Jeremiah 4

1 If thou dost turn back, O Israel, An affirmation of Jehovah, unto Me turn back, And if thou dost turn aside Thine abominations from My face, Then thou dost not bemoan.

If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith Yhwh, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.

2 And thou hast sworn — Jehovah liveth, In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness, And blessed themselves in Him have nations, And in Him they boast themselves.

And thou shalt swear, Yhwh liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

3 For thus said Jehovah, To the man of Judah, and to Jerusalem: Till for yourselves tillage, And do not sow unto the thorns.

For thus saith Yhwh to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

4 Be circumcised to Jehovah, And turn aside the foreskins of your heart, O man of Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury go out as fire, and hath burned, And there is none quenching, Because of the evil of your doings.

Circumcise yourselves to Yhwh, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

5 Declare in Judah, and in Jerusalem sound, And say ye, 'Blow a trumpet in the land,' Call ye fully, and say ye: 'Be gathered, and we go in to the fenced city.'

Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.

6 Lift up an ensign Zionward, Strengthen yourselves, stand not still, For evil I am bringing in from the north, And a great destruction.

Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

7 Gone up hath a lion from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations hath journeyed, He hath come forth from his place To make thy land become a desolation, Thy cities are laid waste, without inhabitant.

The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.

8 For this, gird on sackcloth, lament and howl, For the fierce anger of Jehovah hath not turned back from us.

For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of Yhwh is not turned back from us.

9 And it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah: 'Perish doth the heart of the king, And the heart of the princes, And astonished have been the priests, And the prophets do wonder.'

And it shall come to pass at that day, saith Yhwh, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

10 And I say, 'Ah, Lord Jehovah, Surely thou hast entirely forgotten this people and Jerusalem, saying, Peace is for you, And struck hath a sword unto the soul!'

Then said I, Ah, Lord Yhwh! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

11 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, )

At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,

12 A full wind from these doth come for Me, Now, also, I speak judgments with them.

Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.

13 Lo, as clouds he cometh up, And as a hurricane his chariots, Lighter than eagles have been his horses, Woe to us, for we have been spoiled.

Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.

14 Wash from evil thy heart, O Jerusalem, That thou mayest be saved, Till when dost thou lodge in thy heart Thoughts of thy strength?

O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

15 For a voice is declaring from Dan, And sounding sorrow from mount Ephraim.

For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.

16 Make ye mention to the nations, Lo, sound ye to Jerusalem: 'Besiegers are coming from the land afar off, And they give forth against cities of Judah their voice.

Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.

17 As the keepers of a field They have been against her round about, For with Me she hath been rebellious, An affirmation of Jehovah.'

As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith Yhwh.

18 Thy way and thy doings have done these to thee, This [is] thy vexation, for [it is] bitter, For it hath struck unto thy heart.

Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.

19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained [at] the walls of my heart, Make a noise for me doth My heart, I am not silent, For the voice of a trumpet I have heard, O my soul — a shout of battle!

My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

20 Destruction on destruction is proclaimed, For spoiled hath been all the land, Suddenly spoiled have been my tents, In a moment — my curtains.

Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.

21 Till when do I see an ensign? Do I hear the voice of a trumpet?

How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 For my people [are] foolish, me they have not known, Foolish sons [are] they, yea, they [are] not intelligent, Wise [are] they to do evil, And to do good they have not known.

For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

23 I looked [to] the land, and lo, waste and void, And unto the heavens, and their light is not.

I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

24 I have looked [to] the mountains, And lo, they are trembling. And all the hills moved themselves lightly.

I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.

25 I have looked, and lo, man is not, And all fowls of the heavens have fled.

I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

26 I have looked, and lo, The fruitful place [is] a wilderness, And all its cities have been broken down, Because of Jehovah, Because of the fierceness of His anger.

I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of Yhwh, and by his fierce anger.

27 For thus said Jehovah: All the land is a desolation, but a completion I make not.

For thus hath Yhwh said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

28 For this doth the land mourn, And black have been the heavens above, because I have spoken — I have purposed, And I have not repented, Nor do I turn back from it.

For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

29 From the voice of the horseman, And of him shooting with the bow, all the city is fleeing, They have come into thickets, And on cliffs they have gone up, All the city is forsaken, And there is no one dwelling in them.

The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.

30 And thou, O spoiled one, what dost thou? For thou puttest on scarlet, For thou adornest thyself [with] ornaments of gold. For thou rendest with pain thine eyes, In vain thou dost make thyself fair, Kicked against thee have doting ones, Thy life they do seek.

And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou enlargest thine eyes with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

31 For a voice as of a sick woman I have heard, Distress, as of one bringing forth a first-born, The voice of the daughter of Zion, She bewaileth herself, she spreadeth out her hands, 'Woe to me now, for weary is my soul of slayers!'

For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.