Jeremiah 4
1 "If you will return, Israel," says YHWH, "if you will return to me, and if you will put away your abominations out of my sight; then you shall not be removed;
Israel, if you want to come back, then come back to me, declares the Lord. If you get rid of these disgusting idols I see, and don't wander away,
2 and you shall swear, 'As YHWH lives,' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness. The nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory."
and if when you make your vows, you do so only to me, sincerely, truly, and honestly, then the nations will be blessed by me, and they will praise me.
3 For thus says YHWH to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, "Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.
This is what the Lord is saying to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: Plow your unplowed ground, and don't sow among the thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to YHWH, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
Dedicate yourselves to the Lord; be totally committed to him, people of Judah and Jerusalem. Otherwise, my anger will blaze like fire, burning so hard that no one can put it out because of the evil you've done.
5 Declare in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, 'Blow the trumpet in the land.' Cry aloud and say, 'Assemble yourselves. Let us go into the fortified cities.'
Announce this warning throughout Judah and Jerusalem! Tell them: Blow the trumpet everywhere in the country! Shout out, “Hurry! Let's run to the fortified towns for protection!”
6 Set up a standard toward Zion. Flee for safety. Do not wait; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction."
Raise the danger flag; go to Zion! Find somewhere safe! Don't hesitate! I'm bringing enemies from the north who will cause terrible destruction.
7 A lion is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations; he is on his way, he is gone forth from his place, to make your land desolate, that your cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.
A lion has left his hiding place; a destroyer of nations has started out. He has left his den to come and turn your country into a wasteland. Your towns will be demolished, and no one will live there.
8 For this clothe yourself with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of YHWH hasn't turned back from us.
Wear clothes made of sackcloth, weep and wail, crying out, “The Lord's furious anger against us hasn't stopped.”
9 "It shall happen at that day," says YHWH, "that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the officials; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder."
When that happens declares the Lord, the king and officials will lose heart, the priests will be devastated, and the prophets will be shocked.
10 Then I said, "Ah, Lord YHWH. Surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'You shall have peace;' whereas the sword reaches to the heart."
Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, you have completely fooled the people of Jerusalem by telling them, ‘You will have peace,’ while holding a sword to our throats.”
11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, "A hot wind from the bare heights in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow, nor to cleanse;
At that time the people of Jerusalem will be told, “A burning wind from the bare hills of the desert is blowing toward the Jerusalem, but not to blow away the chaff or the dust.
12 a full wind from these shall come for me. Now I will also utter judgments against them."
No, this wind is too strong for that, and it comes from me. Now I'm also going to tell them how I will punish them.”
13 Look, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as the whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us. For we are ruined.
Look, he's rushing in like stormclouds; his chariots are like a whirlwind. His horses fly faster than eagles. “What a disaster! We're ruined!”
14 Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?
Clean the evil from your heart, Jerusalem, so that you can be saved. How long will you hold onto your evil thoughts?
15 For a voice declares from Dan, and publishes evil from the hills of Ephraim:
News is shouted out from Dan, announcing disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
16 "Tell the nations; look, publish against Jerusalem, 'Besiegers come from a far country, and raise their voice against the cities of Judah.
“Let the nations know! Look what's happening! Announce this to Jerusalem: An army is coming to besiege you from a distant country; shouting war-cries against the towns of Judah.
17 As keepers of a field, they are against her all around, because she has been rebellious against me,'" says YHWH.
They encircle her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me, declares the Lord.
18 "Your way and your doings have brought these things to you. This is your wickedness; for it is bitter, for it reaches to your heart."
You've brought this on yourself by your own attitudes and actions. This is your punishment, and it's so painful, it's like being stabbed in the heart!”
19 My anguish, my anguish. I am pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I can't hold my peace; because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
“I'm in agony, absolute agony! My heart is breaking! It's beating wildly in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I can't keep quiet because I've heard the trumpet, the signal for battle.
20 Destruction on destruction is proclaimed; for the whole land is laid waste: suddenly are my tents destroyed, and my curtains in a moment.
News of one disaster after another comes flooding in, for the whole country is in ruins. My own home is destroyed in a moment, and everything inside.
21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
How long do I have to see the flags of war and hear the trumpets of battle?”
22 "For my people are foolish, they do not know me. They are foolish children, and they have no understanding. They are skillful in doing evil, but to do good they have no knowledge."
“My people are stupid; they don't know me. They are foolish children who just don't understand. They're experts at doing evil, but they don't know how to do good.”
23 I saw the earth, and, look, it was waste and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; I looked to the heavens, and its light was gone.
24 I saw the mountains, and look, they trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth.
I looked at the mountains, and saw that they were shaking; all the hills were swaying to and fro.
25 I saw, and look, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky had fled.
I looked, and nobody was left; all the birds had flown away.
26 I saw, and look, the fruitful field was a wilderness, and all its cities were broken down at the presence of YHWH; before his fierce anger they were destroyed.
I looked, and the productive fields were a desert. All the towns were demolished because of the Lord's furious anger.
27 For thus says YHWH, "The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.
This is what the Lord says: “The whole country will be devastated, but I won't do so completely.
28 For this the earth will mourn, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and I have not relented, neither will I turn back from it."
The earth will mourn and the heavens above will go dark. I have spoken; this is what I have ordered. I'm not going to stop or change my mind.”
29 Every city flees for the noise of the horsemen and archers; they go into caves, and they hide themselves in the thickets, and climb up on the rocks; every city is forsaken, and not a man dwells in it.
People from every town: run away when they hear the enemy horsemen and archers coming. They hide in the forest and among the rocks. All the towns are abandoned; no one lives in them.
30 You, when you are made desolate, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with scarlet, though you dress yourselves with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge your eyes with paint, in vain do you make yourself beautiful; your lovers despise you, they seek your life.
You, Jerusalem, now desolate, what are you going to do? Even though you dress in scarlet clothes, and put on gold jewelry, and paint your eyes with make-up, all your dressing-up is pointless! Your lovers hate you; they want to kill you!
31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, the anguish as of her who brings forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, who gasps for breath, who spreads her hands, saying, "Woe is me now. For my soul faints before the murderers."
I hear the cries like a woman in labor, the agonizing moans of a woman giving birth to her first child. These are the cries of the Daughter of Zion gasping for air, holding out her hands, saying, “Please help me, I'm being murdered!”
