Jeremiah 4
1 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].
“If you return, O Israel,” A declaration of YHWH, “Return to Me, And if you turn aside Your abominations from My face, Then you do not bemoan.
2 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.
And you have sworn—YHWH lives, In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness, And nations have blessed themselves in Him, And they boast themselves in Him.”
3 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.
For thus said YHWH, To the man of Judah, and to Jerusalem: “Till for yourselves tillage, And do not sow to the thorns.
4 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.
Be circumcised to YHWH, And turn aside the foreskins of your heart, O man of Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury goes out as fire, and has burned, And there is none quenching, Because of the evil of your doings.”
5 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.
Declare in Judah, and sound in Jerusalem, and say: “Blow a horn in the land, Call, Fill up together, And say, Assemble yourselves and let us go into the fortified cities.
6 Set up the standard toward Zion; save yourselves by flight, stay not; for evil do I bring from the north, and a great destruction.
Lift up an ensign toward Zion, Strengthen yourselves, do not stand still, For I am bringing evil in from the north, And a great destruction.”
7 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.
A lion has gone up from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations has journeyed, He has come forth from his place To make your land become a desolation, Your cities are laid waste, without inhabitant.
8 For this gird yourselves with sackcloths, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned away from us.
For this, gird on sackcloth, lament and howl, For the fierce anger of YHWH has not turned back from us.
9 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.
“And it has come to pass in that day,” A declaration of YHWH, “The heart of the king perishes, And the heart of the princes, And the priests have been astonished, And the prophets wonder.”
10 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.
And I say, “Aah! Lord YHWH, Surely you have entirely forgotten this people and Jerusalem, Saying, Peace is for you, And a sword has struck to the soul!”
11 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],
At that time it is said of this people, And of Jerusalem: “A dry wind of high places in the wilderness, The way of the daughter of My people (Not for winnowing, nor for cleansing),
12 A strong wind from these places shall come unto me: now also will I myself pronounce judgment against them.
A full wind from these comes for Me, Now also, I speak judgments with them.”
13 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.”
“Behold, he comes up as clouds, And his chariots as a windstorm, His horses have been lighter than eagles, Woe to us, for we have been spoiled.”
14 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?
Wash evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, That you may be saved, Until when do you lodge in your heart Thoughts of your strength?
15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth unhappiness from the mountain of Ephraim.
For a voice is declaring from Dan, And sounding sorrow from Mount Ephraim:
16 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.
“Make mention to the nations, Behold, sound to Jerusalem, Besiegers are coming from the far-off land, And they give forth their voice against cities of Judah.
17 As keepers of a field are they against her round about; because against me hath she been rebellious, saith the Lord.
As the keepers of a field They have been against her all around, For she has been rebellious with Me,” A declaration of YHWH.
18 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.
“Your way and your doings have done these to you, This [is] your distress, for [it is] bitter, For it has struck to your heart.”
19 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.
My bowels, my bowels! I am pained [in] the walls of my heart, My heart makes a noise for me, I am not silent, For I have heard the voice of a horn, O my soul—a shout of battle!
20 Ruin upon ruin is called out; for the whole land is wasted: suddenly are my tents wasted, and in a moment, my curtains.
Destruction on destruction is proclaimed, For all the land has been spoiled, My tents have suddenly been spoiled, In a moment—my curtains.
21 How long shall I see the standard, hear the sound of the cornet?
Until when do I see an ensign? Do I hear the voice of a horn?
22 “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.”
“For My people [are] foolish, They have not known Me, They [are] foolish sons, Indeed, they [are] not intelligent, They [are] wise to do evil, And they have not known to do good.”
23 I look at the earth, and, lo, it is without form and void; and toward the heavens, and their light is gone.
I looked [to] the earth, and behold—formless and void, And to the heavens, and they [had] no light.
24 I look at the mountains, and, lo, they tremble, and all the hills are moved.
I have looked [to] the mountains, And behold, they are trembling. And all the hills moved themselves lightly.
25 I look, and, lo, there is no man, and all the birds of the heavens are fled.
I have looked, and behold, man is not, And all birds of the heavens have fled.
26 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.
I have looked, and behold, The fruitful place [is] a wilderness, And all its cities have been broken down, Because of YHWH, Because of the fierceness of His anger.
27 For thus hath said the Lord, Desolate shall be the whole land; yet a full end will I not make.
For thus said YHWH: “All the land is a desolation, but I do not make a completion.
28 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.
For this the earth mourns, And the heavens above have been black, Because I have spoken—I have purposed, And I have not relented, Nor do I turn back from it.
29 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.
From the voice of the horseman, And of him shooting with the bow, All the city is fleeing, They have come into thickets, And they have gone up on cliffs, All the city is forsaken, And there is no one dwelling in them.
30 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.
And you, O spoiled one, what do you do? For you put on scarlet, For you adorn yourself [with] ornaments of gold. For you tear your eyes with pain, In vain you make yourself beautiful, Unhealthy ones have kicked against you, They seek your life.
31 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.”
For I have heard a voice as of a travailing woman, Distress, as of one bringing forth a firstborn, The voice of the daughter of Zion, She laments herself, She spreads out her hands, Woe to me now, my soul is weary of slayers!”
