Jeremiah 5:1-31

“Roam the streets of Jerusalem; search her streets and public squares, and note what you see. See if you can find even one person who pursues justice. If you find even one acting with integrity, I will surely spare Jerusalem. Though they take an oath, saying, ‘As surely as YAHWEH lives,’ Yet they are taking my name in vain.” YAHWEH, your eyes search for truth. You struck them down, but they felt no pain. You nearly destroyed them, but they still refused to accept correction. Their stubborn faces hardened like rock; they defiantly refused to repent. I thought, “These poor people are senseless, for they know neither God’s ways nor the justice of YAHWEH. Let me go to the people in power, and let me speak to them. Surely, they must know what YAHWEH demands and what God requires of them.” Yet they, too, have renounced obedience to God and have torn themselves away from him. Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them, and a desert wolf will ravage them. A leopard is prowling around their cities, waiting to tear those apart who venture out. For the people are rebellious; they’ve sinned repeatedly. “On what basis can I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not real. Even though I satisfied my people to the full, they committed adultery, beating a path to a whorehouse. They’re like well-fed stallions lusting for mares; each man ‘neighs’ with lust after his neighbor’s wife. Because of these things, will I not hold my people accountable? Am I not justified to punish a nation such as this? I, YAHWEH, have spoken.” “Here is what I, YAHWEH, have decreed: ‘I will send your enemies to cut the branches from your vines, but they won’t destroy them completely. I will tell them to strip away your branches. The people of Judah and Israel have been utterly unfaithful to me and are no longer mine.’ ” They have lied about YAHWEH, saying, “No disaster is coming. We won’t experience sword or famine. He won’t let anything happen to us. The prophets are full of hot air, and they do not have the word of YAHWEH in them. May their threats backfire upon themselves!” Therefore, because the people have spoken these lies, YAHWEH, the God of Angel Armies, said to me: “See! The words I put in your mouth will be as a fire. My words will consume these people like kindling. I, YAHWEH, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am stirring up a distant nation, an ancient, warring nation to attack you. Her people will speak a language you do not know, a language you won’t understand. The quivers of her mighty warriors are like a welcoming tomb, inviting death and destruction, for all her warriors are proven in battle. They will devour your harvest and your food. They will devour your sons and your daughters. They will devour your flocks and your herds, and devour your vines and your fig trees. You put your trust in your fortified cities, but they will ransack them and slaughter the inhabitants.’ ” YAHWEH “Yet even then,” YAHWEH said to me, “I will not completely eliminate you. And when people ask you, ‘Why did YAHWEH our God bring this tragedy upon us?’ You will answer, ‘As you have forsaken YAHWEH and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a foreign land.’ “Declare this to the descendants of Jacob and spread it throughout Judah: ‘Pay attention, you foolish and senseless people. They have eyes but refuse to see. They have ears but refuse to hear. I, YAHWEH, am speaking to you. Do you not fear? Do you not tremble in awe in my presence? I made the sand as a border for the sea, an ancient barrier that it does not pass. Though the waves roar and beat against it, they can neither go beyond it nor break through it. But these people have stubborn, rebellious hearts. They all turn aside and go their own way. They never say in their heart, “Let us now give reverence to YAHWEH our God who gives us showers at the time of his favor, the early and latter rain in its season, and graciously gives us a harvest each year.” The guilt of your sins has upset nature’s order and withheld my blessings from you. Your sins have kept these good things from you!’ ” “Lurking among my people are wicked criminals. They are like hunters hiding to catch birds in their nets, setting their traps to catch people. Like cages full of captured birds, they fill their houses with lies and deceit. This is how they have become rich and powerful, fat and prosperous. Indeed, their wickedness knows no bounds. There is no true justice in their judgments— they neither stand up for the rights of the orphans, nor help the needy receive their fair portion. I, YAHWEH, promise to hold them accountable for these things. I will be justified to punish a nation such as this. “A shocking and horrible thing has happened in the land. The prophets prophesy lies, and the priests lead out of their own self-interest. And my people love it that way. But what will they do when judgment comes?”