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 the LORD, return to me: and if thou wilt put away thy abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.

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

And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; 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 among thorns.

For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your 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 to the LORD, 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 that none can 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 publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, Gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified 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 the standard towards Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring 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, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; thy cities shall be laid waste, without an 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 the LORD is not turned back 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 at that day, saith the LORD, [that] the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

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.

Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth to 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 dry wind of the high places in the wilderness towards the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,

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

[Even] a full wind from those [places] shall come to me: now also will I give sentence 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 shall come up as clouds, and his chariots [shall be] as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! for we are laid waste.

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

O Jerusalem, wash thy heart 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.

Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, [that] watchers come from a far country, and give out 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 they are against her on all sides; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.

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] to thee; this [is] thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth to 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 pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

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

Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is laid waste; suddenly are my tents ruined, [and] 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 [are] foolish, they have not known me; they [are] sottish children, and they have no understanding: 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] without form, and void; 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 moved lightly.

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

I beheld, and lo, [there was] no man, and all the fowls of the heavens had 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 place [was] a wilderness, and all its cities were broken down at the presence of the LORD, [and] by his fierce anger.

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

For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I 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 from it.

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.

The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city [shall be] forsaken, and not a man dwell 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 [when] thou [art] laid waste, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rendest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair: [thy] lovers will despise thee, they will 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 have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, [and] the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, [that] bewaileth herself, [that] spreadeth her hands, [saying], Woe [is] me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.