New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Jeremiah 5
1
The Lord says, "Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look around. Think about what you see. Search through the market places. See if you can find one honest person who tries to be truthful. If you can, I will forgive this city.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 22:30
2 Chronicles 16:9
Psalm 14:3
Psalm 12:1
Proverbs 20:6
Truth
Isaiah 59:4
2
They take all of their oaths in my name. They say, 'You can be sure that the Lord is alive.' But their oaths can't be trusted."
Reference
Parallel theme
Titus 1:16
Jeremiah 7:9
Hosea 10:4
2 Timothy 3:5
References Lord
Jeremiah 4:2
Isaiah 48:1
Leviticus 19:12
3
Lord, don't your eyes look for truth? You struck your people down. But they didn't feel any pain. You crushed them. But they refused to be corrected. They made their faces harder than stone. They refused to turn away from their sins.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 2:30
Zephaniah 3:7
References Lord
2 Chronicles 16:9
Isaiah 9:13
Truth
Jeremiah 7:28
4
I thought, "The people of Jerusalem are foolish. They don't know how the Lord wants them to live. They don't know what their God requires of them.
Reference
5
So I will go to the leaders. I'll speak to them. They should know how the Lord wants them to live. They must know what their God requires of them." But all of them had broken off the yoke the Lord had put on them. They had torn off the ropes he had tied them up with.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 2:20
6
So a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the desert will destroy them. A leopard will hide and wait near their towns. It will tear to pieces anyone who dares to go out. Again and again they have refused to obey the Lord. They have turned away from him many times.
Reference
7
The Lord says, "Jerusalem, why should I forgive you? Your people have deserted me. They have taken their oaths in the names of gods that are not really gods at all. I supplied everything they needed. But they committed adultery. Large crowds went to the houses of prostitutes.
Reference
Parallel theme
Zephaniah 1:5
Jeremiah 23:10
Jeremiah 12:16
References God
Galatians 4:8
Jeremiah 2:11
Deuteronomy 32:21
Joshua 23:7
1 Corinthians 8:4
Deuteronomy 32:15
James 4:4
8
Your people are like stallions that have plenty to eat. Their sinful longings are out of control. Each of them goes after another man's wife.
Reference
9
Shouldn't I punish them for that?" announces the Lord. "Shouldn't I pay back the nation that does those things?
Reference
10
"Armies of Babylonia, go through their vineyards and destroy them. But do not destroy them completely. Strip off their branches. Those people do not belong to me.
Reference
11
The people of Israel and Judah have not been faithful to me at all," announces the Lord.
Reference
12
They have told lies about the Lord. They said, "He won't do anything! No harm will come to us. We will never see war or be hungry.
Reference
13
The prophets are nothing but wind. Their message doesn't come from the Lord. So let what they say will happen be done to them."
Reference
14
The Lord God rules over all. He says to me, "The people have spoken those words. So my words will be like fire in your mouth. I will make the people like wood. And the fire will burn them up."
Reference
15
"People of Israel, listen to me," announces the Lord. "I am bringing against you a nation from far away. It is an old nation. And it will last for a long time. Its people speak a language you do not know. You can't understand what they are saying.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 4:16
Isaiah 28:11
Isaiah 5:26
Isaiah 33:19
References Lord
Deuteronomy 28:49
Jeremiah 25:9
Jeremiah 1:15
16
The bags they carry their arrows in are like an open grave. All of their soldiers are mighty.
Reference
17
They will eat up your crops and your food. They will strike down your sons and daughters. They will kill your sheep and cattle. They will destroy your vines and fig trees. You trust in your cities that have high walls around them. But the people in them will be killed with swords.
Reference
18
"In spite of that, even in those days I will not destroy you completely," announces the Lord.
Reference
19
" 'Jeremiah,' the people will ask, 'Why has the Lord our God done all of this to us?' "Then you will tell them, 'You have deserted the Lord. You have served other gods in your own land. So now you will serve another nation in a land that is not your own.'
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 13:22
Jeremiah 2:35
Jeremiah 2:13
Lamentations 5:8
References God
Jeremiah 16:13
20
"Here is what I want you to announce to the people of Jacob. Tell it in Judah. Tell them I say,
21
'Listen to this, you foolish people, who do not have any sense. You have eyes, but you do not see. You have ears, but you do not hear.
Reference
22
Shouldn't you have respect for me?' announces the Lord. 'Shouldn't you tremble with fear in front of me? I made the sand to hold the ocean back. It will do that forever. The ocean can't go past it. The waves might roll, but they can't sweep over it. They might roar, but they can't go across it.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 119:120
Psalm 104:9
Job 26:10
Proverbs 8:29
Nahum 1:4
Jeremiah 10:7
Mark 4:39
Psalm 33:7
References Lord
Deuteronomy 28:58
Amos 9:6
23
But you people have stubborn hearts. You refuse to obey me. You have turned away from me. You have gone down the wrong path.
Reference
24
You do not say to yourselves, "Let us have respect for the Lord our God. He sends rain in the fall and the spring. He promises us that the harvest will come at the same time each year."
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 147:8
Genesis 8:22
Acts 14:17
Matthew 5:45
Revelation 11:6
Isaiah 64:7
Job 38:37
References God
Joel 2:23
Jeremiah 14:22
References Lord
Jeremiah 50:5
25
But the things you have done wrong have robbed you of those gifts. Your sins have kept those good things far away from you.'
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 107:34
Jeremiah 3:3
Sin
Isaiah 59:2
Psalm 107:17
Lamentations 3:39
Lamentations 4:22
26
"Jeremiah, some of my people are evil. They hide and wait just as people hide to catch birds. They set traps for men.
