Jeremiah 5:3-21

3Lord, do 1Your eyes not look for honesty? You have 2struck them, But they did not 3weaken; You have consumed them, But they 4refused to accept discipline. They have 5made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to repent.

4Then I said, “They are only the poor, They are foolish; For they 6do not know the way of the Lord Or the judgment of their God.5I will go to the great And speak to them, For 7they know the way of the Lord And the judgment of their God.” But together they too have 8broken the yoke And burst the restraints.6Therefore 9a lion from the forest will kill them, A 10wolf of the deserts will destroy them, A 11leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces, Because their 12wrongdoings are many, Their apostasies are numerous.

7“Why should I forgive you? Your sons have forsaken Me And 13sworn by those who are 14not gods. When I had fed them to the full, They 15committed adultery And stayed at the prostitute’s house.8They were well-fed lusty horses, Each one neighing at his 16neighbor’s wife.9Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord, “And 17shall I not avenge Myself On a nation such as this?

10“Go up through her vine rows and destroy, But do not execute a complete destruction; Strip away her branches, For they are not the Lord’s.11For the 18house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares the Lord.12They have 19lied about the Lord And said, “2021Not He; Misfortune will 22not come upon us, 23Nor will we see sword or famine.13The 24prophets are as wind, And the word is not in them. So it will be done to them!”

14Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of armies says: “Because you have spoken this word, Behold, I am 25making My words fire in your mouth, And this people wood, and it will consume them.15Behold, I am 26bringing a nation against you from far away, you house of Israel,” declares the Lord. “It is an enduring nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose 27language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say.16Their 28quiver is like an 29open grave, All of them are warriors.17They will 30devour your harvest and your food; They will devour your sons and your daughters; They will devour your flocks and your herds; They will devour your 31vines and your fig trees; They will demolish your 32fortified cities, in which you trust, with the sword.

18“Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make a complete destruction of you. 19And it shall come about 33when 34they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Just as you have abandoned Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will 35serve 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, you foolish and 36senseless people, Who have 37eyes but do not see, Who have ears but do not hear.