Jeremiah 4
1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, Declareth Yahweh, Unto me, mayst thou return, —And if thou wilt remove thine abominations from before me, Then shalt thou not become a wanderer.
“If you will return, O Israel, return to Me,” declares the LORD. “If you will remove your detestable idols from My sight and no longer waver,
2 If thou wilt swear, By the life of Yahweh! in faithfulness in justice and in righteousness, Then shall the nations bless themselves in him, And, in him, shall they glory.
and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.”
3 For thus saith Yahweh Unto the men of Judah and unto Jerusalem, Till ye the untilled ground, —And do not sow among thorns.
For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among the thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves unto Yahweh So shall ye remove the impurity of your heart, ye men of Judah and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, —Lest mine indignation, go forth as fire, and burn and there be none to quench it, Because of the wickedness of your doings.
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it, because of your evil deeds.”
5 Declare ye in Judah And in Jerusalem, let it be heard, And say, Blow ye a horn in the land, —Cry, with frill voice And say, Gather yourselves together, And let us enter the defenced cities.
Announce in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: “Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land. Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble yourselves and let us flee to the fortified cities.’
6 Lift up an ensign—Zion-ward, Bring into safety, do not tarry, —For, calamity, am, I, bringing in from the North, Even, a great destruction:
Raise a signal flag toward Zion. Seek refuge! Do not delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, and terrible destruction.
7 There hath come up a lion out of his thicket, Yea, a destroyer of nations—hath set forward, hath come forth out of his place, —To make thy land a desolation, Thy cities, shall fall in ruins, so as to have no inhabitant.
A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his lair to lay waste your land. Your cities will be reduced to ruins and lie uninhabited.
8 On this account, gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl, —Because the glow of the anger of Yahweh hath not turned from us.
So put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.”
9 And it shall come to pass, in that day, Declareth Yahweh, That the courage of the king shall fail, And the courage of the princes, —And the priests shall be astonished, And, the prophets, shall be amazed.
“In that day,” declares the LORD, “the king and officials will lose their courage. The priests will tremble in fear, and the prophets will be astounded.”
10 Then said I, —Ah! My Lord Yahweh! Surely, thou hast suffered this people and Jerusalem to be beguiled, saying, Peace, shall ye have, —whereas the sword shall reach unto the soul.
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, how completely You have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ while a sword is at our throats.”
11 At that time, shall it be said of this people and of Jerusalem, —The sharp wind of the bare heights in the desert, cometh towards the daughter of my people, —not to winnow nor to cleanse.
At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A searing wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward the daughter of My people, but not to winnow or to sift;
12 A wind too strong for these, cometh in for me. Now, will, I also, pronounce sentences upon them:
a wind too strong for that comes from Me. Now I also pronounce judgments against them.”
13 Lo! like clouds, shall he come up, Even as a storm-wind, his chariots, Swifter than eagles, his horses, —Woe to us for we are laid waste!
Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
14 Wash from wickedness thy heart, O Jerusalem, That thou mayest be saved, —How long, shall lodge within thee thy wicked devices?
Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?
15 For a voice, declareth from Dan, —And publisheth trouble from the hill country of Ephraim.
For a voice resounds from Dan, proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
16 Put ye in mind the nations Lo! publish ye against Jerusalem, Blockaders! are coming in from a land afar off, —And have uttered against the cities of Judah their voice:
Warn the nations now! Proclaim to Jerusalem: “A besieging army comes from a distant land; they raise their voices against the cities of Judah.
17 As the keepers of a field, have they come against her round about, —For against me, hath she rebelled, Declareth Yahweh.
They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against Me,” declares the LORD.
18 Thine own way And thine own doings, Have done these things unto thee, —This thy wickedness, Surely it is bitter, Surely it hath reached unto thy heart.
“Your ways and deeds have brought this upon you. This is your punishment; how bitter it is, because it pierces to the heart!”
19 My bowels! My bowels! I am pained in the walls of my heart My heart beateth aloud to me I cannot be still! For the sound of a horn, hast thou heard O my soul, The loud shout of war!
My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.
20 Breach upon breach, they cry, For ruined, is all the land, —Suddenly, are ruined my tents, In a moment, my curtains!
Disaster after disaster is proclaimed, for the whole land is laid waste. My tents are destroyed in an instant, my curtains in a moment.
21 How long shall I keep on seeing a standard, —continue to hear the sound of a horn?
How long must I see the signal flag and hear the sound of the horn?
22 Surely, perverse, is my people Me, have they not known, Foolish sons, they are, Yea without understanding, they are: Wise, they are to commit wickedness, But how to do well, they know not!
“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”
23 I beheld, The earth; and lo! it was waste and wild, —The heavens also and their light was not:
I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I beheld, The mountains, and lo! they were trembling, —And all the hills, had been violently moved:
I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.
25 I beheld, And lo! there was no human being, —Yea, all the birds of the heavens! had fled:
I looked, and no man was left; all the birds of the air had fled.
26 I beheld, And lo! the garden-land, was a desert, —And, all its cities, had been broken down, Because of Yahweh, Because of the glow of his anger!
I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert. All its cities were torn down before the LORD, before His fierce anger.
27 For, thus, saith Yahweh, A desolation, shall all the land become—Nevertheless a full end, will I not make.
For this is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be desolate, but I will not finish its destruction.
28 For this cause, shall the land mourn, and the heavens above be overcast: Because I have spoken have purposed, and have not repented nor will I turn back therefrom.
Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above will grow dark. I have spoken, I have planned, and I will not relent or turn back.”
29 At the noise of horseman and archer, The whole city is in flight, They have entered dark thickets, Yea unto the crags, have they gone up, —Every city, is forsaken, There remaineth not in them a man!
Every city flees at the sound of the horseman and archer. They enter the thickets and climb among the rocks. Every city is abandoned; no inhabitant is left.
30 And when, thou, art laid waste, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself with crimson Though thou deck thyself with ornaments of gold Though thou enlarge with antimony thine eyes, In vain, shalt thou make thyself fair, —Paramours have rejected thee, Thy life, will they seek!
And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain; your lovers despise you; they want to take your life.
31 For a voice as of a woman in pangs, have I heard Anguish as of her that is bearing her firstborn. The voice of the daughter of Zion! She gaspeth for breath, She spreadeth forth her palms, —Surely woe to me! For my soul fainteth before murderers.
For I hear a cry like a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child— the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands to say, “Woe is me, for my soul faints before the murderers!”
