Jeremiah 5

shotetu bekhutsot yerushalai͏m ure'u-na ude'u uvaqshu virkhovoteha im-timtse'u ish im-yesh oseh mishpat mevaqqesh emunah ve'eslakh lah

Roam the streets of Jerusalem, Search its squares, Look about and take note: You will not find anyone engaged; There is no one who acts justly, Who seeks integrity— That I should pardon her.

ve'im khay-Adonai yomeru lakhen lasheqer yishave'u

Even when they say, “As GOD lives,” They are sure to be swearing falsely.

Adonai enekha halo le'emunah hikkitah otam velo-khalu killitam me'anu qakhat musar khizzequ fenehem missela me'anu lashuv

O ETERNAL One, Your eyes look for integrity. You have struck them, but they sensed no pain; You have consumed them, but they would accept no discipline. They made their faces harder than rock, They refused to turn back.

va'ani amarti akh-dallim hem no'alu ki lo yade'u derekh Adonai mishpat elohehem

Then I thought: These are just poor folk; They act foolishly; For they do not know the way of GOD, The rules of their God.

elekhah-lli el-haggedolim va'adabberah otam ki hemmah yade'u derekh Adonai mishpat elohehem akh hemmah yakhdav shaveru ol nittequ moserot

So I will go to the wealthy And speak with them: Surely they know the way of GOD, The rules of their God. But they as well had broken the yoke, Had snapped the bonds.

al-ken hikkam aryeh miyya'ar ze'ev aravot yeshoddem namer shoqed al-arehem kol-hayyotse mehennah yittaref ki rabbu pishehem atsemu meshuvotehem

Therefore, The lion of the forest strikes them down, The wolf of the desert ravages them. A leopard lies in wait by their towns; Whoever leaves them will be torn in pieces. For their transgressions are many, Their rebellious acts unnumbered.

e lazot (slvkh) [eslakh-]lakh banayikh azavuni vayyishave'u belo elohim va'asbia otam vayyinafu uvet zonah yitgodadu

Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me And sworn by no-gods. When I fed them their fill, They committed adultery And went trooping to the prostitute’s house.

susim meyuzzanim mashkim hayu ish el-eshet re'ehu yitshalu

They were well-fed, lusty stallions, Each neighing at another’s wife.

ha'al-elleh lo-efqod ne'um-Adonai ve'im begoy asher-kazeh lo titnaqqem nafshi

Shall I not punish such deeds? —says GOD— Shall I not bring retribution On a nation such as this?

alu vesharoteha veshakhetu vekhalah al-ta'asu hasiru netishoteha ki lo la-Adonai hemmah

Go up among her vines and destroy; Lop off her trailing branches, For they are not of GOD. (But do not make an end.)

ki vagod bagedu bi bet yisra'el uvet yehudah ne'um-Adonai

For the House of Israel and the House of Judah Have betrayed Me —declares GOD.

kikhashu ba-Adonai vayyomeru lo-hu velo-tavo alenu ra'ah vekherev vera'av lo nireh

They have been false to GOD And said: “It is not so! No trouble shall come upon us, We shall not see sword or famine.

vehannevi'im yihyu leruakh vehaddibber en bahem koh ye'aseh lahem

The prophets shall prove mere wind For the Word is not in them; Thus-and-thus shall be done to them!”

lakhen koh-amar Adonai elohe tseva'ot ya'an dabberkhem et-haddavar hazzeh hinni noten devaray befikha le'esh veha'am hazzeh etsim va'akhalatam

Assuredly, thus said GOD, The God of Hosts: Because they said that, I am putting My words into your mouth as fire, And this people shall be firewood, Which it will consume.

hinni mevi alekhem goy mimmerkhaq bet yisra'el ne'um-Adonai goy etan hu goy me'olam hu goy lo-teda leshono velo tishma mah-yedabber

