Jeremiah 6
1 Strengthen yourselves, sons of Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem, And in Tekoa blow ye a trumpet, And over Beth-Haccerem lift ye up a flame, For evil hath been seen from the north, And great destruction.
Run and hide, descendants of Benjamin, get out of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa; light a signal fire in Beth-haccherem, for disaster and terrible destruction is arriving from the north.
2 The comely and the delicate one I have cut off, The daughter of Zion.
Even though she is pretty and delightful, I will destroy the Daughter of Zion.
3 Unto her come do shepherds and their droves, They have stricken tents by her round about, They have fed each [in] his own station.
“Shepherds” and their “flocks” will come to attack her; they will set up their tents all around her, each one looking after his own.
4 Sanctify ye against her the battle, Rise, and we go up at noon. Woe to us, for turned hath the day, For stretched out are the shades of evening,
They get ready for battle against her, saying, “Come on, we'll attack at noon! Oh no, the day is almost over, the evening shadows are growing long.
5 'Rise, and we go up by night, And we destroy her palaces.'
Come on, we'll attack at night instead and destroy her fortresses!”
6 For thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Cut down her wood, And pour out against Jerusalem a mount, She [is] the city to be inspected, Wholly — she is oppression in her midst.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: Cut down the trees and make a siege ramp to use against Jerusalem. This city needs to be punished because it's full of people mistreating one another.
7 As the digging of a well, is [for] its waters, So she hath digged [for] her wickedness, Violence and spoil is heard in her, Before My face continually [are] sickness and smiting.
Like a spring gushing out water, so she pours out her evil. The sounds of violence and abuse echo inside her. I see people sick and wounded everywhere.
8 Be instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest My soul be alienated from thee, Lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited.
I'm warning you, people of Jerusalem, I'm going to give up on you in disgust. I will destroy you and leave your country uninhabited.
9 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: They surely glean, as a vine, the remnant of Israel, Put back thy hand, as a gatherer to the baskets.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: Even those left in Israel will be taken, just as grapes left on a vine are taken by the one harvesting the grapes who checks the branches again.
10 To whom do I speak, and testify, and they hear? Lo, their ear [is] uncircumcised, And they are not able to attend. Lo, a word of Jehovah hath been to them for a reproach, They delight not in it.
Who can I give this warning to? Who's going to listen to me? Can't you see that they refuse to listen? They can't hear what I'm saying. See how offensive the Lord's message is to them. They don't like it at all.
11 And with the fury of Jehovah I have been filled, (I have been weary of containing, ) To pour [it] on the suckling in the street, And on the assembly of youths together, For even husband with wife are captured, An elder with one full of days,
But as for me, I'm full of the Lord's anger; I have a hard time keeping it in. The Lord replies, Pour it out on children in the street, and on groups of young people, because both husband and wife are going to be captured—it's everyone, and it doesn't matter how old they are.
12 And their houses have been turned to others, Fields and wives together, For I stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of the land, An affirmation of Jehovah.
Their houses will be given to others, their fields and wives too, because I'm going to punish everyone living in this country, declares the Lord.
13 For from their least unto their greatest, Every one is gaining dishonest gain, And from prophet even unto priest, Every one is dealing falsely,
Everyone cheats because they're greedy, poor and rich alike. Even prophets and priests—they are all dishonest liars!
14 And they heal the breach of the daughter of my people slightly, Saying, 'Peace, peace!' and there is no peace.
They give my wounded people first aid, but they don't really care about them. They tell them, “Don't worry! We have peace!” even as war approaches.
15 They were ashamed when they did abomination! Yea, they are not at all ashamed, Yea, blushing they have not known, Therefore they do fall among those falling, In the time I have inspected them, They stumble, said Jehovah.
Were they ashamed of the disgusting things they did? No, they weren't ashamed at all, they couldn't even blush. So they will fall just like the others, when I punish them; they will drop down dead, says the Lord.
16 Thus said Jehovah: Stand ye by the ways and see, and ask for paths of old, Where [is] this — the good way? and go ye in it, And find rest for yourselves. And they say, 'We do not go.'
This is what the Lord says: Go and stand where the roads divide, and look. Find out which are the old paths. Ask, “What's the right way?” Then follow it and you'll be content. But you refused, saying, “We won't go that way!”
17 And I have raised up for you watchmen, Attend ye to the voice of the trumpet. And they say, 'We do not attend.'
I put watchmen in charge of you and told you, make sure you listen for the trumpet call warning you of danger. But you answered, “We won't listen!”
18 Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O company, That which [is] upon them.
So now you other nations can listen and find out what's going to happen to them.
19 Hear, O earth, lo, I am bringing evil on this people, The fruit of their devices, For to My words they gave no attention, And My law — they kick against it.
Earth, you listen too! I am bringing disaster down on this people, the end result of what they themselves planned. It's because they paid no attention to what I said, and rejected my instructions.
20 Why [is] this to Me? frankincense from Sheba cometh, And the sweet cane from a land afar off, Your burnt-offerings [are] not for acceptance, And your sacrifices have not been sweet to Me.
What's the point of offering me frankincense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a far-away land? I don't accept your burnt offerings; I'm not pleased with your sacrifices.
21 Therefore thus said Jehovah: Lo, I do give to this people stumbling blocks, And stumbled against them have fathers and sons together, The neighbour and his friend do perish.
So this is what the Lord says: I'm going to put blocks in front of these people to trip them up. Fathers and sons will fall down dead, friends and neighbors too.
22 Thus said Jehovah: Lo, a people hath come from a north country, And a great nation is stirred up from the sides of the earth.
This is what the Lord says: Look! An army is invading from the north; a powerful nation is getting ready to attack all the way from the ends of the earth.
23 Bow and javelin they take hold of, Fierce it [is], and they have no mercy, Their voice as a sea doth sound, And on horses they ride, set in array as a man of war, Against thee, O daughter of Zion.
They pick up their bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. Their war-cries are like the sea roaring, and they ride horses lined up ready to attack you, Daughter of Zion.
24 'We have heard its sound, feeble have been our hands, Distress hath seized us, pain as of a travailing woman.
The people reply, “We've heard the news, and our hands are limp with shock! We're overcome with agony, suffering pain like a woman in labor.
25 Go not forth to the field, And in the way walk not, For a sword hath the enemy, fear [is] round about.
Don't go to the field! Don't walk down the road! The enemy is armed with swords! Terror is everywhere!”
26 O daughter of My people, Gird on sackcloth, and roll thyself in ashes, The mourning of an only one make for thee, A lamentation most bitter, For suddenly come doth the spoiler against us.
Oh my people, put on sackcloth and roll around in ashes. Mourn and cry bitterly like you would for an only son, because the destroyer will come down on you suddenly.
27 A watch-tower I have given thee, Among My people a fortress, And thou knowest, and hast tried their way.
Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of metals so you can test my people as if they were metal, so you can know what they're made of and how they act.
28 All of them are turned aside by apostates, Walking slanderously — brass and iron, All of them are corrupters.
They're all stubborn rebels going around talking slander. They are hard as bronze and iron; they are all corrupt.
29 The bellows have been burnt, By fire hath the lead been consumed, In vain hath a refiner refined, And the wicked have not been drawn away.
The bellows in the refiner's furnace blow powerfully, burning away the lead. But this refining is pointless, because the wicked are not purified.
30 'Silver rejected,' they have called to them, For Jehovah hath kicked against them!
They are identified as impure silver to be rejected, because the Lord has rejected them.
