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],
“If you return, O Israel,” A declaration of YHWH, “Return to Me, And if you turn aside Your abominations from My face, Then you do not bemoan.
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 have sworn—YHWH lives, In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness, And nations have blessed themselves in Him, And they boast themselves in 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 said YHWH, To the man of Judah, and to Jerusalem: “Till for yourselves tillage, And do not sow to the 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 YHWH, And turn aside the foreskins of your heart, O man of Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury goes out as fire, and has burned, And there is none quenching, Because of the evil of your doings.”
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 in Judah, and sound in Jerusalem, and say: “Blow a horn in the land, Call, Fill up together, And say, Assemble yourselves and let us go into the 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 an ensign toward Zion, Strengthen yourselves, do not stand still, For I am bringing evil in from the north, And a 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.’
A lion has gone up from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations has journeyed, He has come forth from his place To make your land become a desolation, Your cities are laid waste, without 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.
For this, gird on sackcloth, lament and howl, For the fierce anger of YHWH has not turned back 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 it has come to pass in that day,” A declaration of YHWH, “The heart of the king perishes, And the heart of the princes, And the priests have been astonished, And the prophets wonder.”
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 say, “Aah! Lord YHWH, Surely you have entirely forgotten this people and Jerusalem, Saying, Peace is for you, And a sword has struck 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].
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 [They will be like] [MET] a strong blast that I will send. Now I am declaring that I will punish/destroy you.”
A full wind from these comes for Me, Now also, I speak judgments with 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 comes up as clouds, And his chariots as a windstorm, His horses have been lighter than eagles, Woe to us, for we have been spoiled.”
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 evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, That you may be saved, Until when do you lodge in your heart Thoughts of your strength?
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 a voice is declaring from Dan, And sounding sorrow 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.
“Make mention to the nations, Behold, sound to Jerusalem, Besiegers are coming from the far-off land, And they give forth their voice against 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.
As the keepers of a field They have been against her all around, For she has been rebellious with Me,” A declaration of YHWH.
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 way and your doings have done these to you, This [is] your distress, for [it is] bitter, For it has struck to 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].
My bowels, my bowels! I am pained [in] the walls of my heart, My heart makes a noise for me, I am not silent, For I have heard the voice of a horn, O my soul—a shout of 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 on destruction is proclaimed, For all the land has been spoiled, My tents have suddenly been spoiled, In a moment—my curtains.
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?
Until when do I see an ensign? Do I hear the voice of a horn?
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 people [are] foolish, They have not known Me, They [are] foolish sons, Indeed, they [are] not intelligent, They [are] wise to do evil, And they have not known 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 looked [to] the earth, and behold—formless and void, And to the heavens, and they [had] no light.
24 I looked at the mountains and hills, and they shook and moved from side to side.
I have looked [to] the mountains, And behold, they are trembling. And all the hills moved themselves lightly.
25 I looked and saw that there were no [more] people, and all the birds had flown away.
I have looked, and behold, man is not, And all birds of the heavens have fled.
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 have looked, and behold, The fruitful place [is] a wilderness, And all its cities have been broken down, Because of YHWH, Because of the fierceness of His anger.
27 This is what Yahweh is saying: “The entire land [of Judah] will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely.
For thus said YHWH: “All the land is a desolation, but I do not make a completion.
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.”
For this the earth mourns, And the heavens above have been black, Because I have spoken—I have purposed, And I have not relented, Nor do I turn back 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.
From the voice of the horseman, And of him shooting with the bow, All the city is fleeing, They have come into thickets, And they have gone up on cliffs, All the city is forsaken, And there is no one dwelling in 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.
And you, O spoiled one, what do you do? For you put on scarlet, For you adorn yourself [with] ornaments of gold. For you tear your eyes with pain, In vain you make yourself beautiful, Unhealthy ones have kicked against you, They seek 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 as of a travailing woman, Distress, as of one bringing forth a firstborn, The voice of the daughter of Zion, She laments herself, She spreads out her hands, Woe to me now, my soul is weary of slayers!”
