Jeremiah 4

1 If you will come back, O Israel, says the Lord, you will come back to me: and if you will put away your disgusting ways, you will not be sent away from before me.

“If you return, Israel—this is Yahweh's declaration—then it should be to me that you return. If you remove your detestable things from before me and do not wander from me again,

2 And you will take your oath, By the living Lord, in good faith and wisdom and righteousness; and the nations will make use of you as a blessing, and in you will they take a pride.

You must be truthful, just, and righteous when you swear, 'As Yahweh lives.' Then the nations will bless themselves in him, and in him they will glory.”

3 For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: Get your unworked land ploughed up, do not put in your seeds among thorns.

For Yahweh says this to each person in Judah and Jerusalem: 'Plow your own ground, and do not sow among thorns.

4 Undergo a circumcision of the heart, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem: or my wrath may come out like fire, burning so that no one is able to put it out, because of the evil of your doings.

Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh, and remove the foreskins of your heart, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else my fury will break out like fire, and burn with no one to quench it, because of the wickedness of your deeds.

5 Say openly in Judah, give it out in Jerusalem, and say, Let the horn be sounded in the land: crying out in a loud voice, Come together, and let us go into the walled towns.

Report in Judah and let it be heard in Jerusalem. Say, “Blow the trumpet in the land.” Proclaim, “Gather together. Let us go to the fortified cities.”

6 Put up a flag for a sign to Zion: go in flight so that you may be safe, waiting no longer: for I will send evil from the north, and a great destruction.

Lift up the signal flag and point it toward Zion, and run for safety! Do not stay, for I am bringing disaster from the north and a great collapse.

7 A lion has gone up from his secret place in the woods, and one who makes waste the nations is on his way; he has gone out from his place, to make your land unpeopled, so that your towns will be made waste, with no man living in them.

A lion is coming out from his thicket and someone who will destroy nations is setting out. He is leaving his place to bring horror to your land, to turn your cities into ruins, where no one will live.

8 For this put on haircloth, with weeping and loud crying: for the burning wrath of the Lord is not turned back from us.

Because of this, wrap yourself in sackcloth, lament and wail. For the force of Yahweh's anger has not turned away from us.

9 And it will come about in that day, says the Lord, that the heart of the king will be dead in him, and the hearts of the rulers; and the priests will be overcome with fear, and the prophets with wonder.

Then it will happen in that day—this is Yahweh's declaration—that the hearts of the king and his officials will die. The priests will be appalled, and the prophets will be horrified.'”

10 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! your words were not true when you said to this people and to Jerusalem, You will have peace; when the sword has come even to the soul.

So I said, “Ah! Lord Yahweh. Surely you have completely deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'There will be peace for you.' Yet the sword is striking against their life.”

11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A burning wind from the open hilltops in the waste land is blowing on the daughter of my people, not for separating or cleaning the grain;

In that time it will be said of this people and Jerusalem, “A burning wind from the plains of the desert will make its way to the daughter of my people. It will not winnow or cleanse them.

12 A full wind will come for me: and now I will give my decision against them.

A wind far stronger than that will come at my command, and I will now pass sentence against them.

13 See, he will come up like the clouds, and his war-carriages like the storm-wind: his horses are quicker than eagles. Sorrow is ours, for destruction has come on us.

See, he is attacking like clouds, and his chariots are like a storm. His horses are faster than eagles. Woe to us, for we will be devastated!

14 O Jerusalem, make your heart clean from evil, so that you may have salvation. How long are evil purposes to have a resting-place in you?

Cleanse your heart from wickedness, Jerusalem, so that you might be saved. How long will your deepest thoughts be about how to sin?

15 For a voice is sounding from Dan, giving out evil from the hills of Ephraim:

For a voice is bringing news from Dan, and the coming disaster is heard from the mountains of Ephraim.

