Jeremiah 4

1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, unto me shalt thou return: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not be removed;

“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 thou shalt swear, As the LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

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 saith the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not 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 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.

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 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry aloud and say? Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fenced 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 a standard toward Zion: flee for safety, stay not: for I will bring evil 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 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 thy land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without 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 you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back 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 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.

“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 GOD! 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 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 fan, nor to cleanse;

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 full wind from these shall come for me: now will I also utter judgments against them.

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

13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots [shall be] as the whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.

“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 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thine evil thoughts lodge within thee?

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 evil from the hills of Ephraim:

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

16 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.

“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 she hath been rebellious against me, 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; for it is bitter, for it reacheth unto thine 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 pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I cannot hold my peace; because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, 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 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, [and] my curtains in a moment.

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, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

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

22 For my people is foolish, they know me not; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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 saith the LORD, The whole land shall be a desolation; yet will I not make a full end.

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

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 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 The whole city fleeth for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they go into the 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, when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with scarlet, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou enlargest thine eyes with paint, in vain dost thou make thyself fair; [thy] lovers despise thee, they seek thy life.

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 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, [saying], Woe is me now! for my soul fainteth before 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!”