Jeremiah 4
1 If you will return O Israel - [the] utterance of Yahweh to me you will return and if you will remove detestable things your from before me and not you will waver.
Israel, if you want to come back, then come back to me, declares the Lord. If you get rid of these disgusting idols I see, and don't wander away,
2 And you will swear [by] [the] life of Yahweh in faithfulness in justice and in righteousness and they will bless themselves by him nations and in him they will boast.
and if when you make your vows, you do so only to me, sincerely, truly, and honestly, then the nations will be blessed by me, and they will praise me.
3 For thus - he says Yahweh to [the] man of Judah and to Jerusalem plow of you unplowed ground and may not you sow to thorns.
This is what the Lord is saying to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: Plow your unplowed ground, and don't sow among the thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh and remove [the] foreskins of heart your O man of Judah and [the] inhabitants of Jerusalem lest it should go forth like fire rage my and it will burn and there not [will be one who] extinguishes because of [the] wickedness of deeds your.
Dedicate yourselves to the Lord; be totally committed to him, people of Judah and Jerusalem. Otherwise, my anger will blaze like fire, burning so hard that no one can put it out because of the evil you've done.
5 Declare in Judah and in Jerusalem make a proclamation and say (blow *Q(K)*) a trumpet in the land call out fill and say gather yourselves so let us go to [the] cities of fortification.
Announce this warning throughout Judah and Jerusalem! Tell them: Blow the trumpet everywhere in the country! Shout out, “Hurry! Let's run to the fortified towns for protection!”
6 Lift up a standard Zion towards take refuge may not you stand still for calamity I [am] about to bring from [the] north and destruction great.
Raise the danger flag; go to Zion! Find somewhere safe! Don't hesitate! I'm bringing enemies from the north who will cause terrible destruction.
7 It has gone up a lion from thicket its and a destroyer of nations he has set out he has gone out from place his to make land your into a waste cities your they will fall in ruins from not inhabitant.
A lion has left his hiding place; a destroyer of nations has started out. He has left his den to come and turn your country into a wasteland. Your towns will be demolished, and no one will live there.
8 On this gird yourself sackcloth mourn and wail for not it has turned back [the] burning of [the] anger of Yahweh from us.
Wear clothes made of sackcloth, weep and wail, crying out, “The Lord's furious anger against us hasn't stopped.”
9 And it will be on the day that [the] utterance of Yahweh it will perish [the] heart of the king and [the] heart of the officials and they will be appalled the priests and the prophets they will be astounded.
When that happens declares the Lord, the king and officials will lose heart, the priests will be devastated, and the prophets will be shocked.
10 And I said alas! - O Lord Yahweh truly certainly you have deceived the people this and Jerusalem saying peace it will belong to you and it will reach a sword to the throat.
Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, you have completely fooled the people of Jerusalem by telling them, ‘You will have peace,’ while holding a sword to our throats.”
11 At the time that it will be said to the people this and to Jerusalem a wind scorching bare heights in the wilderness [will be] [the] direction of [the] daughter of people my not to winnow and not to cleanse.
At that time the people of Jerusalem will be told, “A burning wind from the bare hills of the desert is blowing toward the Jerusalem, but not to blow away the chaff or the dust.
12 A wind [too] full for these [things] it will come for me now also I I will speak judgments with them.
No, this wind is too strong for that, and it comes from me. Now I'm also going to tell them how I will punish them.”
13 There! - like clouds he is going up and like the storm-wind chariots his they are swift more than eagles horses his woe! to us for we are devastated.
Look, he's rushing in like stormclouds; his chariots are like a whirlwind. His horses fly faster than eagles. “What a disaster! We're ruined!”
14 Wash from evil heart your O Jerusalem so that you may be saved until when? will it remain in inner being your [the] thoughts of wickedness your.
Clean the evil from your heart, Jerusalem, so that you can be saved. How long will you hold onto your evil thoughts?
