Jeremiah 4
1 O Israel, if thou returne, returne vnto me, saith the Lord: and if thou put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remoue.
If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, unto me must thou return; and if thou wilt put away thy abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not wander about [any more].
2 And thou shalt sweare, The Lord liueth in trueth, in iudgement, and in righteousnesse, and the nations shall be blessed in him, and shall glorie in him.
And if thou wilt swear, As the Lord liveth, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness: then shall nations bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glorify themselves.
3 For thus saith the Lord to the men of Iudah, and to Ierusalem,
For thus hath said the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Plough up your fallow ground, that ye may not sow among thorns.
4 Breake vp your fallowe ground, and sowe not among the thornes: be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskinnes of your hearts, ye men of Iudah, and inhabitants of Ierusalem, lest my wrath come foorth like fire, and burne, that none can quenche it, because of the wickednesse of your inuentions.
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and remove the obduracy of your heart, O ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
5 Declare in Iudah, and shewe forth in Ierusalem, and say, Blowe the trumpet in the lande: cry, and gather together, and say, Assemble your selues, and let vs goe into strong cities.
Tell ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say, Blow ye the cornet in the land: call out, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.
6 Set vp the standart in Zion: prepare to flee, and stay not: for I will bring a plague from the North, and a great destruction.
Set up the standard toward Zion; save yourselves by flight, stay not; for evil do I bring from the north, and a great destruction.
7 The lyon is come vp from his denne, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is departed, and gone forth of his place to lay thy land waste, and thy cities shalbe destroyed without an inhabitant.
The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of nations hath commenced his march, he is gone forth from his place, to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, left without an inhabitant.
8 Wherefore girde you with sackecloth: lament, and howle, for the fierce wrath of the Lord is not turned backe from vs.
For this gird yourselves with sackcloths, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned away from us.
9 And in that day, saith the Lord, the heart of the King shall perish, and the heart of the princes and the Priestes shall be astonished, and the Prophets shall wonder.
And it shall come to pass on that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes shall fail; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
10 Then saide I, Ah, Lord God, surely thou hast deceiued this people and Ierusalem, saying, Ye shall haue peace, and the sworde perceth vnto the heart.
Then said I, Ah, Lord Eternal! 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 shall it bee saide to this people and to Ierusalem, A dry winde in the hie places of the wildernes commeth towarde ye daughter of my people, but neither to fanne nor to clense.
At that time shall be announced to this people and to Jerusalem a dry wind from the mountain-peaks in the wilderness, [coming] on the road to the daughter of my people; not to winnow, nor to cleanse [the corn],
12 A mightie winde shall come vnto me from those places, and nowe will I also giue sentence vpon them.
A strong wind from these places shall come unto me: now also will I myself pronounce judgment against them.
13 Beholde, he shall come vp as the cloudes, and his charets shalbe as a tempest: his horses are lighter then eagles. Woe vnto vs, for wee are destroyed.
Behold, like clouds shall he come up, and like a whirlwind shall be his chariots: swifter than eagles are his horses. “Woe unto us! for we are wasted.”
14 O Ierusalem, wash thine heart from wickednes, that thou maiest be saued: how long shall thy wicked thoughtes remaine within thee?
Wash from wrong doing thy heart, O Jerusalem, in order that thou mayest be saved. How long wilt thou let lodge within thee the thoughts of thy wickedness?
15 For a voyce declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.
For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth unhappiness from the mountain of Ephraim.
16 Make ye mention of the heathen, and publish in Ierusalem, Beholde, the skoutes come from a farre countrey, and crie out against the cities of Iudah.
Make ye mention of it to the nations; behold, let it be heard against Jerusalem, that beleaguerers come from a far-off country, and send forth their voice against the cities of Judah.
17 They haue compassed her about as the watchmen of the fielde, because it hath prouoked me to wrath, saith the Lord.
As keepers of a field are they against her round about; because against me hath she been rebellious, saith the Lord.
18 Thy wayes and thine inuentions haue procured thee these things, such is thy wickednesse: therefore it shall be bitter, therefore it shall perce vnto thine heart.
Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee: this is thy wickedness, which is so bitter, which so reacheth unto thy heart.
19 My bely, my bely, I am pained, euen at the very heart: mine heart is troubled within me: I cannot be still: for my soule hath heard the sounde of the trumpet, and the alarme of the battell.
My bowels, my bowels! I am shaken, at the very chambers of my heart; my heart beateth tumultuously in me; I cannot remain silent; because the sound of the cornet hast thou heard, O my soul, the alarm of war.
20 Destruction vpon destruction is cryed, for the whole lande is wasted: suddenly are my tents destroyed, and my curtaines in a moment.
Ruin upon ruin is called out; for the whole land is wasted: suddenly are my tents wasted, and in a moment, my curtains.
21 Howe long shall I see the standert, and heare the sounde of the trumpet?
How long shall I see the standard, hear the sound of the cornet?
22 For my people is foolish, they haue not knowen me: they are foolish children, and haue none vnderstanding: they are wise to doe euill, but to doe well they haue no knowledge.
“Because my people is foolish, me have they not known; sottish children are they, and they have not any understanding: wise are they to do evil, but how to do good they do not know.”
23 I haue looked vpon the earth, and loe, it was without forme and voide: and to the heauens, and they had no light.
I look at the earth, and, lo, it is without form and void; and toward the heavens, and their light is gone.
24 I behelde the mountaines: and loe, they trembled and all the hilles shooke.
I look at the mountains, and, lo, they tremble, and all the hills are moved.
25 I behelde, and loe, there was no man, and all the birdes of the heauen were departed.
I look, and, lo, there is no man, and all the birds of the heavens are fled.
26 I behelde, and loe, the fruitfull place was a wildernesse, and all the cities thereof were broken downe at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce wrath.
I look, and, lo, the fruitful country is a wilderness, and all its cities are laid waste at the presence of the Lord, because of the fierceness of his anger.
27 For thus hath the Lord saide, The whole lande shall be desolate: yet will I not make a full ende.
For thus hath said the Lord, Desolate shall be the whole land; yet a full end will I not make.
28 Therefore shall the earth mourne, and the heauens aboue shall be darkened, because I haue pronounced it: I haue thought it, and will not repent, neither will I turne backe from it.
For this shall mourn the earth, and black shall be the heavens above; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and I will not repent, and I will not turn back from it.
29 The whole citie shall flee, for the noyse of the horsemen and bowemen: they shall goe into thickets, and clime vp vpon the rockes: euery citie shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
From the noise of horsemen and those that shoot with the bow fleeth the whole city; they go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city is forsaken, and not a man dwelleth therein.
30 And when thou shalt be destroyed, what wilt thou doe? Though thou clothest thy selfe with skarlet, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of golde, though thou paintest thy face with colours, yet shalt thou trimme thy selfe in vaine: for thy louers will abhorre thee and seeke thy life.
And thou, O wasted one, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself with scarlet, though thou adorn thyself with ornaments of gold, though thou encircle with paint thy eyes: in vain shalt thou make thyself beautiful; the adulterers will despise thee, thy life will they seek.
31 For I haue heard a noyse as of a woman trauailing, or as one labouring of her first child, euen the voyce of the daughter Zion that sigheth and stretcheth out her handes: woe is me nowe: for my soule fainteth because of the murtherers.
For a voice as of a woman in travail have I heard, the anguish as of one that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that groaneth, that spreadeth out her hands, [saying, ] “Woe is me now! for my soul succumbeth to the murderers.”