Lo, I am bringing against you, O House of Israel, A nation from afar —declares GOD; It is an enduring nation, It is an ancient nation; A nation whose language you do not know— You will not understand what they say.

ashpato keqever patuakh kullam gibborim

Their quivers are like a yawning grave— They are all mighty warriors.

ve'akhal qetsirekha velakhmekha yokhelu banekha uvenotekha yokhal tsonekha uveqarekha yokhal gafnekha ute'enatekha yeroshesh are mivtsarekha asher attah boteakh bahennah bekharev

They will devour your harvest and food, They will devour your sons and daughters, They will devour your flocks and herds, They will devour your vines and fig trees. They will batter down with the sword The fortified towns on which you rely.

vegam bayyamim hahemmah ne'um-Adonai lo-e'eseh ittekhem kalah

But even in those days—declares GOD—I will not make an end of you.

vehayah ki tomeru takhat meh asah Adonai elohenu lanu et-kol-elleh ve'amarta alehem ka'asher azavtem oti vatta'avdu elohe nekhar be'artsekhem ken ta'avdu zarim be'erets lo lakhem

And when they ask, “Because of what did the ETERNAL our God do all these things?” you shall answer them, “Because you forsook Me and served alien gods on your own land, you will have to serve foreigners in a land not your own.”

haggidu zot bevet ya'aqov vehashmi'uha vihudah lemor

Proclaim this to the House of Jacob And announce it in Judah:

shimu-na zot am sakhal ve'en lev enayim lahem velo yiru oznayim lahem velo yishma'u

Hear this, O foolish people, Devoid of intelligence, That have eyes but can’t see, That have ears but can’t hear!

ha'oti lo-tira'u ne'um-Adonai im mippanay lo takhilu asher-samti khol gevul layyam khoq-olam velo ya'avrenhu vayyitga'ashu velo yukhalu vehamu gallayw velo ya'avrunhu

Should you not revere Me —says GOD— Should you not tremble before Me, Who set the sand as a boundary to the sea, As a limit for all time, not to be transgressed? Though its waves toss, they cannot prevail; Though they roar, they cannot pass it.

vela'am hazzeh hayah lev sorer umoreh saru vayyelekhu

Yet this people has a wayward and defiant heart; They have turned aside and gone their way.

velo-ameru vilvavam nira na et-Adonai elohenu hannoten geshem (vyrh) [yoreh] umalqosh be'itto shevu'ot khuqqot qatsir yishmor-lanu

They have not said to themselves, “Let us revere the ETERNAL our God, Who gives the rain, The early and late rain in season, Who keeps for our benefit The weeks appointed for harvest.”

avonotekhem hittu-elleh vekhattovtekhem mane'u hattov mikkem

It is your iniquities that have diverted these things, Your sins that have withheld the bounty from you.

ki-nimtse'u ve'ammi resha'im yashur keshakh yequshim hitsivu mashkhit anashim yilkodu

For among My people are found evildoers, Who lurk, like fowlers lying in wait; They set up a trap to catch other people.

kikhluv male of ken battehem mele'im mirmah al-ken godlu vayya'ashiru

As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of guile; That is why they have grown so wealthy.

shamenu ashetu gam averu divre-ra din lo-danu din yatom veyatslikhu umishpat evyonim lo shafatu

They have become fat and sleek; They pass beyond the bounds of wickedness, And they prosper. They will not judge the case of the orphan, Nor give a hearing to the plea of the needy.

ha'al-elleh lo-efqod ne'um-Adonai im begoy asher-kazeh lo titnaqqem nafshi

Shall I not punish such deeds —says GOD— Shall I not bring retribution On a nation such as this?

shammah vesha'arurah nihyetah ba'arets

An appalling, horrible thing Has happened in the land:

hannevi'im nibbe'u vasheqer vehakkohanim yirdu al-yedehem ve'ammi ahavu khen umah-tta'asu le'akharitah

The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule accordingly; And My people like it so. But what will you do at the end of it?