Jeremiah 4

1 Yahweh says, “You Israeli [people], come back to me! If you get rid of those detestable idols and do not turn away from me [again],

“O Israel, if you would return, says the Lord, then be converted to me. If you remove your offense from before my face, then you will not be shaken.

2 and if you declare, ‘Just as surely as Yahweh lives, what he says is true,’ and if you [start to] always say what is true and act justly/fairly and righteously, then the [people in the other] nations [of the world] will request that I bless them [as I have blessed you], and they will [all come and] honor/praise me.”

And you will swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth and in judgment and in justice.” And the Gentiles will bless him, and they will praise him.

3 This is what Yahweh says to the people of Jerusalem and [the other cities in] Judah: “[Prepare yourselves to receive my messages] like farmers plow up hard ground [in order that they can plant seed in it]. Just as farmers do not [waste good seed by] sowing seeds among thorny plants, [I do not want to waste my time telling you messages that you are not ready to receive].

For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and of Jerusalem: “Break new ground, and do not choose to sow upon thorns.

4 Purify your inner beings and your minds for me. If you do not do that, my being angry with you [MTY] because of [all] the sins that you have committed will be like a fire that will be impossible to extinguish.”

Be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins from your hearts, O men of Judah, O inhabitants of Jerusalem. Otherwise my indignation may burst forth and flare up like a fire. And then there will be no one who can extinguish it, because of the wickedness of your thoughts.

5 “Declare this [DOU] to [all the people in] Jerusalem and [the rest of] Judea; blow the trumpets everywhere in the land [to warn the people]. Tell them that they should flee to the cities that have high walls around them.

Declare it in Judah, and make it known in Jerusalem! Speak out and sound the trumpet in the land! Cry out strongly and say: ‘Gather yourselves! And let us go forth to fortified cities!’

6 Shout to the people of Jerusalem, ‘Run away [now]! Do not delay, because I am about to cause you to experience a terrible disaster [DOU] that will come from the north.

Lift up a standard in Zion. Be strengthened! Do not choose to stand still. For I am bringing an evil from the north, with great destruction.

7 [An army] that has destroyed [many] nations will attack you [like] [MET] a lion that comes out of its den [to attack other animals]. [The soldiers of that army] have taken down their tents and they are ready to march toward your land. They will destroy your cities and leave them without any people still living in them.’

The lion has ascended from his den, and the pillager of the nations has lifted himself up. He has gone forth from his place, so that he may set your land in desolation. Your cities will be laid waste, remaining without an inhabitant.

8 So, put on sackcloth/rough clothes and weep and beat your chests [to show that you are very sorry for what you have done], because Yahweh is still very angry with us.

Concerning this, wrap yourselves in haircloth, mourn and wail: ‘For the wrath of the fury of the Lord has not been turned away from us.’

9 Yahweh said that at the time [he punishes you], the King of Judah and [all his] officials will be very afraid. The priests and the prophets will be terrified.

And this shall be in that day, says the Lord: The heart of the king will perish, with the heart of the princes. And the priests will be stupefied, and the prophets will be in consternation.”

10 Then I replied, “Yahweh [my] God, you completely deceived the people by telling them that there would be peace in Jerusalem, but now [our enemies] [PRS] are ready to slaughter us with their swords!”

And I said: “Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God! Could it be that you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: ‘Peace shall be yours,’ while, behold, the sword reaches even to the soul?”

11 When that happens, [Yahweh] will say to the people of Jerusalem, [“A huge army will come to attack you]. They will not [be like a gentle breeze that] separates wheat from chaff. [They will be like] a very hot wind [that blows in] from the desert [MET].

“In that time, it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: ‘A burning wind is in the ways that are in the desert, along the way of the daughter of my people, but not to winnow and not to cleanse.’

12 [They will be like] [MET] a strong blast that I will send. Now I am declaring that I will punish/destroy you.”

A full spirit from these places will come to me. And now I will speak my judgments over them.

13 [Our enemies] are about to rush down on us; their chariots are like [SIM] whirlwinds. Their horses are faster than eagles. It will be terrible for us!

Behold, he will ascend like a cloud, and his chariot will ascend like a tempest. His horses are swifter than eagles. ‘Woe to us! For we are being devastated!’

14 [You people of] Jerusalem [APO], purify your hearts/inner beings, in order that Yahweh will rescue you. How long will you continue to think about [doing] evil things?

Wash your heart from malice, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will harmful thoughts abide in you?

15 From Dan [city in the far north] to the hills of Ephraim [a few miles/kilometers north of Jerusalem] messengers are proclaiming that disasters are coming.

For there is a voice, of someone announcing from Dan, and he is making known the idol from mount Ephraim.

