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 thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, yea, return unto Me; and if thou wilt put away thy detestable things out of My sight, and wilt not 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 wilt swear: 'As the LORD liveth' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; then shall the nations bless themselves by Him, and in Him shall they 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 thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: Break up for you a fallow ground, and sow not among 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 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.

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.

Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say: 'Blow ye the horn in the land'; cry aloud and say: 'Assemble yourselves, and let us go into 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:

Set up a standard toward Zion; put yourselves under covert, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great 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 is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations is set out, gone forth from his place; to make thy land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.

8 On this account, gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl, —Because the glow of the anger of Yahweh hath not turned from us.

For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back 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.

And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall fail, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

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 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.'

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 shall it be said of this people and of Jerusalem; A hot wind of the high hills in the wilderness toward the daughter of My people, not to fan, nor to cleanse;

12 A wind too strong for these, cometh in for me. Now, will, I also, pronounce sentences upon them:

A wind too strong for this shall come for Me; now will I also utter 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 cometh up as clouds, and his chariots are as the whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles. — 'Woe unto us! for we are undone.' —

14 Wash from wickedness thy heart, O Jerusalem, That thou mayest be saved, —How long, shall lodge within thee thy wicked devices?

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

15 For a voice, declareth from Dan, —And publisheth trouble from the hill country of Ephraim.

For hark! one declareth from Dan, and announceth calamity 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:

'Make ye mention to the nations: Behold — publish concerning Jerusalem — watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice 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.

As keepers of a field are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against Me, saith 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.

Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness; yea, it is bitter, yea, it reacheth unto thy 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 bowels, my bowels! I writhe in pain! The chambers of my heart! My heart moaneth within me! I cannot hold my peace! because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the horn, the alarm of war.

20 Breach upon breach, they cry, For ruined, is all the land, —Suddenly, are ruined my tents, In a moment, my curtains!

Destruction followeth upon destruction, for the whole land is spoiled; suddenly are my tents spoiled, 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 shall I see the standard, shall I 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 is foolish, they know Me not; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

23 I beheld, The earth; and lo! it was waste and wild, —The heavens also and their light was not:

I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was waste and void; and 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 beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved to and fro.

25 I beheld, And lo! there was no human being, —Yea, all the birds of the heavens! had fled:

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

27 For, thus, saith Yahweh, A desolation, shall all the land become—Nevertheless a full end, will I not make.

For thus saith the LORD: The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

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.

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.

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!

For the noise of the horsemen and bowmen the whole city fleeth; they go into the thickets, and climb up upon the rocks; every city is forsaken, and not a man dwelleth therein.

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 thou, that art spoiled, what doest thou, that thou clothest thyself with scarlet, that thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, that thou enlargest thine eyes with paint? In vain dost thou make thyself fair; thy lovers despise thee, they seek thy 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 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: 'Woe is me, now! for my soul fainteth before the murderers.'