Jeremiah 4

1 “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.

If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return to me: if thou wilt take away thy stumblingblocks out of my sight, thou shalt not be moved.

2 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.”

And thou shalt swear: As the Lord liveth, in truth, and in judgement, and in justice: and the Gentiles shall bless him, and shall praise him.

3 For thus said YHWH, To the man of Judah, and to Jerusalem: “Till for yourselves tillage, And do not sow to the thorns.

For thus saith the Lord to the men of Juda and Jerusalem: Break up anew your fallow ground, and sow not upon thorns:

4 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.”

Be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, ye men of Juda, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my indignation come forth like fire, and burn, and there be none that can quench it: because of the wickedness of your thoughts.

5 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.

Declare ye in Juda, and make it heard in Jerusalem: speak, and sound with the trumpet in the land: cry aloud, and say: Assemble yourselves, and let us go into strong cities.

6 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.”

Set up the standard in Sion. Strengthen yourselves, stay not: for I bring evil from the north, and great destruction.

7 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.

The lion is come up out of his den, and the robber of nations hath roused himself: he is come forth out of his place, to make thy land desolate: thy cities shall be laid waste, remaining without an inhabitant.

8 For this, gird on sackcloth, lament and howl, For the fierce anger of YHWH has not turned back from us.

For this gird yourselves with haircloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned away from us.

9 “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.”

And it shall come to pass in 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 be amazed.

10 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!”

And I said: Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God, hast thou then deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: You shall have peace: and behold the sword reacheth even to the soul?

11 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),

At that time it shall be said to this people, and to Jerusalem: A burning wind is in the ways that are in the desert of the way of the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse.

12 A full wind from these comes for Me, Now also, I speak judgments with them.”

A full wind from these places shall come to me: and now I will speak my judgments with them.

13 “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.”

Behold he shall come up as a cloud, and his chariots as a tempest: his horses are swifter than eagles: woe unto us, for we are laid waste.

14 Wash evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, That you may be saved, Until when do you lodge in your heart Thoughts of your strength?

Wash thy heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that thou mayst be saved: how long shall hurtful thoughts abide in thee?

15 For a voice is declaring from Dan, And sounding sorrow from Mount Ephraim:

For a voice of one declaring from Dan, and giving notice of the idol from mount Ephraim.

16 “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.

Say ye to the nations: Behold it is heard in Jerusalem, that guards are coming from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Juda.

17 As the keepers of a field They have been against her all around, For she has been rebellious with Me,” A declaration of YHWH.

They are set round about her, as keepers of fields: because she hath provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord.

18 “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.”

They ways, and thy devices have brought these things upon thee: this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it hath touched thy heart.

19 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!

My bowels, my bowels are in pain, the senses of my heart are troubled within me, I will not hold my peace, for my soul hath heard the sound of the trumpet, the cry of battle.

20 Destruction on destruction is proclaimed, For all the land has been spoiled, My tents have suddenly been spoiled, In a moment—my curtains.

Destruction upon destruction is called for, and all the earth is laid waste: my tents are destroyed on a sudden, and my pavilions in a moment.

21 Until when do I see an ensign? Do I hear the voice of a horn?

How long shall I see men fleeing away, how long shall I hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 “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.”

For my foolish people have not known me: they are foolish and senseless children: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

23 I looked [to] the earth, and behold—formless and void, And to the heavens, and they [had] no light.

I beheld the earth, and lo it was void, and nothing: and the heavens, and there was no light in them.

24 I have looked [to] the mountains, And behold, they are trembling. And all the hills moved themselves lightly.

I looked upon the mountains, and behold they trembled: and all the hills were troubled.

25 I have looked, and behold, man is not, And all birds of the heavens have fled.

I beheld, and lo there was no man: and all the birds of the air were gone.

26 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.

I looked, and behold Carmel was a wilderness: and all its cities were destroyed at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of the wrath of his indignation.

27 For thus said YHWH: “All the land is a desolation, but I do not make a completion.

For thus saith the Lord: All the land shall be desolate, but yet I will not utterly destroy.

28 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.

The earth shall mourn, and the heavens shall lament from above: because I have spoken, I have purposed, and I have not repented, neither am I turned away from it.

29 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.

At the voice of the horsemen, and the archers, all the city is fled away; they have entered into thickets and have climbed up the rocks: all the cities are forsaken, and there dwelleth not a man in them.

30 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.

But when thou art spoiled what wilt thou do? though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, and paintest thy eyes with stibic stone, thou shalt dress thyself out in vain: thy lovers have despised thee, they will seek thy life.

31 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!”

For I have heard the voice as of a woman in travail, anguishes as of a woman in labor of a child. The voice of the daughter of Sion, dying away, spreading her hands: Woe is me, for my soul hath fainted because of them that are slain.