Jeremiah searches Jerusalem for one just person and finds none. The people have denied the LORD and say no disaster will come. God says he will bring a nation from far away, but will not make a full end.
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.
2 And though they say , The LORD liveth ; surely they swear falsely .
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 .
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 .
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 .
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 .
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 .
8 They were as fed horses in the morning : every one neighed after his neighbour's wife .
9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD : and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
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 .
11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD .
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 :
13 And the prophets shall become wind , and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto 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.
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 .
16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre , they are all mighty men .
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 .
18 Nevertheless in those days , saith the LORD , I will not make a full end with you.
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.
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob , and publish it in Judah , saying ,
21 Hear now this, O foolish people , and without understanding ; which have eyes , and see not; which have ears , and hear not:
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?
23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart ; they are revolted and gone .
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 .
25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.
26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait , as he that setteth snares ; they set a trap , they catch men .
27 As a cage is full of birds , so are their houses full of deceit : therefore they are become great , and waxen rich .
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 .
29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD : shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
30 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land ;
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?