Discovery BoxJeremiah 5:1 
Context“Go up and down 2 through the streets of Jerusalem. 3
Look around and see for yourselves.
Search through its public squares.
See if any of you can find a single person
who deals honestly and tries to be truthful. 4
If you can, 5 then I will not punish this city. 6
Jeremiah 5:6
Context5:6 So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them.
Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them.
Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities
and totally destroy anyone who ventures out. 7
For they have rebelled so much
and done so many unfaithful things. 8
Jeremiah 5:15-17
Context5:15 The Lord says, 9 “Listen, 10 nation of Israel! 11
I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It will be a nation that was founded long ago
and has lasted for a long time.
It will be a nation whose language you will not know.
Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.
5:16 All of its soldiers are strong and mighty. 12
Their arrows will send you to your grave. 13
5:17 They will eat up your crops and your food.
They will kill off 14 your sons and your daughters.
They will eat up your sheep and your cattle.
They will destroy your vines and your fig trees. 15
Their weapons will batter down 16
the fortified cities you trust in.
1 tn These words are not in the text, but since the words at the end are obviously those of the
2 tn It is not clear who is being addressed here. The verbs are plural so they are not addressed to Jeremiah per se. Since the passage is talking about the people of Jerusalem, it is unlikely they are addressed here except perhaps rhetorically. Some have suggested that the heavenly court is being addressed here as in Job 1:6-8; 2:1-3. It is clear from Jer 23:18, 22; Amos 3:7 that the prophets had access to this heavenly counsel through visions (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19-23), so Jeremiah could have been privy to this speech through that means. Though these are the most likely addressee, it is too presumptuous to supply such an explicit addressee without clearer indication in the text. The translation will just have to run the risk of the probable erroneous assumption by most English readers that the addressee is Jeremiah.
3 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
4 tn Heb “who does justice and seeks faithfulness.”
5 tn Heb “squares. If you can find…if there is one person…then I will…”
6 tn Heb “forgive [or pardon] it.”
7 tn Heb “So a lion from the thicket will kill them. A wolf from the desert will destroy them. A leopard will watch outside their cities. Anyone who goes out from them will be torn in pieces.” However, it is unlikely that, in the context of judgment that Jeremiah has previously been describing, literal lions are meant. The animals are metaphorical for their enemies. Compare Jer 4:7.
8 tn Heb “their rebellions are so many and their unfaithful acts so numerous.”
9 tn Heb “oracle of the
10 tn Heb “Behold!”
11 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
12 tn Heb “All of them are mighty warriors.”
13 tn Heb “his quiver [is] an open grave.” The order of the lines has been reversed to make the transition from “nation” to “their arrows” easier.
14 tn Heb “eat up.”
15 tn Or “eat up your grapes and figs”; Heb “eat up your vines and your fig trees.”
sn It was typical for an army in time of war in the ancient Near East not only to eat up the crops but to destroy the means of further production.
16 tn Heb “They will beat down with the sword.” The term “sword” is a figure of speech (synecdoche) for military weapons in general. Siege ramps, not swords, beat down city walls; swords kill people, not city walls.
