| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; See now and know; And seek in her open places If you can find a man, If there is anyone who executes judgment, Who seeks the truth, And I will pardon her. | 1Roam through the streets of Jerusalem. Look and take note; search in her squares. If you find one person, any who acts justly, who seeks to be faithful, then I will forgive her. |
| 2Though they say, ‘As the LORD lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.” | 2When they say, "As the LORD lives," they are swearing falsely. |
| 3O LORD, are not Your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, But they have not grieved; You have consumed them, But they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to return. | 3 LORD, don't Your eyes look for faithfulness? You have struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They made their faces harder than rock, and they refused to return. |
| 4Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor. They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God. | 4Then I thought: They are just the poor; they have played the fool. For they don't understand the way of the LORD, the justice of their God. |
| 5I will go to the great men and speak to them, For they have known the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God.” But these have altogether broken the yoke And burst the bonds. | 5I will go to the powerful and speak to them. Surely they know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God. However, these also had broken the yoke and torn off the chains. |
| 6Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them; A leopard will watch over their cities. Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many; Their backslidings have increased. | 6Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down. A wolf from an arid plain will ravage them. A leopard keeps watch over their cities. Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces because their rebellious acts are many, their unfaithful deeds numerous. |
| 7“How shall I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken Me And sworn by those that are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, Then they committed adultery And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses. | 7Why should I forgive you? Your children have abandoned Me and sworn by those who are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery; they gashed themselves at the prostitute's house. |
| 8They were like well-fed lusty stallions; Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife. | 8They are well-fed, eager stallions, each neighing after someone else's wife. |
| 9Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD. “And shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this? | 9Should I not punish them for these things? This is the LORD's declaration. Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this? |
| 10“Go up on her walls and destroy, But do not make a complete end. Take away her branches, For they are not the LORD’s. | 10Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them, but do not finish them off. Prune away her shoots, for they do not belong to the LORD. |
| 11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says the LORD. | 11They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah, have dealt very treacherously with Me. This is the LORD's declaration. |
| 12They have lied about the LORD, And said, “It is not He. Neither will evil come upon us, Nor shall we see sword or famine. | 12They have contradicted the LORD and insisted, "It won't happen. Harm won't come to us; we won't see sword or famine." |
| 13And the prophets become wind, For the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them.” | 13The prophets become only wind, for the LORD's word is not in them. This will in fact happen to them. |
| 14Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts: “Because you speak this word, Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them. | 14Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD of Hosts says: Because you have spoken this word, I am going to make My words become fire in your mouth. These people are the wood, and the fire will consume them. |
| 15Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” says the LORD. “It is a mighty nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say. | 15I am about to bring a nation from far away against you, 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. |
| 16Their quiver is like an open tomb; They are all mighty men. | 16Their quiver is like an open grave; they are all mighty warriors. |
| 17And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread, Which your sons and daughters should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and your herds; They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; They shall destroy your fortified cities, In which you trust, with the sword. | 17They will consume your harvest and your food. 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. They will destroy with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust. |
| 18“Nevertheless in those days,” says the LORD, “I will not make a complete end of you. | 18"But even in those days"--this is the LORD's declaration--"I will not finish you off. |
| 19And it will be when you say, ‘Why does the LORD our God do all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.’ | 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 Me and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours. |
| 20“Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah, saying, | 20"Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying: |
| 21‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not: | 21Hear this, you foolish and senseless people. They have eyes, but they don't see. They have ears, but they don't hear. |
| 22Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD. ‘Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, Yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it. | 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? The waves surge, but they cannot prevail. They roar but cannot pass over it. |
| 23But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart; They have revolted and departed. | 23But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned aside and have gone away. |
| 24They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.” | 24They have not said to themselves, 'Let's fear the LORD our God, who gives the rain, both early and late, in its season, who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.' |
| 25Your iniquities have turned these things away, And your sins have withheld good from you. | 25Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you. Your sins have withheld My bounty from you, |
| 26‘For among My people are found wicked men; They lie in wait as one who sets snares; They set a trap; They catch men. | 26for wicked men live among My people. They watch like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men. |
| 27As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich. | 27Like a cage full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have grown powerful and rich. |
| 28They have grown fat, they are sleek; Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the fatherless; Yet they prosper, And the right of the needy they do not defend. | 28They have become fat 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. |
| 29Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the LORD. ‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’ | 29Should I not punish them for these things? This is the LORD's declaration. Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this? |
| 30“An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land: | 30A horrible, terrible thing has taken place in the land. |
| 31The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end? | 31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it like this. But what will you do at the end of it? |
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