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, Israel,” says the LORD, “if you will return to me, and if you will put away your abominations out of my sight; then you will not be removed;

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 you will swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness. The nations will bless themselves in him, and they will glory in him.”

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 the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, “Break up your fallow ground, and don’t sow amongst 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, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn so that no one 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 in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, ‘Blow the trumpet in the land!’ Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble yourselves! Let’s 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 towards Zion. Flee for safety! Don’t wait; 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 has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations. He is on his way. He has gone out from his place, to make your land desolate, that your 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, clothe yourself with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of the LORD hasn’t 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.

“It will happen at that day,” says the LORD, “that the heart of the king will perish, along with the heart of the princes. The priests will be astonished, and the prophets will 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 I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace;’ whereas the sword reaches to the heart.”

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 hot wind blows from the bare heights in the wilderness towards the daughter of my people, not to winnow, nor to cleanse.

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

A full wind from these will come for me. Now I will also utter judgements 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 will come up as clouds, and his chariots will be as 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?

Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long will your evil thoughts lodge within you?

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

For a voice declares from Dan, and publishes evil 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:

“Tell the nations, behold, publish against Jerusalem, ‘Watchers come from a far country, and raise 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, they are against her all around, because she has been rebellious against me,’” says 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 way and your doings have brought these things to you. This is your wickedness, for it is bitter, for it reaches to your 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 am pained at my very heart! My heart trembles within me. I can’t hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, 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 on destruction is decreed, for the whole land is laid waste. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, and my curtains gone in a moment.

21 How long shall I keep on seeing a standard, —continue to hear the sound of a horn?

How long will I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?

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 foolish. They don’t know me. They are foolish children, and they have no understanding. They are skilful in doing evil, but they don’t know 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 saw the earth and, behold, 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 saw the mountains, and behold, they trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth.

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

I saw, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky 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 saw, and behold, the fruitful field was a wilderness, and all its cities were broken down at the presence of 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 the LORD says, “The whole land will be a desolation; yet I will 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 the earth will mourn, and the heavens above be black, because I have spoken it. I have planned 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!

Every city flees for the noise of the horsemen and archers. They go into the thickets and climb up on the rocks. Every city is forsaken, and not a man dwells 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!

You, when you are made desolate, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with scarlet, though you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge your eyes with makeup, you make yourself beautiful in vain. Your lovers despise you. They seek 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 have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, the anguish as of her who gives birth to 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.”