1 “(A)Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,And look now and take note.And seek in her open squares,If you can (B)find a man,(C)If there is one who does justice, who seeks (a)truth,Then I will pardon her.
1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
1 Roam(A) through the streets of Jerusalem.Look and take note;search in her squares.If you find one person,(B)any who acts justly,who seeks to be faithful,then I will forgive her.(C)
1 "Wander through the streets of Jerusalem. Look and investigate; search through her squares and see whether you find anyone even one person there doing justice and seeking truth. Then I'll forgive them.
1 “Roam back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem,And look now and take note.And look in her open squaresTo 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].(A)
3 O Lord, do not (E)Your eyes look for (b)truth?You have (F)smitten them,But they did not (c)weaken;You have consumed them,But they (G)refused to take correction.They have (H)made their faces harder than rock;They have refused to repent.
3 O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
3 Lord, don’t Your eyes look for faithfulness?(F)You have struck them, but they felt no pain.(G)You finished them off,but they refused to accept discipline.(H)They made their faces harder than rock,(I)and they refused to return.(J)
3 LORD, don't your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they didn't flinch. You brought them to an end, but they refused to receive discipline. They made their faces harder than stone, and they refused to repent.
3 O 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.
4 Then I said, “They are only the poor,They are foolish;For they (I)do not know the way of the LordOr the ordinance of their God.
4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.
4 Then I thought:They are just the poor;they have played the fool.For they don’t understand the way of the Lord,(K)the justice of their God.(L)
4 Then I said, "These are only the poor, they're foolish, for they don't know the LORD's way, the requirement of their God.
4 Then 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 LordOr the ordinance of their God [and the requirements of His just and righteous law].
5 “I will go to the greatAnd will speak to them,For (J)they know the way of the LordAnd the ordinance of their God.”But they too, with one accord, have (K)broken the yokeAnd burst the bonds.
5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.
5 I will go to the powerfuland speak to them.Surely they know the way of the Lord,the justice of their God.(M)However, these also had broken the yokeand torn off the chains.(N)
5 Let me go to the leaders and speak to them. For they know the LORD's way, the requirement of their God." "But they, all together, have broken the yoke and torn off the restraints.
5 “I 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].
6 Therefore (L)a lion from the forest will slay them,A (M)wolf of the deserts will destroy them,A (N)leopard is watching their cities.Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,Because their (O)transgressions are many,Their apostasies are numerous.
6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
6 Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down.(O)A wolf from an arid plain will ravage them.A leopard(P) keeps watch over their cities.Anyone who leaves them will be torn to piecesbecause their rebellious acts are many,(Q)their unfaithful deeds numerous.(R)
6 Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will devastate them. A leopard is watching their towns, and everyone who goes out of them will be torn to pieces. For their transgressions are many, and their apostasies numerous.
6 Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them,A wolf of the deserts will destroy them,A leopard is watching their cities.Everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,Because their transgressions are many,Their desertions of faith are countless.
7 “Why should I pardon you?Your sons have forsaken MeAnd (P)sworn by those who are (Q)not gods.When I had fed them to the full,They (R)committed adulteryAnd trooped to the harlot’s house.
7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.
7 Why should I forgive you?Your children have abandoned Meand sworn by those who are not gods.(S)I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery;(T)they gashed themselves(U) at the(a) prostitute’s house.
7 Why should I forgive you? Your sons have forsaken me, and you have sworn by those who aren't gods. When I gave them enough food to satisfy them, they committed adultery and marched to the prostitute's house.
7 “Why should I [overlook these offenses and] forgive you?Your children have abandoned (rejected) MeAnd sworn [their oaths] by those who are not gods.When I had fed them until they were full [and bound them to Me by a promise],They committed [spiritual] adultery,Assembling in troops at the houses of prostitutes (idols).
9 “Shall I not punish (d)these people,” declares the Lord,“And on a nation such as this(T)Shall I not avenge Myself?
9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
9 Should I not punish them for these things?(Y)This is the Lord’s declaration.Should I not avenge Myself(Z)on such a nation as this?
9 "Should I not punish them for these things?" asks the LORD, "And on a nation like this, should I not seek retribution?"
