Online Bible

Jerusalem’s Godlessness

“^aRoam back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem,And look now and take note.And look in her open squaresTo see if you can ^bfind a man as Abraham sought in Sodom,^cOne who is just, who has integrity and moral courage and seeks truth (faithfulness) ;Then I will pardon Jerusalem— for the sake of one uncompromisingly righteous person. Gen 18:22-322 “And ^athough they say, ‘As the LORD lives,’Surely they swear their oaths falsely.”3 O LORD, do not ^aYour eyes look for truth?You have seen their faithless heart and have ^bstricken them,But they did not weaken;You have consumed them,But they ^crefused to take correction or instruction.They have ^dmade their faces harder than rock;They have refused to repent and return to You.

4 Then I said, “ Surely these are only the poor (uneducated) ;They are sinfully foolish and have no spiritual understanding,For they ^ado not know the way of the LORDOr the ordinance of their God and the requirements of His just and righteous law.5 “I will go to the great menAnd speak to them,For ^athey must know the way of the LORD,The ordinance of their God.”But I found the reverse to be true, that they too had all alike ^bbroken the yoke of God’s lawAnd had burst the bonds of obedience to Him.6 Therefore ^aa lion from the forest will kill them,A ^bwolf of the deserts will destroy them,A ^cleopard is watching their cities.Everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,Because their ^dtransgressions are many,Their desertions of faith are countless.

7 “Why should I overlook these offenses and forgive you?Your children have abandoned (rejected) MeAnd ^asworn their oaths by those who are ^bnot gods.When I had fed them until they were full and bound them to Me by a promise,They ^ccommitted spiritual adultery,Assembling in troops at the houses of prostitutes (idols) .8 “They were like well-fed, lusty stallions,Each one neighing after his ^aneighbor’s wife.9 “Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD;“^aShall I not avenge MyselfOn a nation such as this?”

10 “Go up through the rows of Jerusalem’s vineyards and destroy them,But do not completely destroy everything.Strip away her branches and the tendrils of her vines,For they are not the LORD’S.11 “For the ^ahouse of Israel and the house of JudahHave dealt very treacherously (faithlessly) with Me,” declares the LORD.12 They have ^alied about and denied the LORDBy saying, “It is ^bnot He who speaks through His prophets;Misfortune and evil shall ^cnot come on us,^dNor will we see war or famine.13 “The ^aprophets are like the ¹wind their prophecy will not come to pass,And the word of God is not in them.In this manner it will be done to them as they prophesied, not to us.”

Judgment Proclaimed

14 Therefore, thus says the LORD God of hosts,“Because you people have spoken this word,Behold, I am ^amaking My words a fire in your mouth JeremiahAnd this people wood, and My words will consume them.15 “Behold, I am ^abringing a nation against you from far away, O house of Israel,” says the LORD.“It is a mighty and enduring nation,It is an ancient nation,A nation whose ^blanguage you do not know,Whose words you do not comprehend.16 “Their ^aquiver is filled with the dead like an ^bopen grave;They are all mighty men heroes of their nation.17 “They will ^aconsume your harvest and eat up your bread;They will consume your sons and your daughters;They will consume your flocks and your herds;They will consume your ^bvines and your fig trees.With the sword they will break down and demolish your ^cfortified cities in which you trust.

18 “But even in those days,” says the LORD, “I will not totally destroy you. 19 It will come about ^awhen your people say, ‘Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘As you have abandoned (rejected) Me,’ says the LORD, ‘and have served strange and foreign gods in your land, so you will ^bserve strangers in a land that is not yours.’

20 “Declare this in the house of JacobAnd proclaim it in Judah, saying:21 ‘Now hear this, O foolish people without heart,Who have ^aeyes but do not see,Who have ears but do not hear. Is 6:9, 10; Matt 13:10-15; Mark 8:17, 1822 ‘Do you not ^afear Me?’ says the LORD.‘Do you not tremble in awe in My presence?For I have ^bplaced the sand as a boundary for the sea,An eternal decree and a perpetual barrier beyond which it cannot pass.Though the waves of the sea toss and break, yet they cannot prevail against the sand ordained to hold them back;Though the waves and the billows roar, yet they cannot cross over the barrier.Is not such a God to be feared?23 ‘But this people has a ^astubborn heart and a rebellious will that draws them away from Me;They have turned away and have gone into idolatry.24 ‘They do not say in their heart,“Let us now fear and worship the LORD our God with profound awe and reverence,Who ^agives rain in its season,Both ^bthe autumn and the spring rain,Who keeps for usThe ^cappointed weeks of the harvest.”25 ‘Your ^awickedness has turned these blessings away,And your sins have withheld good harvests from you.26 ‘For wicked men are found among My people,They ^awatch like fowlers who lie in wait;They set a trap,They catch men.27 ‘As a cage is full of birds,So are their houses full of ^adeceit and treachery;Therefore they have become influential and rich.28 ‘They are ^afat and they are sleek (prosperous) ,They ¹excel in acts of wickedness;They do not plead the cause,The cause of the ^borphan, so that they the wicked may prosper,And they do not defend the rights of the poor.29 ‘^aShall I not punish them for these things?’ says the LORD.‘Shall I not avenge MyselfOn such a nation as this?’