16 Tell this to the [people in other] nations [but also] announce it in Jerusalem: [Yahweh says], “An army is coming to Jerusalem from far away; they will shout [a battle-cry] against the cities in Judah.

Say to the nations: ‘Behold, it has been heard in Jerusalem! Guardians are coming from a far away land, to utter their voice against the cities of Judah.’

17 They will set up tents around Jerusalem like people set up temporary shelters [SIM] around a field [at harvest time]. That will happen because the people of Judah have rebelled against me.

They have been stationed over her, like the guardians of fields, all around. For she has provoked me to wrath, says the Lord.

18 You will be punished very severely; it will [be as though a sword] has stabbed your inner beings. But you are causing those things to happen to you because of the evil things that you have done.”

Your ways and your thoughts have brought these things upon you. This is your own wickedness. And it is bitter, because it has touched your heart.

19 I am extremely anguished/sad; the pain in my inner being is very severe. My heart beats wildly. But I cannot remain silent because I have heard [our enemies] blowing their trumpets to announce that the battle [against Judah will start immediately].

I am afflicted in my heart, in my heart. The senses of my heart have been stirred up within me. I will not remain silent. For my soul has heard the voice of the trumpet, the clamor of the battle.

20 Disasters will occur one after another until the whole land is ruined. Suddenly [all] our tents will be destroyed; [even] the curtains [inside the tents] will be ripped apart.

Destruction upon destruction has been called forth. And the entire earth has been devastated. My tabernacles have been destroyed suddenly, and my tents in an instant.

21 How long will this battle continue? How long will I continue to see the enemy battle flags and hear the sound of their trumpets being blown?

How long shall I watch those who are fleeing, and listen to the voice of the trumpet?

22 [Yahweh says], “My people are [very] foolish! They do not have a relationship with me. They are [like] [MET] stupid children who do not understand [anything]. They very cleverly do what is wrong, but they do not know how to do what is good.”

For my foolish people have not known me. They are foolish and mad sons. They are clever in doing evil, but they do not know how to do good.

23 [God gave me a vision in which] I saw that the earth was barren and without form. I looked at the sky, and there was no light there.

I gazed upon the earth, and behold, it was empty and brought to nothing. And I gazed upon the heavens, but there was no light in them.

24 I looked at the mountains and hills, and they shook and moved from side to side.

I watched the mountains, and behold, they trembled, and all the hills were shaken.

25 I looked and saw that there were no [more] people, and all the birds had flown away.

I looked, and there was no man. And all the flying things of the air had gone away.

26 I looked and saw that the fields that previously were fertile had become a desert. The cities were all ruined; they had all been destroyed by Yahweh because he was extremely angry.

I gazed, and behold, Carmel was a desert, and all its cities were destroyed before the face of the Lord, and before the face of the wrath of his fury.”

27 This is what Yahweh is saying: “The entire land [of Judah] will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely.

For thus says the Lord: “All the earth will be desolate, but I will not yet bring about its consummation.

28 I will do to my people what I said that I would do, and I will not change my mind. So [when that happens, it will be as though] the earth will mourn and the sky will become very dark.”

The earth will mourn, and the heavens will lament from above. For I have spoken, I have decided, and I have not regretted. Neither will I be turned away from it.

29 [When the people hear] the sound of the [enemy] army marching, [they will be terrified as] they flee from their cities. Some of them will find places to hide in the bushes, and others will run toward the mountains/hills [to escape being killed by their enemies]. All the cities [in Judah] will be abandoned; not one person will remain in them.

Before the voice of the horsemen and of those who send forth arrows, the entire city has fled. They have entered steep places, and they have ascended the cliffs. All of the cities have been abandoned, and no man lives within them.

30 So you who will surely be destroyed, [why are you doing the things that you are doing now]? Why are you wearing beautiful clothes and jewelry? Why are you putting paint around your eyes? Doing those things will not help you, because the people [in other countries that you think] love you [actually] despise you, and they will try to kill you.

So then, when you have been devastated, what will you do? Though you will clothe yourself with scarlet, though you will adorn yourself with a gold necklace and tint your eyes with cosmetics, you will be dressing yourself up in vain. Your lovers have spurned you; they will be seeking your life.

31 [It is as though] I already hear [the people in Jerusalem] crying very loudly, like [SIM] a woman cries when she is giving birth to her first child; she gasps for breath and pleads for someone to help her. [It is as though Jerusalem] is crying, “Something terrible is happening to me! They are about to murder me!”

For I have heard a voice, like that of a woman giving birth, during the difficulties of labor. It is the voice of the daughter of Zion, dying, extending her hands: ‘Woe to me! For my soul is failing because of those who have been slain!’”