Jeremiah 6
1 Take your goods into safety, ye sons of Benjamin out of the midst of Jerusalem, And in Tekoa, blow ye a horn, And on Beth-haccherem, raise a fire-signal, —For calamity, hath looked out from the North, Even a great destruction.
Flee, O ye sons of Benjamin, from Jerusalem, And blow ye the trumpet in Tekoa, And lift up the banner in Beth-haccerem! For evil threateneth from the North; Yea, great destruction.
2 To a comely and delicate woman, have I likened the daughter of Zion:
O daughter of Zion, the comely and delicate, Thee have I doomed to destruction!
3 Against her, shall come shepherds with their flocks; They have pitched against her their tents, round about, They tend their flocks every one near at hand.
The shepherds with their flocks shall come to her; They shall pitch their tents against her round about; They shall feed each one in his place.
4 Hallow ye against her a war, Arise! and let us go up in broad noon. Woe to us, for the day, hath turned, for the shadows of evening, stretch along.
“Prepare ye war against her, [[shall they say; ]] Arise, and let us go up at noonday; Alas for us! for the day goeth away, For the shadows of evening are lengthened.
5 Arise! and let us go up in the night, And let us destroy her palaces.
Arise, and let us go up by night, And let us destroy her palaces!”
6 For, Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Cut ye down timber, And cast up, against Jerusalem a mound, —That, is the city to be punished! There is, nothing, but oppression in her midst;
For thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Hew ye down trees, And raise a mound against Jerusalem! She is a city to be punished; She is full of oppression.
7 Like the casting forth by a well of its waters, So, hath she cast forth her wickedness, —Violence and destruction, are heard in her, Before my face, continually, are suffering and smiting.
As a fountain sendeth forth its waters, So she sendeth forth her wickedness. Violence and rapine are heard within her; Before me continually are bruises and wounds.
8 Receive thou correction O Jerusalem, Lest my soul be torn from thee, —Lest I make thee A desolation, A land not habitable.
Receive correction, O Jerusalem, Lest my soul be alienated from thee, Lest I make thee a desolation, A land not inhabited!
9 Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel—Turn back thy hand, as a grape gatherer over the tendrils.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine; Turn thy hand like a grape-gatherer again to the baskets!
10 Unto whom, can I speak—and bear witness, that they may hear? Lo! uncircumcised, is their ear, that they cannot attend, —Lo! the word of Yahweh, hath become to them a reproach, they take no delight therein.
To whom shall I speak? To whom give warning, so that they shall hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, so that they cannot hearken; Behold, the word of Jehovah is to them a derision; They have no delight in it.
11 So then, with the indignation of Yahweh, am I full, I am too weary to hold it in, [I am constrained] to pour it out, upon the boy in the street, and upon the circle of young men, together, —For, even husband with wife, will be captured, The elder with him who is full of days;
Therefore I am full of the fury of Jehovah; I am weary of holding it; I will pour it out alike upon the children in the street, And upon the assembly of the young men. Yea, also the husband with the wife shall be taken, The old man, and he that is full of days.
12 And their houses shall be turned over to others, Fields and wives together, —For I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land, Declareth Yahweh.
Their houses also shall be transferred to others, Their fields and their wives together, For I will stretch out my hand over the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah.
13 For, from the least of them, even unto the greatest of them, Every one, graspeth with greed, —And from the prophet even unto the priest, Every one, dealeth, falsely;
For from the least of them even to the greatest, Every one is greedy of gain; Prophet and priest alike, Every one of them practiseth deceit.
14 And so they have healed the grievous wound of my people, slightly, Saying, Peace, peace, when there was no peace,
They heal the wound of my people slightly, Saying, Peace! peace! when there is no peace.
15 Were they led to turn pale because an abominable thing, they had done! Nay! they did not, at all turn pale, Nay! they did not so much as know how, to exhibit shame, Therefore, shall they fall among them who are falling, In the time when I punish them, shall they be overthrown, Saith Yahweh.
