Jeremias 4

1 If Israel will return to me, says the Lord, he shall return: and if he will remove his abominations out of his mouth, and fear before me, and swear,

If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith Jehovah, return unto me; and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not be a wanderer;

2 The Lord lives, with truth, in judgement and righteousness, then shall nations bless by him, and by him they shall praise God in Jerusalem.

— and thou shalt in truth, in justice, and in righteousness swear, [As] Jehovah liveth! and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Break up fresh ground for yourselves, and sow not amongst thorns.

For thus saith Jehovah to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up for you a fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

4 Circumcise yourselves to your God, and circumcise your hardness of heart, you men of Juda, and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my wrath go forth as fire, and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the evil of your devices.

Circumcise yourselves for Jehovah, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my fury come forth like fire and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

5 Declare you in Juda, and let it be heard in Jerusalem: say you, Sound the trumpet in the land; cry you aloud: say you, Gather yourselves together, and let us enter into the fortified cities.

Declare ye in Judah, and cause it to be heard in Jerusalem, and say, ...and blow the trumpet in the land, cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fenced cities.

6 Gather up [your wares] and flee to Sion: hasten, stay not: for I will bring evils from the north, and great destruction.

Set up a banner toward Zion; take to flight, stay not! For I am bringing evil from the north, and a great destruction.

7 The lion is gone up from his lair, he has roused [himself] to the destruction of the nations, and has gone forth out of his place, to make the land desolate; and the cities shall be destroyed, so as to be without inhabitant.

The lion is come up from his thicket, the destroyer of the nations is on his way; he is gone forth from his place, to make thy land desolate; thy cities shall be laid waste, without inhabitant.

8 For these things gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament, and howl: for the anger of the Lord is not turned away from you.

For this, gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl! for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned away from us.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be amazed, and the prophets shall wonder.

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall be amazed.

10 And I said, O sovereign Lord, verily you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, There shall be peace; whereas behold, the sword has reached even to their soul.

And I said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

11 At that time they shall say to this people and to Jerusalem, [There is] a spirit of error in the wilderness: the way of the daughter of my people is not to purity, nor to holiness.

At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A hot wind [cometh] from the heights in the wilderness, on the way of the daughter of my people, not for fanning, nor for cleansing.

12 [But] a spirit of full vengeance shall come upon me; and now I declare my judgements against them.

A wind more vehement than that shall come from me: now will I also pronounce judgments against them.

13 Behold, he shall come up as a cloud, and his chariots as a tempest: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! for we are in misery.

Behold, he cometh up as clouds, and his chariots are as a whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are destroyed.

14 Cleanse your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved: how long will your grievous thoughts be within you?

Wash thy heart, Jerusalem, from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

15 For a voice of one publishing from Dan shall come, and trouble out of mount Ephraim shall be heard of.

For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.

16 Remind you the nations; behold, they are come: proclaim [it] in Jerusalem, that bands are approaching from a land afar off, and have uttered their voice against the cities of Juda.

Inform the nations; behold, make Jerusalem to hear: Besiegers come from a far country, and raise their voice against the cities of Judah.

17 As keepers of a field, they have surrounded her; because you, says the Lord, has neglected me.

As keepers of a field are they against her round about; for she hath been rebellious against me, saith Jehovah.

18 Your ways and your devices have brought these things upon you; this is your wickedness, for [it is] bitter, for it has reached to your heart.

Thy way and thy doings have procured these [things] unto thee; this is thy wickedness, yea, it is bitter, yea, it reacheth unto thy heart.

19 I am pained in my bowels, my bowels, and the sensitive powers of my heart; my soul is in great commotion, my heart is torn: I will not be silent, for my soul has heard the sound of a trumpet, the cry of war, and of distress: it calls on destruction;

My bowels! my bowels! I am in travail! [Oh, ] the walls of my heart! My heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace: for thou hearest, my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the clamour of war.

20 for all the land is distressed: suddenly [my] tabernacle is distressed, my curtains have been tore asunder.

Destruction upon destruction is proclaimed; for the whole land is wasted: suddenly are my tents laid waste, my curtains, in a moment.

21 How long shall I see fugitives, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

How long shall I see the standard, [and] hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 For the princes of my people have not known me, they are foolish and unwise children: they are wise to do evil, but [how] to do good they have not known.

For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have no intelligence; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

23 I looked upon the earth, and, behold, [it was] not; and to the sky, an there was no light in it.

I beheld the earth, and lo, it was waste and empty; and the heavens, and they had no light.

24 I saw the mountains, and they trembled, and [I saw] all the hills in commotion.

I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills shook violently.

25 I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky were scared.

I beheld, and lo, man was not, and all the fowl of the heavens were fled.

26 I saw, and, behold, Carmel was desert, and all the cities were burnt with fire at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of his fierce anger they were utterly destroyed.

I beheld, and lo, the fruitful land was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down, before Jehovah, before his fierce anger.

27 Thus says the Lord, The whole land shall be desolate; but I will not make a full end.

For thus saith Jehovah: The whole land shall be a desolation; but I will not make a full end.

28 For these things let the earth mourn, and let the sky be dark above: for I have spoken, and I will not repent; I have purposed, and I will not turn back from it.

For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back therefrom.

29 The whole land has recoiled from the noise of the horseman and the bent bow; they have gone into the caves, and have hidden themselves in the groves, and have gone up upon the rocks: every city was abandoned, no man lived in them.

At the noise of the horsemen and bowmen, every city fleeth; they go into the thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city is forsaken and no man dwelleth therein.

30 And what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with scarlet, and adorn yourself with golden ornaments; though you adorn your eyes with stibium, your beauty [will be] in vain: your lovers have rejected you, they seek your life.

— And thou, wasted one, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rendest thine eyes with paint, in vain dost thou make thyself fair: [thy] lovers despise thee, they seek thy life.

31 For I have heard your groaning as the voice of a woman in travail, as of her that brings forth her first child; the voice of the daughter of Zion shall fail through weakness, and she shall lose the strength of her hands, [saying], Woe is me! for my soul faints because of the slain.

For I hear a voice, as of a woman in travail, anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion: she moaneth, she spreadeth forth her hands, [saying], Woe unto me! for my soul faileth because of murderers.