Jerusalem Refuses to Repent
“aRoam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
And see now and know,
And seek in her open squares,
If you can bfind a man,
cIf there is one who does justice, who seeks faithfulness,
Then I will pardon her.
2 And aif they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,’
Then they swear to a lie.”
3 O Yahweh, do not aYour eyes look for faithfulness?
You have bstruck them,
But they did not weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they crefused to receive discipline.
They have dmade their faces stronger than rock;
They have refused to repent.
4 Then I said, “They are only the poor;
They are foolish;
For they ado not know the way of Yahweh
Or the legal judgment of their God.
5 Let me go to the great
And let me speak to them,
For athey know the way of Yahweh
And the legal judgment of their God.”
But they too, altogether, have bbroken the yoke
And torn apart the bonds.
6 Therefore aa lion from the forest will strike them down;
A bwolf of the deserts will devastate them;
A cleopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces
Because their dtransgressions are many;
Their acts of faithlessness are mighty.
7 “Why should I pardon you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And asworn by those who are bnot gods.
I had satisfied them to the full,
Then they ccommitted adultery
And trooped to the harlot’s house.
8 They were well‑fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing after his aneighbor’s wife.
9 Shall I not punish these people,” declares Yahweh,
“And on a nation such as this
aShall I not avenge Myself?
10 “Go up through her vine rows and make them a ruin,
But do not make a complete destruction;
Remove her branches,
For they are not Yahweh’s.
11 For the ahouse of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares Yahweh.
12 They have adealt falsely about Yahweh
And said, “bNot He;
Calamity will cnot come on us,
And we dwill not see sword or famine.
13 The aprophets are as wind,
And the word is not in them.
Thus it will be done to them!”
A Stubborn and Rebellious People
14 Therefore, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts,
“Because you have spoken this word,
Behold, I am amaking My words in your mouth fire
And this people wood, and it will devour them.
15 Behold, I am abringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh.
“It is an enduring nation;
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose btongue you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
16 Their aquiver is like an bopen grave;
All of them are mighty men.
17 They will adevour 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 bvines and your fig trees;
They will demolish with the sword your cfortified cities in which you trust.
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares Yahweh, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19 It shall come about awhen they say, ‘Why has Yahweh our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will bserve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob
And cause it to be heard in Judah, saying,
21 ‘Now hear this, O people who are simpleminded fools and without a heart of wisdom,
Who have aeyes but do not see,
Who have ears but do not hear.
22 Do you not afear Me?’ declares Yahweh.
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have bplaced the sand as a boundary for the sea,
A perpetual statute, so it cannot cross over it.
Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.
23 But this people has a astubborn and rebellious heart;
They have turned aside and gone away.
24 They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear Yahweh our God,
Who agives rain in its season,
Both bthe early rain and the late rain,
Who keeps for us
The cappointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 Your ainiquities have turned these away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
26 For wicked men are found among My people;
They awatch like fowlers lying in wait;
They set a trap;
They catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of adeceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
28 They are afat, they are sleek;
They also excel in deeds of evil;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the borphan, that they may succeed;
And they do not render justice for the poor.
29 aShall I not punish these people?’ declares Yahweh,
‘On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?’
30 “A horrible and aappalling thing
Has happened in the land:
31 The aprophets prophesy with lying,
And the priests have dominion by their own hand;
And My people blove it so!
But what will you do at the end of it?