upon us, Nor shall we see sword or famine.12“They have lied about the LORD and said, ‘He won’t bother us! No disasters will come upon us. There will be no war or famine.
13And the prophets become wind, For the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them.”13God’s prophets are all windbags who don’t really speak for him. Let their predictions of disaster fall on themselves!’”
14Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts: “Because you speak this word, Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them.14Therefore, this is what the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies says: “Because the people are talking like this, my messages will flame out of your mouth and burn the people like kindling wood.
15Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” says the LORD. “It is a mighty nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say.15O Israel, I will bring a distant nation against you,” says the LORD. “It is a mighty nation, an ancient nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you cannot understand.
16Their quiver is like an open tomb; They are all mighty men.16Their weapons are deadly; their warriors are mighty.
17And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread, Which your sons and daughters should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and your herds; They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; They shall destroy your fortified cities, In which you trust, with the sword.17They will devour the food of your harvest; they will devour your sons and daughters. They will devour your flocks and herds; they will devour your grapes and figs. And they will destroy your fortified towns, which you think are so safe.
18“Nevertheless in those days,” says the LORD, “I will not make a complete end of you.18“Yet even in those days I will not blot you out completely,” says the LORD.
19And it will be when you say, ‘Why does the LORD our God do all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.’19“And when your people ask, ‘Why did the LORD our God do all this to us?’ you must reply, ‘You rejected him and gave yourselves to foreign gods in your own land. Now you will serve foreigners in a land that is not your own.’ A Warning for God’s People
20“Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah, saying,20“Make this announcement to Israel, and say this to Judah:
21‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not:21Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear.
22Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD. ‘Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, Yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.22Have you no respect for me? Why don’t you tremble in my presence? I, the LORD, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries I set.
23But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart; They have revolted and departed.23But my people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned away and abandoned me.
24They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”24They do not say from the heart, ‘Let us live in awe of the LORD our God, for he gives us rain each spring and fall, assuring us of a harvest when the time is right.’
25Your iniquities have turned these things away, And your sins have withheld good from you.25Your wickedness has deprived you of these wonderful blessings. Your sin has robbed you of all these good things.
26‘For among My people are found wicked men; They lie in wait as one who sets snares; They set a trap; They catch men.26“Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind. They continually set traps to catch people.
27As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich.27Like a cage filled with birds, their homes are filled with evil plots. And now they are great and rich.
28They have grown fat, they are sleek; Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the fatherless; Yet they prosper, And the right of the needy they do not defend.28They are fat and sleek, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. They refuse to provide justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor.
29Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the LORD. ‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’29Should I not punish them for this?” says the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?
30“An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land:30A horrible and shocking thing has happened in this land—
31The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?31the prophets give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. Worse yet, my people like it that way! But what will you do when the end comes?
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 4
Top of Page
Top of Page