Jeremiah 4
1 “If you will return, Israel,” says the LORD, “if you will return to me, and if you will put away your abominations out of my sight; then you will not be removed;
Israel, if you want to come back, then come back to me, declares the Lord. If you get rid of these disgusting idols I see, and don't wander away,
2 and you will swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness. The nations will bless themselves in him, and they will glory in him.”
and if when you make your vows, you do so only to me, sincerely, truly, and honestly, then the nations will be blessed by me, and they will praise me.
3 For the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, “Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.
This is what the Lord is saying to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: Plow your unplowed ground, and don't sow among the thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
Dedicate yourselves to the Lord; be totally committed to him, people of Judah and Jerusalem. Otherwise, my anger will blaze like fire, burning so hard that no one can put it out because of the evil you've done.
5 Declare in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, ‘Blow the trumpet in the land!’ Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble yourselves! Let’s go into the fortified cities!’
Announce this warning throughout Judah and Jerusalem! Tell them: Blow the trumpet everywhere in the country! Shout out, “Hurry! Let's run to the fortified towns for protection!”
6 Set up a standard toward Zion. Flee for safety! Do not wait; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.”
Raise the danger flag; go to Zion! Find somewhere safe! Don't hesitate! I'm bringing enemies from the north who will cause terrible destruction.
7 A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations. He is on his way. He has gone out from his place, to make your land desolate, that your cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.
A lion has left his hiding place; a destroyer of nations has started out. He has left his den to come and turn your country into a wasteland. Your towns will be demolished, and no one will live there.
8 For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned back from us.
Wear clothes made of sackcloth, weep and wail, crying out, “The Lord's furious anger against us hasn't stopped.”
9 “It will happen at that day,” says the LORD, “that the heart of the king will perish, along with the heart of the princes. The priests will be astonished, and the prophets will wonder.”
When that happens declares the Lord, the king and officials will lose heart, the priests will be devastated, and the prophets will be shocked.
10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace;’ whereas the sword reaches to the heart.”
Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, you have completely fooled the people of Jerusalem by telling them, ‘You will have peace,’ while holding a sword to our throats.”
11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind blows from the bare heights in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow, nor to cleanse.
At that time the people of Jerusalem will be told, “A burning wind from the bare hills of the desert is blowing toward the Jerusalem, but not to blow away the chaff or the dust.
12 A full wind from these will come for me. Now I will also utter judgments against them.”
No, this wind is too strong for that, and it comes from me. Now I'm also going to tell them how I will punish them.”
13 Behold, he will come up as clouds, and his chariots will be as the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! For we are ruined.
Look, he's rushing in like stormclouds; his chariots are like a whirlwind. His horses fly faster than eagles. “What a disaster! We're ruined!”
14 Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long will your evil thoughts lodge within you?
Clean the evil from your heart, Jerusalem, so that you can be saved. How long will you hold onto your evil thoughts?
15 For a voice declares from Dan, and publishes evil from the hills of Ephraim:
News is shouted out from Dan, announcing disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
16 “Tell the nations, behold, publish against Jerusalem, ‘Watchers come from a far country, and raise their voice against the cities of Judah.
“Let the nations know! Look what's happening! Announce this to Jerusalem: An army is coming to besiege you from a distant country; shouting war-cries against the towns of Judah.
17 As keepers of a field, they are against her all around, because she has been rebellious against me,’” says the LORD.
They encircle her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me, declares the Lord.
18 “Your way and your doings have brought these things to you. This is your wickedness, for it is bitter, for it reaches to your heart.”
You've brought this on yourself by your own attitudes and actions. This is your punishment, and it's so painful, it's like being stabbed in the heart!”
19 My anguish, my anguish! I am pained at my very heart! My heart trembles within me. I cannot hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
“I'm in agony, absolute agony! My heart is breaking! It's beating wildly in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I can't keep quiet because I've heard the trumpet, the signal for battle.
20 Destruction on destruction is decreed, for the whole land is laid waste. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, and my curtains gone in a moment.
News of one disaster after another comes flooding in, for the whole country is in ruins. My own home is destroyed in a moment, and everything inside.
21 How long will I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?
How long do I have to see the flags of war and hear the trumpets of battle?”
22 “For my people are foolish. They do not know me. They are foolish children, and they have no understanding. They are skillful in doing evil, but they do not know how to do good.”
“My people are stupid; they don't know me. They are foolish children who just don't understand. They're experts at doing evil, but they don't know how to do good.”
23 I saw the earth and, behold, it was waste and void, and the heavens, and they had no light.
I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; I looked to the heavens, and its light was gone.
24 I saw the mountains, and behold, they trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth.
I looked at the mountains, and saw that they were shaking; all the hills were swaying to and fro.
25 I saw, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky had fled.
I looked, and nobody was left; all the birds had flown away.
26 I saw, and behold, the fruitful field was a wilderness, and all its cities were broken down at the presence of the LORD, before his fierce anger.
I looked, and the productive fields were a desert. All the towns were demolished because of the Lord's furious anger.
27 For the LORD says, “The whole land will be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.
This is what the Lord says: “The whole country will be devastated, but I won't do so completely.
28 For this the earth will mourn, and the heavens above be black, because I have spoken it. I have planned it, and I have not repented, neither will I turn back from it.”
The earth will mourn and the heavens above will go dark. I have spoken; this is what I have ordered. I'm not going to stop or change my mind.”
29 Every city flees for the noise of the horsemen and archers. They go into the thickets and climb up on the rocks. Every city is forsaken, and not a man dwells therein.
People from every town: run away when they hear the enemy horsemen and archers coming. They hide in the forest and among the rocks. All the towns are abandoned; no one lives in them.
30 You, when you are made desolate, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with scarlet, though you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge your eyes with makeup, you make yourself beautiful in vain. Your lovers despise you. They seek your life.
You, Jerusalem, now desolate, what are you going to do? Even though you dress in scarlet clothes, and put on gold jewelry, and paint your eyes with make-up, all your dressing-up is pointless! Your lovers hate you; they want to kill you!
31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, the anguish as of her who gives birth to her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, who gasps for breath, who spreads her hands, saying, “Woe is me now! For my soul faints before the murderers.”
I hear the cries like a woman in labor, the agonizing moans of a woman giving birth to her first child. These are the cries of the Daughter of Zion gasping for air, holding out her hands, saying, “Please help me, I'm being murdered!”
