Jeremiah 5:1-13 - The Depravity Of Jerusalem

¹ “Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look now and take note.
And seek in her open squares,
If you can find a man,
If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth,
Then I will pardon her.
² “And although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’
Surely they swear falsely.”
³ O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth?
You have smitten them,
But they did not weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they refused to take correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent.

⁴ Then I said, “They are only the poor,
They are foolish;
For they do not know the way of the Lord
Or the ordinance of their God.
⁵ “I will go to the great
And will speak to them,
For they know the way of the Lord
And the ordinance of their God.”
But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
⁶ Therefore a lion from the forest will slay them,
A wolf of the deserts will destroy them,
A leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many,
Their apostasies are numerous.

⁷ “Why should I pardon you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And sworn by those who are not gods.
When I had fed them to the full,
They committed adultery
And trooped to the harlot’s house.
⁸ “They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.
⁹ “Shall I not punish these people,” declares the Lord,
“And on a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?

¹⁰ “Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
But do not execute a complete destruction;
Strip away her branches,
For they are not the Lord’s.
¹¹ “For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares the Lord.
¹² They have lied about the Lord
And said, “Not He;
Misfortune will not come on us,
And we will not see sword or famine.
¹³ “The prophets are as wind,
And the word is not in them.
Thus it will be done to them!”