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5:1  The Lord says, “·Walk [or Run] up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look around and ·discover [know] these things. Search the public squares of the city. If you can find one person who does ·honest [just] things, who ·searches for the truth [or seeks to be faithful], I will forgive this city.
5:2  Although the people say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ they ·don’t really mean it [L swear/take an oath falsely].”
5:3  Lord, ·don’t you [L do your eyes] look for ·truth [faithfulness] in people? You struck ·the people of Judah [L them], but they didn’t feel any ·pain [anguish]. You ·crushed [consumed] them, but they refused to ·learn what is right [L take your correction/instruction]. ·They became more stubborn [L Their faces became harder] than a rock; they refused to ·turn back to God [L return; repent].
5:4  But I thought, “These are only the poor, ·foolish people [L they have no sense]. They ·have not learned [L do not know] the ·way [path] of the Lord and ·what their God wants them to do [L the ordinances/judgments of their God].
5:5  So I will go to the ·leaders [great; or rich] and talk to them. Surely they ·understand [L know] the ·way [path] of the Lord and ·know what God wants them to do [L the ordinances/judgments of their God].” But even ·the leaders [L they] had all joined together to break their yoke [C abandoning God]; they had snapped off their ropes [C rejecting their dependence on God; 2:20].
5:6  So a lion from the forest will ·attack [L strike] them. A wolf from the desert will ·kill [destroy] them. A leopard is ·waiting for [L watching] them near their towns. It will ·tear to pieces [make prey of] anyone who comes out of the city, because the people of Judah have ·sinned [rebelled; transgressed] greatly. ·They have wandered away from the Lord many times [Their apostasies are great].
5:7  The Lord said, “·Tell me why I should [L How can I…?] forgive you. Your children have ·left [abandoned; forsaken] me and have ·made promises [L sworn] to those who are not gods at all [C idols]. I ·gave your children everything they needed [L satisfied/sated them], but they still ·were like an unfaithful wife to me [committed adultery]. They ·spent much time in [frequented; trooped to] houses of prostitutes.
5:8  They are like well-fed horses filled with ·sexual desire [lust]; each one ·wants [L neighs after] another man’s wife [3:6–10].
5:9  Shouldn’t I punish them [C the people of Judah] for doing these things?” says the Lord. “Shouldn’t I ·give a nation such as this the punishment [L get revenge on a nation as] it deserves?
5:10  “Go along and ·cut down [destroy] her [C Judah’s] ·vineyards [rows of vines; Is. 5:1–7], but do not ·completely destroy them [L make a complete end; 4:27]. Cut off its branches [C representing the people], because they do not belong to the Lord.
5:11  The ·families [L houses] of Israel and Judah have been completely ·unfaithful [traitorous; treasonous] to me,” says the Lord.
5:12  Those people have lied about the Lord and said, “He will not do anything to us! ·Nothing bad [No evil/trouble/harm] will happen to us! We will never see ·war [L sword] or ·hunger [famine]!
5:13  The prophets are wind [C empty]; the word [C of God] is not in them. Let the bad things they say happen to them.”
5:14  So this is what the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: “Because they have spoken this word [C that God would not punish them]. the words I ·give you [L place in your mouth] will be like fire, and these people will be like wood that it ·burns up [consumes; devours].
5:15  Listen, ·family [L house] of Israel,” says the Lord, “I will soon bring a nation from far away ·to attack [L against] you. It is an ·old [ancient] nation that has ·lasted [endured] a long time [C Babylon]. ·The people there speak a language [Its language/L tongue] you do not know [C Aramaic or Akkadian]; you cannot ·understand [L hear] what they say.
5:16  Their ·arrows bring death [L quiver is like an open grave]. All their people are strong warriors.
5:17  They will ·eat [consume; devour] your crops and your food. They will ·eat [consume; devour] your sons and daughters. They will ·eat [consume; devour] your flocks and herds. They will ·eat [consume; devour] your ·grapes [L vines] and ·figs [L fig trees]. They will destroy with their swords the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities you ·trust [have confidence in].
5:18  “Yet even ·then [L in those days],” says the Lord, “I will not ·destroy you completely [L make a complete end; v. 10; 4:27].
5:19  When the people [C of Judah] ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us [C his acts of judgment]?’ then give them this answer: ‘You have ·left [abandoned; forsaken] the Lord and served foreign gods [C idols] in your own land. So now you will serve ·foreigners [L strangers] in a land that does not belong to you.’
5:20  “·Announce this message [Proclaim this] to the ·family [L house] of Jacob [C Israel], and ·tell it to the nation of [L make this heard in] Judah:
5:21  Hear this message, you foolish people who have no ·sense [L heart]. They have eyes, but they don’t really see. They have ears, but they don’t really listen [C God’s people are like the idols they worship; Ps. 115:6; 135:17].
5:22  ·Surely you are afraid of me [L Do you not fear me?],” says the Lord. “·You should shake with fear [L Do you not tremble…?] in my presence. I am the one who ·made the beaches [L set sand] to be a border for the sea, a ·border [limit] the water can never go past. ·The waves may pound the beach [L They may rise and fall], but they can’t win over it. ·They [L The waves] may roar, but they cannot go beyond it.
5:23  But this people [C of Judah] ·are stubborn and have turned against me [L have a stubborn and rebellious heart]. They have turned aside and gone away from me.
5:24  They do not say ·to themselves [L in their hearts], ‘We should fear the Lord our God [Prov. 1:7], who gives us ·autumn [early] and ·spring [late] rains in their seasons, who ·makes sure we have the harvest at the right time [brings us unfailingly the weeks appointed for harvests].’
5:25  But your ·evil [iniquities] has kept these [C rain and harvest] away. Your sins have kept you from enjoying good things.
5:26  There ·are wicked men [L wicked are found] among my people. Like ·those who make nets for catching birds [fowlers], they set their traps to catch people.
5:27  Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of ·lies [deceit]. They have become ·powerful [great] and rich.
5:28  They have grown fat and sleek. There is no end to the evil things they do. They do not judge justly. They won’t plead the case of the orphan [Ex. 22:22–24; Deut. 10:18; 24:17, 19–21; 27:19] or help the poor be judged fairly [Ex. 22:25–27; 23:6, 11; Deut. 15:11].
5:29  Shouldn’t I punish them [C the people of Judah] for doing these things?” says the Lord. “Shouldn’t I ·give a nation such as this the punishment [L get revenge on a nation as] it deserves [v. 9]?
5:30  “A terrible and shocking thing has happened in the land [C of Judah]:
5:31  The prophets ·speak lies [L prophesy falsely; Deut. 18:14–22], and the priests ·take power [rule] ·into their own hands [or by their hand/control], and my people love it this way. But what will you do when the end comes?