15 For a voice [is] declaring from Dan and [is] proclaiming trouble from [the] hill country of Ephraim.
News is shouted out from Dan, announcing disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
16 Make known to the nations here! proclaim to Jerusalem besiegers [are] coming from [the] land of distance and they have given forth on [the] cities of Judah voice their.
“Let the nations know! Look what's happening! Announce this to Jerusalem: An army is coming to besiege you from a distant country; shouting war-cries against the towns of Judah.
17 Like [those who] guard a field they are on it from round about for me it has been rebellious against [the] utterance of Yahweh.
They encircle her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me, declares the Lord.
18 Conduct your and deeds your they have brought about these [things] to you this [is] wickedness your for it is bitter for it has reached to heart your.
You've brought this on yourself by your own attitudes and actions. This is your punishment, and it's so painful, it's like being stabbed in the heart!”
19 Inward parts my - inward parts my - (I am waiting *Q(K)*) [the] walls of heart my [is] in turmoil to me heart my not I will keep silent for [the] sound of a trumpet (you have heard *Q(K)*) O self my [the] shout of battle.
“I'm in agony, absolute agony! My heart is breaking! It's beating wildly in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I can't keep quiet because I've heard the trumpet, the signal for battle.
20 Destruction to destruction it has been proclaimed for it has been devastated all the land suddenly they have been devastated tents my a moment tent curtains my.
News of one disaster after another comes flooding in, for the whole country is in ruins. My own home is destroyed in a moment, and everything inside.
21 Until when? will I see a standard will I hear [the] sound of a trumpet.
How long do I have to see the flags of war and hear the trumpets of battle?”
22 For - [is] a fool people my me not they know [are] children fools they and not [are] having understanding they [are] skillful they to do evil and to do good not they know.
“My people are stupid; they don't know me. They are foolish children who just don't understand. They're experts at doing evil, but they don't know how to do good.”
23 I looked at the earth and there! [it was] formlessness and emptiness and to the heavens and there not [was] light their.
I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; I looked to the heavens, and its light was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains and there! [they were] quaking and all the hills they shook to and fro.
I looked at the mountains, and saw that they were shaking; all the hills were swaying to and fro.
25 I looked and there! there not [was] humankind and every bird of the heavens they had fled.
I looked, and nobody was left; all the birds had flown away.
26 I looked and there! the garden-land [was] wilderness and all cities its they had been pulled down from before Yahweh from before [the] burning of anger his.
I looked, and the productive fields were a desert. All the towns were demolished because of the Lord's furious anger.
27 For thus he says Yahweh a desolation it will be all the earth and complete destruction not I will make.
This is what the Lord says: “The whole country will be devastated, but I won't do so completely.
28 On this it will mourn the earth and they will be dark the heavens above on for I have spoken I have resolved and not I have repented and not I will turn back from it.
The earth will mourn and the heavens above will go dark. I have spoken; this is what I have ordered. I'm not going to stop or change my mind.”
29 From [the] sound of a horseman and a shooter of a bow [is] fleeing every city people will go in the thickets and on the rocks people will go up every city [is] abandoned and there not [is] dwelling in them anyone.
People from every town: run away when they hear the enemy horsemen and archers coming. They hide in the forest and among the rocks. All the towns are abandoned; no one lives in them.
30 (And you *Q(K)*) O devastated [one] what? are you doing that you are dressing scarlet that you ornament yourself ornament[s] of gold that you tear open with eye-paint eyes your for vanity you beautify yourself they have rejected you lovers life your they seek.
You, Jerusalem, now desolate, what are you going to do? Even though you dress in scarlet clothes, and put on gold jewelry, and paint your eyes with make-up, all your dressing-up is pointless! Your lovers hate you; they want to kill you!
31 For a sound like a sick [woman] I have heard distress like a [woman] bearing a first child [the] sound of [the] daughter of Zion she is gasping for breath she is spreading out hands her woe! please to me for it is weary self my to murderers.
I hear the cries like a woman in labor, the agonizing moans of a woman giving birth to her first child. These are the cries of the Daughter of Zion gasping for air, holding out her hands, saying, “Please help me, I'm being murdered!”
