1“Run back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem. Look now, and notice, and search in her public squares, to see if you can find a man, if there is anyone who acts justly, who seeks truth; and I will pardon her.”
2Even though they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,’ they are surely swearing falsely.”
3Yahweh, don't your eyes look for truth? You have struck down these people, but they weren't sad. You have destroyed them, but they refused to learn their lesson. They have become more stubborn than rock and refused to change.
4Then I thought, "Surely these are just poor, foolish people. They don't know Yahweh's way or the law of their God."
5I will go to the important people and speak to them, because they know Yahweh's way and the law of their God. But these, united, have also broken free and snapped their restraints.
6Therefore, a lion from the forest will kill them, a wolf of the desert will destroy them, a leopard will lurk near their cities. Everyone who goes out will be torn to pieces, because their wrongdoing is great and their disloyalty has increased.
7"How can I forgive you? Your children have abandoned me and sworn by gods that are not real. When I had fed them until they were full, they committed adultery and gathered in crowds at prostitutes' houses.
8They were like well-fed stallions, roaming freely; each one lusted after his neighbor's wife.
9Shouldn't I punish them for these things?" says Yahweh. "And shouldn't I take revenge on such a nation as this?"
10"Go up on her walls and destroy, but don't completely wipe her out. Cut away her branches, for they do not belong to Yahweh."
11"For the people of Israel and Judah have been very faithless to me," says Yahweh.
12They have denied Yahweh, saying, "It is not him! No harm will come to us, and we will not see war or famine."
13They say, "The prophets are just wind, and the word of God is not in them. This is what will happen to them."
14Therefore, Yahweh, the God of Armies, says, "Because you speak these words, I will make my words in your mouth like fire, and these people like wood, and it will consume them."
15"Look, I will bring a nation against you from far away, people of Israel," says Yahweh. "It is a strong nation. It is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you don't know and whose speech you don't understand."
16Their quiver is like an open grave; they are all mighty warriors.
17They will eat your harvest and your bread, which your sons and daughters should eat. They will eat your flocks and your herds. They will eat your vines and your fig trees. With the sword, they will tear down your fortified cities in which you trust.
18"But even in those days," says Yahweh, "I will not completely destroy you."
19When you ask, 'Why has Yahweh our God done all these things to us?' then you will be told, 'Just as you abandoned me and served foreign gods in your own land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.'
20"Declare this in Jacob's household and announce it in Judah, saying,
21Hear this now, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear:
22Do you not fear me?' says Yahweh. 'Will you not tremble before me, who set the sand as a boundary for the sea by an everlasting decree that it cannot cross? Though its waves surge, they cannot overcome it; though they roar, they cannot pass over it.'
23"But these people have a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned away and left.
24They do not say in their hearts, 'Let us now fear Yahweh our God, who sends the rain, both the early and the late rains, in its season, and who keeps for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.'
25"Your wrongdoings have kept these good things from you, and your sins have held back blessings.
26For among my people are wicked men. They lie in wait like bird trappers. They set a trap. They catch people.
27Just as a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit. Therefore, they have become powerful and rich."
28They have grown fat and look prosperous; in fact, they are experts at wicked deeds. They don't stand up for the orphan's cause so that the orphan might succeed; they don't ensure justice for the needy.
29Yahweh asks, "Should I not punish them for these things? Should I not get revenge on a nation like this?"
30"A shocking and terrible thing has happened in the land."
31The prophets prophesy lies, and the priests rule by their own power, and my people love it this way. What will you do when it all ends?