Dual PanelThe Evil of the People of Judah
1The Lord says, “Walk the streets of Jerusalem. Look around and think about these things. Search the public squares of the city. See if you can find one good person, one who does honest things and who searches for the truth. If you find one good person, I will forgive Jerusalem.
2The people make promises and say, ‘As the LORD lives.’ But they don’t really mean it!”
3LORD, I know that you want people to be loyal to you. You hit the people of Judah, but they did not feel any pain. You destroyed them, but they refused to learn their lesson. They became very stubborn. They refused to be sorry for the bad things they did.
4But I said to myself, “It must be only the poor who are so foolish. They have not learned the way of the LORD. They don’t know the teachings of their God.
5So I will go to the leaders of Judah. I will talk to them. Surely they know the way of the LORD, the law of their God.” But the leaders had all joined together to break away from serving God.
6So a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the desert will kill them. A leopard is hiding near their cities, to tear to pieces anyone who comes out. That’s because the people have sinned again and again. Many times they have wandered away from God.
7God says, “People of Judah, why should I forgive you? Your children have abandoned me. They made promises to idols that are not really gods! I gave your children everything they needed, but they were still unfaithful to me! They spent their time with prostitutes.
8They are like horses that have had plenty to eat and are ready to mate. They are like a horse that is calling its neighbor’s wife.
9Should I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?” This message is from the LORD. “You know I should punish a nation such as this. I should give it the punishment it deserves.
10“Go along the rows of Judah’s grapevines. Cut down the vines. (But don’t completely destroy them.) Cut off all their branches, because they don’t belong to the LORD.
11The family of Israel and the family of Judah have been unfaithful to me in every way.” This message is from the LORD.
12“Those people lied about the LORD. They said, ‘He will not do anything to us. Nothing bad will happen to us. We will never see an army attack us. We will never starve.’
13The prophets are only empty wind. The word of God is not in them. Bad things will happen to them.”
14The LORD God All-Powerful said these things: “The people said I would not punish them. So, Jeremiah, the words I give you will be like fire, and these people will be like wood. That fire will burn them up completely.”
15Family of Israel, this message is from the LORD. “I will soon bring a nation from far away to attack you. It is an old nation; it is an ancient nation. The people of that nation speak a language that you do not know. You cannot understand what they say.
16Their arrow bags are like open graves. All their men are strong soldiers.
17They will eat all the crops that you gathered. They will eat all your food. They will destroy your sons and daughters. They will eat your flocks and your herds. They will eat your grapes and your figs. They will destroy your strong cities with their swords. They will destroy the strong cities that you trust in.”
18This message is from the LORD: “But, Judah, when these terrible days come, I will not fully destroy you.
19The people will ask, ‘Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ Give them this answer from me: ‘You people of Judah left me, and you served foreign idols in your own land. Because you did this, you will now serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.’
20“Tell this message to the family of Jacob, and tell it in the nation of Judah.
21Hear this message, you foolish people who have no sense. You have eyes, but you don’t see! You have ears, but you don’t listen!
22Surely you are afraid of me.” This message is from the LORD. “You should shake with fear in front of me. I am the one who made the sandy shores to hold back the sea. I made it that way to keep the water in its place forever. The waves may pound the beach, but they will not destroy it. The waves may roar as they come in, but they cannot go beyond the beach.
23But the people of Judah are stubborn. They are always planning ways to turn against me. They turned away from me and left me.
24The people of Judah never say to themselves, ‘Let’s fear and respect the LORD our God. He gives us autumn and spring rains at just the right time. He makes sure that we have a good harvest time.’
25You don’t have these blessings because you have done wrong. Your sins have kept these good things away from you.
26Among my people are those who are evil. They are like men who make nets for catching birds. They set their traps, but they catch people instead of birds.
27Like a cage full of birds, their lives are full of evil lies. Their cheating has made them rich and powerful.
28They are well fed and well dressed. There is no end to the evil they do. They don’t care what happens to orphans, and they don’t help the poor get what they need.
29Should I punish the people of Judah for these things?” This is what the LORD is asking you, and he says, “A nation like this should get the punishment it deserves.
30“A terrible and shocking thing has happened in the land of Judah.
31The prophets tell lies. The priests will not do what they were chosen to do, and my people love it this way! But what will you people do when your punishment comes?