30 “An appalling and ^ahorrible thing bringing desolation and destructionHas come to pass in the land:31 The ^aprophets prophesy falsely,And the priests rule ¹on their own authority;And My people ^blove to have it so!But what will you do when the end comes?

Jerusalem Refuses to Repent

“^aRoam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,And see now and know,And seek in her open squares,If you can ^bfind a man,^cIf there is one who does justice, who seeks faithfulness,Then I will pardon her.2 “And ^aif they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,’Then they swear to a lie.”3 O Yahweh, do not ^aYour eyes look for faithfulness?You have ^bstruck them,But they did not ¹weaken;You have consumed them,But they ^crefused to receive discipline.They have ^dmade their faces stronger than rock;They have refused to ²repent.

4 Then I said, “They are only the poor;They are foolish;For they ^ado not know the way of YahwehOr the legal judgment of their God.5 “Let me go to the greatAnd let me speak to them,For ^athey know the way of YahwehAnd the legal judgment of their God.”But they too, altogether, have ^bbroken the yokeAnd torn apart the bonds.6 Therefore ^aa lion from the forest will strike them down;A ^bwolf of the deserts will devastate them;A ^cleopard is watching their cities.Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in piecesBecause their ^dtransgressions are many;Their acts of faithlessness are mighty.

7 “Why should I pardon you?Your sons have forsaken MeAnd ^asworn by those who are ^bnot gods.I had satisfied them to the full,Then they ^ccommitted adulteryAnd trooped to the harlot’s house.8 “They were well-fed lusty horses,Each one neighing after his ^aneighbor’s wife.9 “Shall I not punish ¹these people,” declares Yahweh,“And on a nation such as this^aShall I not avenge Myself?

10 “Go up through her vine rows and make them a ruin,But do not make a complete destruction;Remove her branches,For they are not Yahweh’s.11 “For the ^ahouse of Israel and the house of JudahHave dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares Yahweh.12 They have ^adealt falsely about YahwehAnd said, “¹^bNot He;Calamity will ^cnot come on us,And we ^dwill not see sword or famine.13 “The ^aprophets are as wind,And the word is not in them.Thus it will be done to them!”

A Stubborn and Rebellious People

14 Therefore, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts,“Because you have spoken this word,Behold, I am ^amaking My words in your mouth fireAnd this people wood, and it will devour them.

15 “Behold, I am ^abringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh.“It is an enduring nation;It is an ancient nation,A nation whose ^btongue you do not know,Nor can you ¹understand what they say.16 “Their ^aquiver is like an ^bopen grave;All of them are mighty men.17 “They will ^adevour 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 ^bvines and your fig trees;They will demolish with the sword your ^cfortified cities in which you trust.

18 “Yet even in those days,” declares Yahweh, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19 It shall come about ^awhen ¹they say, ‘Why has Yahweh 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 ^bserve strangers in a land that is not yours.’

20 “Declare this in the house of JacobAnd cause it to be heard in Judah, saying,21 ‘Now hear this, O people who are simpleminded fools and without a heart of wisdom,Who have ^aeyes but do not see,Who have ears but do not hear.22 ‘Do you not ^afear Me?’ declares Yahweh.‘Do you not tremble in My presence?For I have ^bplaced the sand as a boundary for the sea,A perpetual statute, 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 ^astubborn and rebellious heart;They have turned aside and gone away.24 ‘They do not say in their heart,“Let us now fear Yahweh our God,Who ^agives rain in its season,Both ^bthe ¹early rain and the ²late rain,Who keeps for usThe ^cappointed weeks of the harvest.”25 ‘Your ^ainiquities have turned these away,And your sins have withheld good from you.26 ‘For wicked men are found among My people;They ^awatch like fowlers ¹lying in wait;They set a ²trap;They catch men.27 ‘Like a cage full of birds,So their houses are full of ^adeceit;Therefore they have become great and rich.28 ‘They are ^afat, they are sleek;They also ¹excel in deeds of evil;They do not plead the cause,The cause of the ²^borphan, that they may succeed;And they do not ³render justice for the poor.29 ‘^aShall I not punish ¹these people?’ declares Yahweh,‘On a nation such as thisShall I not avenge Myself?’

30 “A horrible and ^aappalling thingHas happened in the land:31 The ^aprophets prophesy with lying,And the priests have dominion ¹by their own hand;And My people ^blove it so!But what will you do at the end of it?