Jeremiah 5:19-31

19It 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.’

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

21‘Now hear this, O foolish people without heart, Who have eyes but do not see, Who have ears but do not hear.

22Do 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?]

23But 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].

24They 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.”

25Your wickedness has turned these [blessings] away, And your sins have withheld good [harvests] from you.

26For wicked men are found among My people, They watch like fowlers who lie in wait; They set a trap, They catch men.

27As a cage is full of birds, So are their houses full of deceit and treachery; Therefore they have become influential and rich.

28They 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.

29Shall I not punish them [for these things]?’ says the Lord. ‘Shall I not avenge Myself On such a nation as this?’

30“An appalling and horrible thing [bringing desolation and destruction] Has come to pass in the land:

31The 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?