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 dost turn back, O Israel, An affirmation of Jehovah, unto Me turn back, And if thou dost turn aside Thine abominations from My face, Then thou dost not bemoan.

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 thou hast sworn — Jehovah liveth, In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness, And blessed themselves in Him have nations, And in Him they boast themselves.

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 said Jehovah, To the man of Judah, and to Jerusalem: Till for yourselves tillage, And do not sow unto 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.

Be circumcised to Jehovah, And turn aside the foreskins of your heart, O man of Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury go out as fire, and hath burned, And there is none quenching, 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 in Jerusalem sound, And say ye, 'Blow a trumpet in the land,' Call ye fully, and say ye: 'Be gathered, and we go in to the fenced city.'

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:

Lift up an ensign Zionward, Strengthen yourselves, stand not still, For evil I am bringing in 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.

Gone up hath a lion from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations hath journeyed, He hath come forth from his place To make thy land become a desolation, Thy cities are 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 on sackcloth, lament and howl, For the fierce anger of Jehovah hath 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 hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah: 'Perish doth the heart of the king, And the heart of the princes, And astonished have been the priests, And the prophets do 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.

And I say, 'Ah, Lord Jehovah, Surely thou hast entirely forgotten this people and Jerusalem, saying, Peace is for you, And struck hath a sword 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 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 wind too strong for these, cometh in for me. Now, will, I also, pronounce sentences upon them:

A full wind from these doth come for Me, Now, also, I speak judgments with 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!

Lo, as clouds he cometh up, And as a hurricane his chariots, Lighter than eagles have been his horses, Woe to us, for we have been spoiled.

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

Wash from evil thy heart, O Jerusalem, That thou mayest be saved, Till when dost thou lodge in thy heart Thoughts of thy strength?

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

For a voice is declaring from Dan, And sounding sorrow from mount 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, Lo, sound ye to Jerusalem: 'Besiegers are coming from the land afar off, And they give forth against cities of Judah their voice.

17 As the keepers of a field, have they come against her round about, —For against me, hath she rebelled, Declareth Yahweh.

As the keepers of a field They have been against her round about, For with Me she hath been rebellious, An affirmation of Jehovah.'

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 done these to thee, This [is] thy vexation, for [it is] bitter, For it hath struck 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 am pained [at] the walls of my heart, Make a noise for me doth My heart, I am not silent, For the voice of a trumpet I have heard, O my soul — a shout of battle!

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 proclaimed, For spoiled hath been all the land, Suddenly spoiled have been my tents, In a moment — my curtains.

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

Till when do I see an ensign? Do I hear the voice of a 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, me they have not known, Foolish sons [are] they, yea, they [are] not intelligent, Wise [are] they to do evil, And to do good they have not known.

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

I looked [to] the land, and lo, waste and void, And unto the heavens, and their light is not.

24 I beheld, The mountains, and lo! they were trembling, —And all the hills, had been violently moved:

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

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

I have looked, and lo, man is not, And all fowls of the heavens have 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 have looked, and lo, The fruitful place [is] a wilderness, And all its cities have been broken down, Because of Jehovah, Because of the fierceness of His anger.

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

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

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 doth the land mourn, And black have been the heavens above, because I have spoken — I have purposed, And I have not repented, Nor do 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!

From the voice of the horseman, And of him shooting with the bow, all the city is fleeing, They have come into thickets, And on cliffs they have gone up, All the city is forsaken, And there is no one dwelling in them.

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, O spoiled one, what dost thou? For thou puttest on scarlet, For thou adornest thyself [with] ornaments of gold. For thou rendest with pain thine eyes, In vain thou dost make thyself fair, Kicked against thee have doting ones, Thy life they do seek.

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 a voice as of a sick woman I have heard, Distress, as of one bringing forth a first-born, The voice of the daughter of Zion, She bewaileth herself, she spreadeth out her hands, 'Woe to me now, for weary is my soul of slayers!'