16 Make this come to the minds of the nations, make a statement openly against Jerusalem, that attackers are coming from a far country and their voices will be loud against the towns of Judah.

Make the nations think about this: See, announce to Jerusalem that besiegers are coming from a distant land to shout in battle against the cities of Judah.

17 Like keepers of a field they are against her on every side; because she has been fighting against me, says the Lord.

They will be like the watchmen of a cultivated field against her all around, since she has been rebellious against me—this is Yahweh's declaration—

18 Your ways and your doings have made these things come on you; this is your sin; truly it is bitter, going deep into your heart.

and your conduct and your deeds have done these things to you. This will be your punishment. How terrible it will be! It will strike your very heart.

19 My soul, my soul! I am pained to my inmost heart; my heart is troubled in me; I am not able to be quiet, because the sound of the horn, the note of war, has come to my ears.

My heart! My heart! I am in anguish in my heart. My heart is turbulent within me. I cannot keep quiet for I hear the sound of the horn, an alarm for battle.

20 News is given of destruction on destruction; all the land is made waste: suddenly my tents, straight away my curtains, are made waste.

Disaster follows after disaster; for all the land lies in ruins. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, my curtains in a moment.

21 How long will I go on seeing the flag and hearing the sound of the war-horn?

How long will I see the standard? Will I hear the sound of the horn?

22 For my people are foolish, they have no knowledge of me; they are evil-minded children, without sense, all of them: they are wise in evil-doing, but have no knowledge of doing good.

For the foolishness of my people—they do not know me. They are idiotic people and they have no understanding. They have skill at evil, but do not know to do good.

23 Looking at the earth, I saw that it was waste and without form; and to the heavens, that they had no light.

I saw the land. Behold! It was formless and empty. For there was no light for the heavens.

24 Looking at the mountains, I saw them shaking, and all the hills were moved about.

I looked at the mountains. Behold, they were trembling, and all the hills were shaking about.

25 Looking, I saw that there was no man, and all the birds of heaven had gone in flight.

I looked. Behold, there was no one, and all the birds of the heavens had fled.

26 Looking, I saw that the fertile field was a waste, and all its towns were broken down before the Lord and before his burning wrath.

I looked. Behold, the orchards were a wilderness and all the cities had been pulled down before Yahweh, before the fury of his wrath.”

27 For this is what the Lord has said: All the land will become a waste; I will make destruction complete.

This is what Yahweh says, “All the land will become a devastation, but I will not completely destroy it.

28 The earth will be weeping for this, and the heavens on high will be black: because I have said it, and I will not go back from it; it is my purpose, and it will not be changed.

For this reason, the land will mourn, and the heavens above will darken. For I have declared my intentions; I will not hold back; I will not turn from carrying them out.

29 All the land is in flight because of the noise of the horsemen and the bowmen; they have taken cover in the woodland and up on the rocks: every town has been given up, not a man is living in them.

Every city will flee from the noise of the cavalry and the archers with a bow; they will run into the forests. Every city will climb up into the rocky places. The cities will be abandoned, for there will be no one to inhabit them.

30 And you, when you are made waste, what will you do? Though you are clothed in red, though you make yourself beautiful with ornaments of gold, though you make your eyes wide with paint, it is for nothing that you make yourself fair; your lovers have no more desire for you, they have designs on your life.

Now that you have been devastated, what will you do? For though you dress in scarlet, adorn yourself with gold jewelry, and make your eyes look bigger with paint, the men who lusted for you now reject you. Instead, they are trying to take away your life.

31 A voice has come to my ears like the voice of a woman in birth-pains, the pain of one giving birth to her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, fighting for breath, stretching out her hands, saying, Now sorrow is mine! for my strength is gone from me before the takers of life.

So I hear the sound of anguish, distress as in the birth of a firstborn child, the sound of the daughter of Zion. She is gasping for breath. She spreads out her hands, 'Woe to me! I am fainting because of these murderers.'”