9 “Shall I not punish them [for these things]?” says the Lord;“Shall I not avenge MyselfOn 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.
10 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD'S.
10 Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them,(AA)but do not finish them off.(AB)Prune away her shoots,for they do not belong to the Lord.(AC)
10 "Go through her rows of vines and destroy them, but don't completely destroy them. Strip away her branches, because they aren't the LORD's.
10 “Go up through the rows of Jerusalem’s vineyards and destroy [them],But do not completely destroy everything.Strip away her branches and the tendrils [of her vines],For they are not the Lord’s.
11 “For the (U)house of Israel and the house of JudahHave dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares the Lord.
11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.
11 They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah,have dealt very treacherously with Me.(AD)This is the Lord’s declaration.
11 For both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me," declares the LORD.
11 “For the house of Israel and the house of JudahHave dealt very treacherously (faithlessly) with Me,” declares the Lord.
12 They have (V)lied about the LordAnd said, “(e)(W)Not He;Misfortune will (X)not come on us,And we (Y)will not see sword or famine.
12 They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
12 They have contradicted the Lordand insisted, “It won’t happen.(d)(AE)Harm won’t come to us;we won’t see sword or famine.”
12 "They have lied about the LORD by saying, "He wouldn't do that! Disaster won't come on us. We won't see sword and famine.
12 They have lied about and denied the LordBy saying, “It is not He [who speaks through His prophets];Misfortune and evil shall not come on us,Nor will we see war or famine.
13 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
13 The prophets become only wind,for the Lord’s word is not in them.This will in fact happen to them.
13 The prophets are nothing but wind, and the word is not in them. So may the disaster happen to them!'"
14 Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts,“Because you have spoken this word,Behold, I am (AA)making My words in your mouth fireAnd this people wood, and it will consume them.
14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Hosts says:Because you have spoken this word,I am going to make My wordsbecome fire in your mouth.(AF)These people are the wood,and the fire will consume them.(AG)
14 Therefore, this is what the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies says: "Because you people have said this, my words in your mouth will become a fire and these people the wood. The fire will destroy them.
14 Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts,“Because you [people] have spoken this word,Behold, I am making My words a fire in your mouth [Jeremiah]And this people wood, and My words will consume them.
15 “Behold, I am (AB)bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.“It is an enduring nation,It is an ancient nation,A nation whose (AC)language you do not know,Nor can you understand what they say.
15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
15 I am about to bring a nationfrom far away against you,(AH)house of Israel.This is the Lord’s declaration.It is an established nation,an ancient nation,a nation whose language you do not knowand whose speech you do not understand.(AI)
15 People of Israel, I'm now bringing a nation from far away to attack you," declares the LORD. "It is an enduring nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you don't know. And you won't understand what they say.
15 “Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from far away, O house of Israel,” says the Lord.“It is a mighty and enduring nation,It is an ancient nation,A nation whose language you do not know,Whose words you do not comprehend.
17 “They will (AF)devour 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 (AG)vines and your fig trees;They will demolish with the sword your (AH)fortified cities in which you trust.
17 And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.
17 They will consume your harvest and your food.(AK)They will consume your sons and your daughters.They will consume your flocks and your herds.They will consume your vines and your fig trees.They will destroy with the swordyour fortified cities(AL) in which you trust.
17 "They'll devour your harvest and your food. They'll devour your sons and your daughters. They'll devour your vines and your fig trees. With their swords they'll batter down your fortified cities in which you trust.
17 “They will consume your harvest and [eat up] your bread;They will consume your sons and your daughters;They will consume your flocks and your herds;They will consume your vines and your fig trees.With the sword they will break down and demolish your fortified cities in which you trust.
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make you a complete destruction.
18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you.
18 "Yet even in those days," declares the LORD, "I won't destroy you completely.
18 “But even in those days,” says the Lord, “I will not totally destroy you.
19 It shall come about (AI)when (f)they say, ‘Why has the Lord 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 (AJ)serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
19 When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ You will respond to them: Just as you abandoned Me(AN) and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.(AO)
19 When the people ask, "Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?' you are to say to them, "Just as you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.'"
