Jeremiah 4

1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, yea, return unto Me; and if thou wilt put away thy detestable things out of My sight, and wilt not waver;

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,

2 And wilt swear: 'As the LORD liveth' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; then shall the nations bless themselves by Him, and in Him shall they glory.

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

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

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 among thorns.

4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest My fury go forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

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.

5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say: 'Blow ye the horn in the land'; cry aloud and say: 'Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.'

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.

6 Set up a standard toward Zion; put yourselves under covert, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

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

7 A lion is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations is set out, gone forth from his place; to make thy land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.

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.

8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.

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

9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall fail, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

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.

10 Then said I: 'Ah, Lord GOD! surely Thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.'

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.

11 At that time shall it be said of this people and of Jerusalem; A hot wind of the high hills in the wilderness toward the daughter of My people, not to fan, nor to cleanse;

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.

12 A wind too strong for this shall come for Me; now will I also utter judgments against them.

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

13 Behold, he cometh up as clouds, and his chariots are as the whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles. — 'Woe unto us! for we are undone.' —

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.

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

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

15 For hark! one declareth from Dan, and announceth calamity from the hills of Ephraim:

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

16 'Make ye mention to the nations: Behold — publish concerning Jerusalem — watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.'

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.

17 As keepers of a field are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against Me, saith the LORD.

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

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.

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.

19 My bowels, my bowels! I writhe in pain! The chambers of my heart! My heart moaneth within me! I cannot hold my peace! because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the horn, the alarm of war.

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;

20 Destruction followeth upon destruction, for the whole land is spoiled; suddenly are my tents spoiled, my curtains in a moment.

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

21 How long shall I see the standard, shall I hear the sound of the horn?

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

22 For My people is foolish, they know Me not; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

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.

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

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

24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved to and fro.

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

25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

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

26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful field was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and before His fierce anger.

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.

27 For thus saith the LORD: The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

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

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

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.

29 For the noise of the horsemen and bowmen the whole city fleeth; they go into the thickets, and climb up upon the rocks; every city is forsaken, and not a man dwelleth therein.

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.

30 And thou, that art spoiled, what doest thou, that thou clothest thyself with scarlet, that thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, that thou enlargest thine eyes with paint? In vain dost thou make thyself fair; thy lovers despise thee, they seek thy life.

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.

31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that gaspeth for breath, that spreadeth her hands: 'Woe is me, now! for my soul fainteth before the murderers.'

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.