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 you will return, Israel," says YHWH, "if you will return to me, and if you will put away your abominations out of my sight; then you shall not be removed;

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 you shall swear, 'As YHWH lives,' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness. 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 says YHWH to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, "Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow 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, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so 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 in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, 'Blow the trumpet in the land.' Cry aloud and say, 'Assemble yourselves. Let us go into the fortified 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 a standard toward Zion. Flee for safety. Do not wait; 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.

A lion is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations; he is on his way, he is gone forth from his place, to make your land desolate, that your cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.

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

For this clothe yourself with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of YHWH hasn't 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.'

"It shall happen at that day," says YHWH, "that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the officials; 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 I said, "Ah, Lord YHWH. Surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'You shall have peace;' whereas the sword reaches to the heart."

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 hot wind from the bare heights in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow, nor to cleanse;

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

a full wind from these shall come for me. Now I will also utter judgments 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.

Look, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as the whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us. For we are ruined.

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?

Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?

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

For a voice declares from Dan, and publishes evil from the hills of 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.

"Tell the nations; look, publish against Jerusalem, 'Besiegers come from a far country, and raise 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, they are against her all around, because she has been rebellious against me,'" says 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.

"Your way and your doings have brought these things to you. This is your wickedness; for it is bitter, for it reaches to your 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 anguish, my anguish. I am pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I can't hold my peace; because you have 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 on destruction is proclaimed; for the whole land is laid waste: suddenly are my tents destroyed, 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 are foolish, they do not know me. They are foolish children, and they have no understanding. They are skillful in doing 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 saw the earth, and, look, it was waste 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 saw the mountains, and look, they trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth.

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

I saw, and look, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky had 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 saw, and look, the fruitful field was a wilderness, and all its cities were broken down at the presence of YHWH; before his fierce anger they were destroyed.

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

For thus says YHWH, "The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will 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 the earth will mourn, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and I have not relented, 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.

Every city flees for the noise of the horsemen and archers; they go into caves, and they hide themselves in the thickets, and climb up on the rocks; every city is forsaken, and not a man dwells in it.

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.

You, when you are made desolate, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with scarlet, though you dress yourselves with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge your eyes with paint, in vain do you make yourself beautiful; your lovers despise you, they seek your 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, the anguish as of her who brings forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, who gasps for breath, who spreads her hands, saying, "Woe is me now. For my soul faints before the murderers."