Jeremiah 5:20-31 - God Warns His People

²⁰
“Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying:

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‘Now hear this, O foolish people without heart,
Who have eyes but do not see,
Who have ears but do not hear.
²²
‘Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord.
‘Do you not tremble [in awe] in My presence?
For I have placed 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 stubborn 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 gives rain in its season,
Both the autumn and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The appointed weeks of the harvest.”
²⁵
‘Your wickedness has turned these [blessings] away,
And your sins have withheld good [harvests] from you.
²⁶
‘For wicked men are found among My people,
They watch 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 deceit and treachery;
Therefore they have become influential and rich.
²⁸
‘They are fat and they are sleek (prosperous),
They excel in acts of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, so that they [the wicked] may prosper,
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
²⁹
‘Shall I not punish them [for these things]?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself
On such a nation as this?’

³⁰
“An appalling and horrible thing [bringing desolation and destruction]
Has come to pass in the land:
³¹
The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule on their own authority;
And My people love [to have] it so!
But what will you do when the end comes?