Are they ashamed that they have done abominable things? Nay, they are not at all ashamed; They know not how to blush; Therefore shall they fall with them that fall; At the time when I punish them, They shall be cast down, saith Jehovah.
16 Thus saith Yahweh—Stand ye at the ways—and see, And ask for the paths of age-past times, Where is the good way? And walk therein, And ye shall find rest to your souls. But they said, We will not walk [therein]!
Thus saith Jehovah: Stand ye upon the ways and look; And ask for the old paths, “Where is the good way?” Walk ye in it, and ye shall find for yourselves rest. But they say, We will not walk in it.
17 Therefore will I raise up over you, watchmen, Give ye heed to the sound of a horn, —But they said, We will not give heed!
I have also set watchmen over you, [[saying, ]] Hearken to the sound of the trumpet! But they say, We will not hearken.
18 Therefore, hear O ye nations, —And take knowledge O assembly, Of that which befalleth them:
Therefore hear, O ye nations, And know, ye assembled multitude, What shall come upon them!
19 Hear thou—O earth, Lo! I, am bringing in Calamity against this people the fruit of their own devices, —For unto my words, have they not given heed, And as for my law, they have rejected it.
Hear thou, O earth! Behold, I bring evil upon this people, The fruit of their devices; Because they have not hearkened to my words, And have even rejected my law.
20 What then is it to me that—Frankincense from Shebah come in, or Sweet cane from a land afar off? Your own ascending-offerings, are not acceptable, Nor are, your sacrifices, pleasing to me.
To what purpose is incense brought to me from Sheba, And the sweet-smelling reed from a far country? Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, Nor are your sacrifices sweet to me.
21 Wherefore, Thus, saith Yahweh, Behold me! laying before this people, stumblingblocks, —And fathers and sons together, shall stumble against them, The neighbour and his friend, shall perish.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I lay stumbling-blocks before this people, Upon which fathers and sons shall stumble together, The neighbor and his friend, and shall perish.
22 Thus, saith Yahweh, Lo! a people coming in from the land of the North, —Yea a great nation, shall be stirred up out of the remote parts of the earth:
Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a people cometh from the land of the North; A great nation riseth up from the extremities of the earth.
23 Bow and javelin, shall they grasp, Cruel, is he! So they will not have compassion, Their voice, like the sea, will roar, And on horses, will they ride, —Arrayed each one, like a man for battle, Against thee, O daughter of Zion!
They bear the bow and the spear; They are cruel and show no mercy; Their voice roareth like the sea; And upon horses do they ride, Arrayed as a warrior against thee, O daughter of Zion.
24 We have heard the report thereof, Relaxed are our hands, —Anguish, hath taken hold on us, Pangs, as on her that is giving birth.
We have heard the report thereof; Our hands lose their strength; Anguish hath taken hold of us, Pain, as of a woman in travail.
25 Do not go out into the field, And in the road, do not walk, -Because a sword, hath the foe, —Terror round about!
Go not forth into the field, Nor walk ye in the highway! For the sword of the enemy And terror are on every side.
26 O daughter of my people Gird thee with sackcloth and roll thyself in ashes, —The mourning for an only son, make thou for thyself, Most bitter lamentation! For suddenly, shall the destroyer come upon us.
O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, And roll thyself in ashes! Make thee mourning as for an only son, Most bitter lamentation! For suddenly shall the spoiler come upon us.
27 An assayer, have I set thee amongst my people, of gold-ore, —That thou mayest note and try their way:
I have set thee, like a tower, for an assayer among my people, That thou mayst know and try their way.
28 They all, are rebels of rebels, Slander-walkers [They are] bronze and iron! As for them all, corrupters, they are!
They are all stubborn revolters, Slanderers are they, brass and iron; They are all corrupt.
29 Scorched are the bellows, By fire, is lead wont to be, consumed, —In vain, hath he gone on refining, For the wicked, have not been drawn out:
The bellows burn; The lead is consumed by the fire; The refiner hath melted in vain, For the bad are not separated.
30 Rejected silver, are they called, For, Yahweh, hath rejected them.
Rejected silver shall men call them, Because Jehovah hath rejected them.
