1 G o to and fro in streets of Jerusalem, And see, I pray you, and know, And seek in her broad places, if ye find a man, If there be one doing judgment, seeking stedfastness -- Then am I propitious to her.

“ Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And look now and take note. And seek in her open squares, If you can find a man, If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, Then I will pardon her.

2 A nd if they say, `Jehovah liveth,' Surely to a falsehood they swear.

“And although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.”

3 J ehovah, Thine eyes, are they not on stedfastness? Thou hast smitten them, and they have not grieved, Thou hast consumed them, They have refused to receive instruction, They made their faces harder than a rock, They have refused to turn back.

O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth? You have smitten them, But they did not weaken; You have consumed them, But they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to repent.

4 A nd I -- I said, `Surely these poor, They have been foolish, For they have not known the way of Jehovah, The judgment of their God.

Then I said, “They are only the poor, They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the Lord Or the ordinance of their God.

5 I get me to the great, and I speak with them, For they have known the way of Jehovah, The judgment of their God.' Surely they together have broken the yoke, They have drawn away the bands.

“I will go to the great And will speak to them, For they know the way of the Lord And the ordinance of their God.” But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke And burst the bonds.

6 T herefore smitten them hath a lion out of the forest, A wolf of the deserts doth spoil them, A leopard is watching over their cities, Every one who is going out of them is torn, For many have been their transgressions, Mighty have been their backslidings.

Therefore a lion from the forest will slay them, A wolf of the deserts will destroy them, A leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many, Their apostasies are numerous.

7 F or this I am not propitious to thee, Thy sons have forsaken Me, And are satisfied by that which is not god, I satisfy them, and they commit adultery, And at the house of a harlot They gather themselves together.

“Why should I pardon you? Your sons have forsaken Me And sworn by those who are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, They committed adultery And trooped to the harlot’s house.

8 F ed horses -- they have been early risers, Each to the wife of his neighbour they neigh.

“They were well-fed lusty horses, Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.

9 F or these do I not lay a charge? An affirmation of Jehovah, And on a nation such as this, Doth not My soul avenge itself?

“Shall I not punish these people,” declares the Lord, “And on a nation such as this Shall I not avenge Myself?

10 G o ye up on her walls, and destroy, And a completion make not, Turn aside her branches, for they not Jehovah's,

“Go up through her vine rows and destroy, But do not execute a complete destruction; Strip away her branches, For they are not the Lord’s.

11 F or dealt treacherously against Me have the house of Israel, And the house of Judah, an affirmation of Jehovah.

“For the house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares the Lord.

12 T hey have lied against Jehovah, And they say, ` not He, Nor come in against us doth evil, Yea, sword and famine we do not see.

They have lied about the Lord And said, “ Not He; Misfortune will not come on us, And we will not see sword or famine.

13 A nd the prophets become wind, And the word is not in them,' -- thus it is done by them.

“The prophets are as wind, And the word is not in them. Thus it will be done to them!” Judgment Proclaimed

14 T herefore, thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, Because of your speaking this word, Lo, I am making My words in thy mouth become fire, And this people wood, and it hath devoured them.

Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, “Because you have spoken this word, Behold, I am making My words in your mouth fire And this people wood, and it will consume them.

15 L o, I am bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, an affirmation of Jehovah, A nation -- strong it, a nation -- from of old it, A nation -- thou knowest not its tongue, Nor understandest what it speaketh.

“Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord. “It is an enduring nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say.

16 I ts quiver as an open sepulchre, All of them -- mighty ones.

“Their quiver is like an open grave, All of them are mighty men.

17 A nd it hath consumed thy harvest and thy bread, They consume thy sons, and thy daughters, It consumeth thy flock, and thy herd, It consumeth thy vine, and thy fig-tree, It maketh poor thy fenced cities, In which thou art trusting -- by the sword.

“They will devour your harvest and your food; They will devour your sons and your daughters; They will devour your flocks and your herds; They will devour your vines and your fig trees; They will demolish with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust.

18 A nd even in those days, an affirmation of Jehovah, I do not make you a completion.

“Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make you a complete destruction.

19 A nd it hath come to pass, when ye say, `For what hath Jehovah our God done to us all these?' That thou hast said unto them, `As ye have forsaken Me, And serve the gods of a foreigner in your land, So do ye serve strangers in a land not yours.

It shall come about when they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’

20 D eclare ye this in the house of Jacob, And sound ye it in Judah, saying,

“Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah, saying,

21 H ear ye, I pray you, this, O people, foolish and without heart, Eyes they have, and they see not, Ears they have, and they hear not.

‘Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people, Who have eyes but do not see; Who have ears but do not hear.

22 M e do ye not fear, an affirmation of Jehovah? From My presence are ye not pained? Who hath made sand the border of the sea, A limit age-during, and it passeth not over it, They shake themselves, and they are not able, Yea, sounded have its billows, and they pass not over.

‘Do you not fear Me?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it. Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.

23 A nd this people hath an apostate and rebellious heart, They have turned aside, and they go on.

‘But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; They have turned aside and departed.

24 A nd they have not said in their heart, `Let us fear, we pray you, Jehovah our God, who is giving rain, The sprinkling and the gathered, in its season, The appointed weeks of harvest He keepeth for us.'

‘They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the Lord our God, Who gives rain in its season, Both the autumn rain and the spring rain, Who keeps for us The appointed weeks of the harvest.”

25 Y our iniquities have turned these away, And your sins have kept the good from you.

‘Your iniquities have turned these away, And your sins have withheld good from you.

26 F or the wicked have been found among My people. It looketh about the covering of snares, They have set up a trap -- men they capture.

‘For wicked men are found among My people, They watch like fowlers lying in wait; They set a trap, They catch men.

27 A s a cage full of fowls, So their houses are full of deceit, Therefore they have been great, and are rich.

‘Like a cage full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit; Therefore they have become great and rich.

28 T hey have been fat, they have shone, Yea, they have overpassed the acts of the evil, Judgment they have not judged, The judgment of the fatherless -- and they prosper, And the judgment of the needy they have not judged.

‘They are fat, they are sleek, They also excel in deeds of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper; And they do not defend the rights of the poor.

29 F or these do not I inspect, an affirmation of Jehovah, On a nation such as this, Doth not My soul avenge itself?

‘ Shall I not punish these people ?’ declares the Lord, ‘On a nation such as this Shall I not avenge Myself?’

30 A n astonishing and horrible thing hath been in the land.

“An appalling and horrible thing Has happened in the land:

31 T he prophets have prophesied falsely, And the priests bear rule by their means, And My people have loved so, And what do they at its latter end?

The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?