Jeremiah 5:1-5

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].

2And though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ Surely they swear [their oaths] falsely.”

3O 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.

4Then 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].

5I 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].