The Depravity of Jerusalem

1Roama through the streets of Jerusalem.

Investigate;A

search in her squares.

If you find one person,b

any who acts justly,

who pursues faithfulness,

then I will forgive her.c

2When they say, “As the Lord lives,”a

they are swearing falsely.b

3Lord, don’t your eyes look for faithfulness?a

You have struck them, but they felt no pain.b

You finished them off,

but they refused to accept discipline.c

They made their faces harder than rock,d

and they refused to return.e

4Then I thought:

They are just the poor;

they have been foolish.

For they don’t understand the way of the Lord,a

the justice of their God.b

5I will go to the powerful

and speak to them.

Surely they know the way of the Lord,

the justice of their God.a

However, these also had broken the yoke

and torn off the chains.b

6Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down.a

A wolf from arid plains will ravage them.

A leopardb stalks their cities.

Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces

because their rebellious acts are many,c

their unfaithful deeds numerous.d

7Why should I forgive you?

Your children have abandoned me

and sworn by those who are not gods.a

I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery;b

they gashed themselvesc at theA prostitute’s house.

8They are well-fed,A eagerB stallions,a

each neighingb after someone else’s wife.c

9Should I not punish them for these things?a

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Should I not avenge myselfb

on such a nation as this?

10Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them,a

but do not finish them off.b

Prune away her shoots,

for they do not belong to the Lord.c

11They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah,

have dealt very treacherously with me.a

This is the Lord’s declaration.

12They have contradicted the Lord

and insisted, “It won’t happen.a a

Harm won’t come to us;

we won’t see sword or famine.”

13The prophets become only wind,

for the Lord’s word is not in them.

This will in fact happen to them.

Coming Judgment

14Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Armies says:

Because you have spoken this word,

I am going to make my words

become fire in your mouth.a

These people are the wood,

and the fire will consume them.b

15I am about to bring a nation

from far away against you,a

house of Israel.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

It is an established nation,

an ancient nation,

a nation whose language you do not know

and whose speech you do not understand.b

16Their quiver is like an open grave;a

they are all warriors.

17They will consume your harvest and your food.a

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 destroy

your fortified citiesb in which you trust.

18“But even in those days” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “I will not finish you off.a 19When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us? ’ You will respond to them, ‘Just as you abandoned mea and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’ b

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

21Hear this,

you foolish and senselessA people.a

They have eyes, but they don’t see.

They have ears, but they don’t hear.b

22Do you not fear me?

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Do you not tremble before me,

the one who set the sand as the boundary of the sea,

an enduring barrier that it cannot cross?a

The waves surge, but they cannot prevail.

They roar but cannot pass over it.

23But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.a

They have turned aside and have gone away.

24They have not said to themselves,

‘Let’s fear the Lord our God,a

who gives the seasonal rains, both autumn and spring,b

who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.’

25Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you.

Your sins have withheld my bounty from you,a

26for wicked men live among my people.

They watch like huntersA lying in wait.B a

They set a trap;b

they catch men.

27Like a cage full of birds,

so their houses are full of deceit.a

Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.

28They have become fata and sleek.

They have also excelled in evil matters.

They have not taken up cases,

such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,

and they have not defended the rights of the needy.b

29Should I not punish them for these things?

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Should I not avenge myselfa

on such a nation as this?

30“An appalling, horrible thing

has taken place in the land.a

31The prophets prophesy falsely,a

and the priests rule by their own authority.

My people love it like this.

But what will you do at the end of it?b