19 It 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 JacobAnd proclaim it in Judah, saying,
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying:
20 "Declare this to the descendants of Jacob, and proclaim it in Judah:
20 “Declare this in the house of JacobAnd proclaim it in Judah, saying:
21 ‘Now hear this, O foolish and (g)senseless people,Who have (AK)eyes but do not see;Who have ears but do not hear.
21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
21 Hear this,you foolish and senseless(e) people.(AP)They have eyes, but they don’t see.They have ears, but they don’t hear.(AQ)
21 "Hear this, you foolish and stupid people: They have eyes, but don't see; they have ears, but don't hear.
22 ‘Do you not (AL)fear Me?’ declares the Lord.‘Do you not tremble in My presence?For I have (AM)placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.
22 Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
22 Do you not fear Me?This is the Lord’s declaration.Do you not tremble before Me,the One who set the sand as the boundary of the sea,an enduring barrier that it cannot cross?(AR)The waves surge, but they cannot prevail.They roar but cannot pass over it.
22 "You don't fear me, do you?' declares the LORD. "You don't tremble before me, do you? I'm the one who put the sand as a boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot cross. Though the waves toss, they cannot prevail against it, though they roar, they cannot cross it.'
22 ‘Do 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?]
23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.(AS)They have turned aside and have gone away.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned aside and have gone away.
23 ‘But 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].
24 ‘They do not say in their heart,“Let us now fear the Lord our God,Who (AO)gives rain in its season,Both (AP)the autumn rain and the spring rain,Who keeps for usThe (AQ)appointed weeks of the harvest.”
24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
24 They have not said to themselves,‘Let’s fear the Lord our God,(AT)who gives the rain,(AU) both early and late,(AV) in its season,(AW)who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.’
24 They don't say to themselves, "Let's fear the LORD our God, who gives rain in its season, both the autumn and the spring rain. He sets aside for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.'
24 ‘They 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 usThe appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.
25 Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you.Your sins have withheld My bounty from you,(AX)
25 Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have held back from you what is good.
25 ‘Your wickedness has turned these [blessings] away,And your sins have withheld good [harvests] from you.
26 ‘For wicked men are found among My people,They (AS)watch like fowlers (h)lying in wait;They set a trap,They catch men.
26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
26 for wicked men live among My people.They watch like fowlers lying in wait.(f)(AY)They set a trap;(AZ)they catch men.
26 "Evil men are found among my people. They lie in wait like someone who traps birds. They set a trap, but they do so to catch people.
26 ‘For wicked men are found among My people,They watch like fowlers who lie in wait;They set a trap,They catch men.
27 ‘Like a cage full of birds,So their houses are full of (AT)deceit;Therefore they have become great and rich.
27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
27 Like a cage full of birds,so their houses are full of deceit.(BA)Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.
27 Like a cage full of birds, so their houses are filled with treachery. This is how they have become prominent and rich,
27 ‘As a cage is full of birds,So are their houses full of deceit and treachery;Therefore they have become influential and rich.
28 ‘They are (AU)fat, they are sleek,They also (i)excel in deeds of wickedness;They do not plead the cause,The cause of the (j)(AV)orphan, that they may prosper;And they do not (k)defend the rights of the poor.
28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
28 They have become fat(BB) and sleek.They have also excelled in evil matters.They have not taken up cases,such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,and they have not defended the rights of the needy.(BC)
28 and have grown fat and sleek. There is no limit to their evil deeds. They don't argue the case of the orphan to secure justice. They don't defend the rights of the poor.
29 ‘(AW)Shall I not punish (l)these people?’ declares the Lord,‘On a nation such as thisShall I not avenge Myself?’
29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
29 Should I not punish them for these things?This is the Lord’s declaration.Should I not avenge Myself(BD)on such a nation as this?
29 "Should I not punish them for this?' asks the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself on a nation like this?'
29 ‘Shall I not punish them [for these things]?’ says the Lord.‘Shall I not avenge MyselfOn such a nation as this?’
31 The (AY)prophets prophesy falsely,And the priests rule (m)on their own authority;And My people (AZ)love it so!But what will you do at the end of it?
31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,(BF)and the priests rule by their own authority.My people love it like this.But what will you do at the end of it?(BG)
31 The prophets prophesy falsely, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?"
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