Not One Is Upright

5 “Go up and downs the streets of Jerusalem,

look around and consider,t

search through her squares.

If you can find but one personu

who deals honestlyv and seeks the truth,

I will forgivew this city.

2 Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’x

still they are swearing falsely.y”

3 Lord, do not your eyesz look for truth?

You strucka them, but they felt no pain;

you crushed them, but they refused correction.b

They made their faces harder than stonec

and refused to repent.d

4 I thought, “These are only the poor;

they are foolish,e

for they do not knowf the way of the Lord,

the requirements of their God.

5 So I will go to the leadersg

and speak to them;

surely they know the way of the Lord,

the requirements of their God.”

But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke

and torn off the bonds.h

6 Therefore a lion from the foresti will attack them,

a wolf from the desert will ravagej them,

a leopardk will lie in wait near their towns

to tear to pieces any who venture out,

for their rebellion is great

and their backslidings many.l

7 “Why should I forgive you?

Your children have forsaken me

and swornm by gods that are not gods.n

I supplied all their needs,

yet they committed adulteryo

and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.p

8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions,

each neighing for another man’s wife.q

9 Should I not punish them for this?”r

declares the Lord.

“Should I not avenges myself

on such a nation as this?

10 “Go through her vineyards and ravage them,

but do not destroy them completely.t

Strip off her branches,

for these people do not belong to the Lord.

11 The people of Israel and the people of Judah

have been utterly unfaithfulu to me,”

declares the Lord.

12 They have liedv about the Lord;

they said, “He will do nothing!

No harm will come to us;w

we will never see sword or famine.x

13 The prophetsy are but windz

and the word is not in them;

so let what they say be done to them.”

14 Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says:

“Because the people have spoken these words,

I will make my words in your moutha a fireb

and these people the wood it consumes.c

15 People of Israel,” declares the Lord,

“I am bringing a distant nationd against you—

an ancient and enduring nation,

a people whose languagee you do not know,

whose speech you do not understand.

16 Their quiversf are like an open grave;

all of them are mighty warriors.

17 They will devourg your harvests and food,

devourh your sons and daughters;

they will devouri your flocks and herds,

devour your vines and fig trees.j

With the swordk they will destroy

the fortified citiesl in which you trust.m

18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not destroyn you completely. 19 And when the people ask,o ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign godsp in your own land, so now you will serve foreignersq in a land not your own.’

20 “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob

and proclaimr it in Judah:

21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,s

who have eyest but do not see,

who have ears but do not hear:u

22 Should you not fearv me?” declares the Lord.

“Should you not tremblew in my presence?

I made the sand a boundary for the sea,x

an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.

The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;

they may roar,y but they cannot cross it.

23 But these people have stubborn and rebelliousz hearts;

they have turned asidea and gone away.

24 They do not say to themselves,

‘Let us fearb the Lord our God,

who gives autumn and spring rainsc in season,

who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’d

25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;

your sins have deprived you of good.e

26 “Among my people are the wickedf

who lie in waitg like men who snare birds

and like those who set trapsh to catch people.

27 Like cages full of birds,

their houses are full of deceit;i

they have become richj and powerful

28 and have grown fatk and sleek.

Their evil deeds have no limit;

they do not seek justice.

They do not promote the case of the fatherless;l

they do not defend the just cause of the poor.m

29 Should I not punish them for this?”

declares the Lord.

“Should I not avengen myself

on such a nation as this?

30 “A horribleo and shocking thing

has happened in the land:

31 The prophets prophesy lies,p

the priestsq rule by their own authority,

and my people love it this way.

But what will you do in the end?r