The Lord said to me:
5 “Search
Jerusalem
for honest people
who try to be faithful.
If you can find even one,
I’ll forgive the whole
city.
2 Everyone breaks promises
made in my name.”
3 I answered, “I know
that you look
for truth.
You punished your people
for their lies,
but in spite of the pain,
they became more
stubborn
and refused to turn back
to you.”
4 Then I thought to myself,
“These common people
act like fools,
and they have never learned
what the Lord their God
demands of them.
5 I’ll go and talk to the leaders.
They know what God demands.”
But even they had decided
not to obey the Lord.
6 The people have rebelled
and rejected the Lord
too many times.
So enemies will attack
like lions from the forest
or wolves from the desert.
Those enemies will watch
the towns of Judah,
and like leopards
they will tear to pieces
whoever goes outside.
The Lord said:
7 People of Judah,
how can I forgive you?
I gave you everything,
but you abandoned me
and worshiped idols.
You men go to prostitutes
and are unfaithful
to your wives.
8 You are no better than animals,
and you always want sex
with someone else’s wife.
9 Why shouldn’t I punish
the people of
Judah?
10 I will tell their enemies,
“Go through my vineyard.
Don’t destroy the vines,
but cut off the branches,
because they are the people
who don’t belong to me.”
11 In every way, Judah and Israel
have been unfaithful
to me.
*12 Their prophets lie and say,
“The Lord won’t punish us.
We will have peace
and plenty of food.”
13 They tell these lies in my name,
so now they will be killed in war
or starve to death.
14 I am the Lord God All-Powerful.
Jeremiah, I will tell you
exactly what to
say.
Your words will be a fire;
Israel and Judah
will be the fuel.
15 People of Israel,
I have made my
decision.
An army from a distant country
will attack you.
I’ve chosen an ancient nation,
and you won’t understand
their language.
16 All of them are warriors,
and their arrows
bring death.
17 This nation will eat your crops
and livestock;
they will leave no fruit
on your vines
or trees.
And although you feel safe
behind thick walls,
your towns will be destroyed
and your children
killed.
18 The Lord said:
Jeremiah, the enemy army won’t kill everyone in Judah. 19
And the people who survive will ask, “Why did the Lord
our God do such terrible things to us?” Then tell them:
I am the Lord,
but you abandoned
me
and worshiped other gods
in your own land.
Now you will be slaves
in a foreign country.
20 Tell these things to each other,
you people of Judah,
you descendants
of Jacob.
21 You fools! Why don’t
you listen
when I speak?
Why can’t you understand
22 that you should worship me
with fear and
trembling?
I’m the one who made the shore
to hold back the
ocean.
Waves may crash on the beach,
but they can come
no farther.
23 You stubborn people have rebelled
and turned your
backs on me.
24 You refuse to say,
“Let’s
worship the Lord!
He’s the one who sends rain
in spring and autumn
and gives us a
good harvest.”
25 That’s why I cannot bless you!
*26 A hunter traps birds
and puts them
in a cage,
but some of you trap humans
and make them
your slaves.
27 You are evil, and you lie and cheat
to make yourselves
rich.
You are powerful
28 and prosperous,
but you refuse to help the
poor
get the justice
they deserve.
29 You need to be punished,
and so I will
take revenge.
30 Look at the terrible things
going on in this country.
I am shocked!
31 Prophets give their messages
in the name of
a false god,
my priests don’t want
to serve me,
and you—my own people—
like it this way!
But on the day of disaster,
where will you
turn for help?