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5:1  “Roam back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem, And look now and take note. And look in her open squares To see if you can find a man [as Abraham sought in Sodom], One 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].
5:2  “And though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ Surely they swear [their oaths] falsely.”
5:3  O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth? You [have seen their faithless heart and] have stricken them, But they did not weaken; You have consumed them, But they refused to take correction or instruction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to repent and return to You.
5:4  Then I said, “[Surely] these are only the poor (uneducated); They are [sinfully] foolish and have no [spiritual] understanding, For they do not know the way of the Lord Or the ordinance of their God [and the requirements of His just and righteous law].
5:5  “I will go to the great [men] And speak to them, For they [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 broken the yoke [of God’s law] And had burst the bonds [of obedience to Him].
5:6  Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them, A wolf of the deserts will destroy them, A leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many, Their desertions of faith are countless.
5:7  “Why should I [overlook these offenses and] forgive you? Your children have abandoned (rejected) Me And sworn [their oaths] by those who are not gods. When I had fed them until they were full [and bound them to Me by a promise], They committed [spiritual] adultery, Assembling in troops at the houses of prostitutes (idols).
5:8  “They were like well-fed, lusty stallions, Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.
5:9  “Shall I not punish them [for these things]?” says the Lord; “Shall I not avenge Myself On a nation such as this?”
5:10  “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.
5:11  “For the house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously (faithlessly) with Me,” declares the Lord.
5:12  They have lied about and denied the Lord By saying, “It is not He [who speaks through His prophets]; Misfortune and evil shall not come on us, Nor will we see war or famine.
5:13  “The prophets are like the wind [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].”
5:14  Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Because you [people] have spoken this word, Behold, I am making My words a fire in your mouth [Jeremiah] And this people wood, and My words will consume them.
5:15  “Behold, I am bringing 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 language you do not know, Whose words you do not comprehend.
5:16  “Their quiver is [filled with the dead] like an open grave; They are all mighty men [heroes of their nation].
5:17  “They will consume 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 vines and your fig trees. With the sword they will break down and demolish your fortified cities in which you trust.
5:18  “But even in those days,” says the Lord, “I will not totally destroy you.
5:19  It will come about when 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 serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
5:20  “Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah, saying:
5:21  ‘Now hear this, O foolish people without heart, Who have eyes but do not see, Who have ears but do not hear.
5:22  ‘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?]
5:23  ‘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].
5:24  ‘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.”
5:25  ‘Your wickedness has turned these [blessings] away, And your sins have withheld good [harvests] from you.
5:26  ‘For wicked men are found among My people, They watch like fowlers who lie in wait; They set a trap, They catch men.
5:27  ‘As a cage is full of birds, So are their houses full of deceit and treachery; Therefore they have become influential and rich.
5:28  ‘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.
5:29  ‘Shall I not punish them [for these things]?’ says the Lord. ‘Shall I not avenge Myself On such a nation as this?’
5:30  “An appalling and horrible thing [bringing desolation and destruction] Has come to pass in the land:
5:31  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?