Reference
27
A hunter uses tricks to fill his cage with birds. And my people have filled their houses with a lot of goods. They have become rich and powerful.
28
They have grown fat and heavy. There is no limit to the evil things they do. In court they do not state the case of children whose fathers have died. They do not stand up for poor people.
Reference
29
Shouldn't I punish them for that?" announces the Lord. "Shouldn't I pay back the nation that does those things?
Reference
31
The prophets prophesy lies. The priests rule by their own authority. And my people love it that way. But what will they do in the end?"
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 13:6
Isaiah 10:3
Deuteronomy 32:29
Ezekiel 22:14
Prophecy
Jeremiah 14:14
Micah 2:11
Summary of Jeremiah 5
Jeremiah 5 presents a devastating picture of a society in which truth, justice, faithfulness, and genuine worship have become increasingly rare.
God challenges Jeremiah to search throughout Jerusalem for even one person who consistently practices justice and seeks truth.
The search reveals the depth of Judah's problem.
The poor have acted foolishly, but the wealthy and educated are no better.
People from every level of society have rejected God's authority.
The chapter repeatedly emphasizes that Judah's problem is not simply ignorance.
The people know about God but refuse to obey Him.
They continue to worship other gods, pursue their own desires, and ignore the warnings delivered through the prophets.
God compares their behavior to adultery, showing that idolatry is not merely a religious mistake but a betrayal of the covenant relationship.
The people have also developed a dangerous confidence that judgment will never come.
They say that disaster will not happen, that they will not experience war or famine, and that the prophets are merely speaking empty words.
Jeremiah directly challenges this false security.
God's word through the prophet will become like fire, while the rebellious nation will be like wood consumed by it.
A distant and powerful nation is coming, described in terms that fit the rise of Babylon.
Its army will destroy crops, livestock, cities, and fortified places, eventually bringing Judah under foreign domination.
Historically, Babylon became the dominant regional power after defeating Egypt and Assyria's remaining forces, and its campaigns against Judah eventually culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
Yet even within this severe warning, God leaves room for mercy by saying that He will not completely destroy His people.
The chapter also exposes Judah's social corruption.
People who have become wealthy and powerful exploit others, while the poor, orphans, and vulnerable receive little justice.
Religious leaders contribute to the problem.
Prophets speak falsely, priests exercise authority for their own benefit, and ordinary people accept the situation because they prefer comfortable messages rather than difficult truth.
Jeremiah also reminds the people that God controls the natural world.
He established boundaries for the sea and provides the rain that produces their harvests.
Yet the people fail to recognize their dependence upon Him.
Their hearts have become stubborn, and their prosperity has encouraged them to believe they can live independently of God.
The central message is that Judah's approaching judgment is not caused merely by political weakness but by a deep moral and spiritual collapse affecting ordinary people, wealthy leaders, priests, prophets, and rulers alike; the nation has rejected God's correction, trusted false assurances, worshiped other gods, exploited the vulnerable, and ignored the One who provides its food and security, so Jeremiah warns that the powerful nation approaching from the north will expose the emptiness of Judah's confidence, while God's decision not to destroy everything leaves a remnant and the possibility of eventual restoration.
God challenges Jeremiah to search throughout Jerusalem for even one person who consistently practices justice and seeks truth.
The search reveals the depth of Judah's problem.
The poor have acted foolishly, but the wealthy and educated are no better.
People from every level of society have rejected God's authority.
The chapter repeatedly emphasizes that Judah's problem is not simply ignorance.
The people know about God but refuse to obey Him.
They continue to worship other gods, pursue their own desires, and ignore the warnings delivered through the prophets.
God compares their behavior to adultery, showing that idolatry is not merely a religious mistake but a betrayal of the covenant relationship.
The people have also developed a dangerous confidence that judgment will never come.
They say that disaster will not happen, that they will not experience war or famine, and that the prophets are merely speaking empty words.
Jeremiah directly challenges this false security.
God's word through the prophet will become like fire, while the rebellious nation will be like wood consumed by it.
A distant and powerful nation is coming, described in terms that fit the rise of Babylon.
Its army will destroy crops, livestock, cities, and fortified places, eventually bringing Judah under foreign domination.
Historically, Babylon became the dominant regional power after defeating Egypt and Assyria's remaining forces, and its campaigns against Judah eventually culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
Yet even within this severe warning, God leaves room for mercy by saying that He will not completely destroy His people.
The chapter also exposes Judah's social corruption.
People who have become wealthy and powerful exploit others, while the poor, orphans, and vulnerable receive little justice.
Religious leaders contribute to the problem.
Prophets speak falsely, priests exercise authority for their own benefit, and ordinary people accept the situation because they prefer comfortable messages rather than difficult truth.
Jeremiah also reminds the people that God controls the natural world.
He established boundaries for the sea and provides the rain that produces their harvests.
Yet the people fail to recognize their dependence upon Him.
Their hearts have become stubborn, and their prosperity has encouraged them to believe they can live independently of God.
The central message is that Judah's approaching judgment is not caused merely by political weakness but by a deep moral and spiritual collapse affecting ordinary people, wealthy leaders, priests, prophets, and rulers alike; the nation has rejected God's correction, trusted false assurances, worshiped other gods, exploited the vulnerable, and ignored the One who provides its food and security, so Jeremiah warns that the powerful nation approaching from the north will expose the emptiness of Judah's confidence, while God's decision not to destroy everything leaves a remnant and the possibility of eventual restoration.