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.
Strengthen yourselves, sons of Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem, And in Tekoa blow ye a trumpet, And over Beth-Haccerem lift ye up a flame, For evil hath been seen from the north, And great destruction.
2 To a comely and delicate woman, have I likened the daughter of Zion:
The comely and the delicate one I have cut off, The daughter of Zion.
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.
Unto her come do shepherds and their droves, They have stricken tents by her round about, They have fed each [in] his own station.
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.
Sanctify ye against her the battle, Rise, and we go up at noon. Woe to us, for turned hath the day, For stretched out are the shades of evening,
5 Arise! and let us go up in the night, And let us destroy her palaces.
'Rise, and we go up by night, And we 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 said Jehovah of Hosts: Cut down her wood, And pour out against Jerusalem a mount, She [is] the city to be inspected, Wholly — she is oppression in her midst.
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 the digging of a well, is [for] its waters, So she hath digged [for] her wickedness, Violence and spoil is heard in her, Before My face continually [are] sickness and smiting.
8 Receive thou correction O Jerusalem, Lest my soul be torn from thee, —Lest I make thee A desolation, A land not habitable.
Be instructed, 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 said Jehovah of Hosts: They surely glean, as a vine, the remnant of Israel, Put back thy hand, as a gatherer 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 do I speak, and testify, and they hear? Lo, their ear [is] uncircumcised, And they are not able to attend. Lo, a word of Jehovah hath been to them for a reproach, They delight not 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;
And with the fury of Jehovah I have been filled, (I have been weary of containing, ) To pour [it] on the suckling in the street, And on the assembly of youths together, For even husband with wife are captured, An elder with one 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.
And their houses have been turned to others, Fields and wives together, For I stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of the land, An affirmation of 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 their least unto their greatest, Every one is gaining dishonest gain, And from prophet even unto priest, Every one is dealing falsely,
14 And so they have healed the grievous wound of my people, slightly, Saying, Peace, peace, when there was no peace,
And they heal the breach of the daughter of my people slightly, Saying, 'Peace, peace!' and 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.
They were ashamed when they did abomination! Yea, they are not at all ashamed, Yea, blushing they have not known, Therefore they do fall among those falling, In the time I have inspected them, They stumble, said 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 said Jehovah: Stand ye by the ways and see, and ask for paths of old, Where [is] this — the good way? and go ye in it, And find rest for yourselves. And they say, 'We do not go.'
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!
And I have raised up for you watchmen, Attend ye to the voice of the trumpet. And they say, 'We do not attend.'
18 Therefore, hear O ye nations, —And take knowledge O assembly, Of that which befalleth them:
Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O company, That which [is] 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, O earth, lo, I am bringing evil on this people, The fruit of their devices, For to My words they gave no attention, And My law — they kick against it.
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.
Why [is] this to Me? frankincense from Sheba cometh, And the sweet cane from a land afar off, Your burnt-offerings [are] not for acceptance, And your sacrifices have not been 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 said Jehovah: Lo, I do give to this people stumbling blocks, And stumbled against them have fathers and sons together, The neighbour and his friend do 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 said Jehovah: Lo, a people hath come from a north country, And a great nation is stirred up from the sides 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!
Bow and javelin they take hold of, Fierce it [is], and they have no mercy, Their voice as a sea doth sound, And on horses they ride, set in array as a man of war, 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 its sound, feeble have been our hands, Distress hath seized us, pain as of a travailing woman.
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 to the field, And in the way walk not, For a sword hath the enemy, fear [is] round about.
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 on sackcloth, and roll thyself in ashes, The mourning of an only one make for thee, A lamentation most bitter, For suddenly come doth the spoiler against us.
27 An assayer, have I set thee amongst my people, of gold-ore, —That thou mayest note and try their way:
A watch-tower I have given thee, Among My people a fortress, And thou knowest, and hast tried their way.
28 They all, are rebels of rebels, Slander-walkers [They are] bronze and iron! As for them all, corrupters, they are!
All of them are turned aside by apostates, Walking slanderously — brass and iron, All of them are corrupters.
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 have been burnt, By fire hath the lead been consumed, In vain hath a refiner refined, And the wicked have not been drawn away.
30 Rejected silver, are they called, For, Yahweh, hath rejected them.
'Silver rejected,' they have called to them, For Jehovah hath kicked against them!
