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 return, Israel—this is Yahweh's declaration—then it should be to me that you return. If you remove your detestable things from before me and do not wander from me again,

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.

You must be truthful, just, and righteous when you swear, 'As Yahweh lives.' Then the nations will bless themselves in him, and in him they will 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 Yahweh says this to each person in Judah and Jerusalem: 'Plow your own 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 Yahweh, and remove the foreskins of your heart, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else my fury will break out like fire, and burn with no one to quench it, because of the wickedness of your deeds.

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.'

Report in Judah and let it be heard in Jerusalem. Say, “Blow the trumpet in the land.” Proclaim, “Gather together. Let us go to 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.

Lift up the signal flag and point it toward Zion, and run for safety! Do not stay, for I am bringing disaster from the north and a great collapse.

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 coming out from his thicket and someone who will destroy nations is setting out. He is leaving his place to bring horror to your land, to turn your cities into ruins, where no one will live.

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

Because of this, wrap yourself in sackcloth, lament and wail. For the force of Yahweh's anger has not turned away 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.'

Then it will happen in that day—this is Yahweh's declaration—that the hearts of the king and his officials will die. The priests will be appalled, and the prophets will be horrified.'”

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!'

So I said, “Ah! Lord Yahweh. Surely you have completely deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'There will be peace for you.' Yet the sword is striking against their life.”

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, )

In that time it will be said of this people and Jerusalem, “A burning wind from the plains of the desert will make its way to the daughter of my people. It will not winnow or cleanse them.

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

A wind far stronger than that will come at my command, and I will now pass 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.

See, he is attacking like clouds, and his chariots are like a storm. His horses are faster than eagles. Woe to us, for we will be devastated!

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?

Cleanse your heart from wickedness, Jerusalem, so that you might be saved. How long will your deepest thoughts be about how to sin?

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

For a voice is bringing news from Dan, and the coming disaster is heard from the mountains 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.

Make the nations think about this: See, announce to Jerusalem that besiegers are coming from a distant land to shout in battle 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.'

They will be like the watchmen of a cultivated field against her all around, since she has been rebellious against me—this is Yahweh's declaration—

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.

and your conduct and your deeds have done these things to you. This will be your punishment. How terrible it will be! It will strike your very 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 heart! My heart! I am in anguish in my heart. My heart is turbulent within me. I cannot keep quiet for I hear the sound of the horn, an alarm for battle.

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

Disaster follows after disaster; for all the land lies in ruins. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, my curtains in a moment.

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

How long will I see the standard? Will I hear the sound of the horn?

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 the foolishness of my people—they do not know me. They are idiotic people and they have no understanding. They have skill at evil, but do not know to do good.

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

I saw the land. Behold! It was formless and empty. For there was no light for the heavens.

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

I looked at the mountains. Behold, they were trembling, and all the hills were shaking about.

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

I looked. Behold, there was no one, and all the birds of the heavens 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 looked. Behold, the orchards were a wilderness and all the cities had been pulled down before Yahweh, before the fury of his wrath.”

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

This is what Yahweh says, “All the land will become a devastation, but I will not completely destroy it.

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 reason, the land will mourn, and the heavens above will darken. For I have declared my intentions; I will not hold back; I will not turn from carrying them out.

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 will flee from the noise of the cavalry and the archers with a bow; they will run into the forests. Every city will climb up into the rocky places. The cities will be abandoned, for there will be no one to inhabit them.

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.

Now that you have been devastated, what will you do? For though you dress in scarlet, adorn yourself with gold jewelry, and make your eyes look bigger with paint, the men who lusted for you now reject you. Instead, they are trying to take away 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!'

So I hear the sound of anguish, distress as in the birth of a firstborn child, the sound of the daughter of Zion. She is gasping for breath. She spreads out her hands, 'Woe to me! I am fainting because of these murderers.'”