Jeremiah 4

1 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;

If thou wilt return, O Israel, Declareth Yahweh, Unto me, mayst thou return, —And if thou wilt remove thine abominations from before me, Then shalt thou not become a wanderer.

2 — 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.

If thou wilt swear, By the life of Yahweh! in faithfulness in justice and in righteousness, Then shall the nations bless themselves in him, And, in him, shall they glory.

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

For thus saith Yahweh Unto the men of Judah and unto Jerusalem, Till ye the untilled ground, —And do not sow among thorns.

4 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.

Circumcise yourselves unto Yahweh So shall ye remove the impurity of your heart, ye men of Judah and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, —Lest mine indignation, go forth as fire, and burn and there be none to quench it, Because of the wickedness of your doings.

5 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.

Declare ye in Judah And in Jerusalem, let it be heard, And say, Blow ye a horn in the land, —Cry, with frill voice And say, Gather yourselves together, And let us enter the defenced cities.

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

Lift up an ensign—Zion-ward, Bring into safety, do not tarry, —For, calamity, am, I, bringing in from the North, Even, a great destruction:

7 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.

There hath come up a lion out of his thicket, Yea, a destroyer of nations—hath set forward, hath come forth out of his place, —To make thy land a desolation, Thy cities, shall fall in ruins, so as to have no inhabitant.

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

On this account, gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl, —Because the glow of the anger of Yahweh hath not turned from us.

9 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.

And it shall come to pass, in that day, Declareth Yahweh, That the courage of the king shall fail, And the courage of the princes, —And the priests shall be astonished, And, the prophets, shall be amazed.

10 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.

Then said I, —Ah! My Lord Yahweh! Surely, thou hast suffered this people and Jerusalem to be beguiled, saying, Peace, shall ye have, —whereas the sword shall reach unto the soul.

11 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.

At that time, shall it be said of this people and of Jerusalem, —The sharp wind of the bare heights in the desert, cometh towards the daughter of my people, —not to winnow nor to cleanse.

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

A wind too strong for these, cometh in for me. Now, will, I also, pronounce sentences upon them:

13 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.

Lo! like clouds, shall he come up, Even as a storm-wind, his chariots, Swifter than eagles, his horses, —Woe to us for we are laid waste!

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

Wash from wickedness thy heart, O Jerusalem, That thou mayest be saved, —How long, shall lodge within thee thy wicked devices?

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

For a voice, declareth from Dan, —And publisheth trouble from the hill country of Ephraim.

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

Put ye in mind the nations Lo! publish ye against Jerusalem, Blockaders! are coming in from a land afar off, —And have uttered against the cities of Judah their voice:

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

As the keepers of a field, have they come against her round about, —For against me, hath she rebelled, Declareth Yahweh.

18 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.

Thine own way And thine own doings, Have done these things unto thee, —This thy wickedness, Surely it is bitter, Surely it hath reached unto thy heart.

19 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.

My bowels! My bowels! I am pained in the walls of my heart My heart beateth aloud to me I cannot be still! For the sound of a horn, hast thou heard O my soul, The loud shout of war!

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

Breach upon breach, they cry, For ruined, is all the land, —Suddenly, are ruined my tents, In a moment, my curtains!

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

How long shall I keep on seeing a standard, —continue to hear the sound of a horn?

22 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.

Surely, perverse, is my people Me, have they not known, Foolish sons, they are, Yea without understanding, they are: Wise, they are to commit wickedness, But how to do well, they know not!

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

I beheld, The earth; and lo! it was waste and wild, —The heavens also and their light was not:

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

I beheld, The mountains, and lo! they were trembling, —And all the hills, had been violently moved:

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

I beheld, And lo! there was no human being, —Yea, all the birds of the heavens! had fled:

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

I beheld, And lo! the garden-land, was a desert, —And, all its cities, had been broken down, Because of Yahweh, Because of the glow of his anger!

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

For, thus, saith Yahweh, A desolation, shall all the land become—Nevertheless a full end, will I not make.

28 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.

For this cause, shall the land mourn, and the heavens above be overcast: Because I have spoken have purposed, and have not repented nor will I turn back therefrom.

29 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.

At the noise of horseman and archer, The whole city is in flight, They have entered dark thickets, Yea unto the crags, have they gone up, —Every city, is forsaken, There remaineth not in them a man!

30 — 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.

And when, thou, art laid waste, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself with crimson Though thou deck thyself with ornaments of gold Though thou enlarge with antimony thine eyes, In vain, shalt thou make thyself fair, —Paramours have rejected thee, Thy life, will they seek!

31 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.

For a voice as of a woman in pangs, have I heard Anguish as of her that is bearing her firstborn. The voice of the daughter of Zion! She gaspeth for breath, She spreadeth forth her palms, —Surely woe to me! For my soul fainteth before murderers.