< ירמיה 4 >

אם תשוב ישראל נאם יהוה אלי תשוב ואם תסיר שקוציך מפני ולא תנוד׃ 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],
ונשבעת חי יהוה באמת במשפט ובצדקה והתברכו בו גוים ובו יתהללו׃ 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.”
כי כה אמר יהוה לאיש יהודה ולירושלם נירו לכם ניר ואל תזרעו אל קוצים׃ 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].
המלו ליהוה והסרו ערלות לבבכם איש יהודה וישבי ירושלם פן תצא כאש חמתי ובערה ואין מכבה מפני רע מעלליכם׃ 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.”
הגידו ביהודה ובירושלם השמיעו ואמרו ותקעו שופר בארץ קראו מלאו ואמרו האספו ונבואה אל ערי המבצר׃ 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.
שאו נס ציונה העיזו אל תעמדו כי רעה אנכי מביא מצפון ושבר גדול׃ 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.
עלה אריה מסבכו ומשחית גוים נסע יצא ממקמו לשום ארצך לשמה עריך תצינה מאין יושב׃ 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.’
על זאת חגרו שקים ספדו והילילו כי לא שב חרון אף יהוה ממנו׃ 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.
והיה ביום ההוא נאם יהוה יאבד לב המלך ולב השרים ונשמו הכהנים והנביאים יתמהו׃ 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.
ואמר אהה אדני יהוה אכן השא השאת לעם הזה ולירושלם לאמר שלום יהיה לכם ונגעה חרב עד הנפש׃ 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!”
בעת ההיא יאמר לעם הזה ולירושלם רוח צח שפיים במדבר דרך בת עמי לוא לזרות ולוא להבר׃ 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].
רוח מלא מאלה יבוא לי עתה גם אני אדבר משפטים אותם׃ 12
[They will be like] [MET] a strong blast that I will send. Now I am declaring that I will punish/destroy you.”
הנה כעננים יעלה וכסופה מרכבותיו קלו מנשרים סוסיו אוי לנו כי שדדנו׃ 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!
כבסי מרעה לבך ירושלם למען תושעי עד מתי תלין בקרבך מחשבות אונך׃ 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?
כי קול מגיד מדן ומשמיע און מהר אפרים׃ 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.
הזכירו לגוים הנה השמיעו על ירושלם נצרים באים מארץ המרחק ויתנו על ערי יהודה קולם׃ 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.
כשמרי שדי היו עליה מסביב כי אתי מרתה נאם יהוה׃ 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.
דרכך ומעלליך עשו אלה לך זאת רעתך כי מר כי נגע עד לבך׃ 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.”
מעי מעי אחולה קירות לבי המה לי לבי לא אחריש כי קול שופר שמעתי נפשי תרועת מלחמה׃ 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].
שבר על שבר נקרא כי שדדה כל הארץ פתאם שדדו אהלי רגע יריעתי׃ 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.
עד מתי אראה נס אשמעה קול שופר׃ 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?
כי אויל עמי אותי לא ידעו בנים סכלים המה ולא נבונים המה חכמים המה להרע ולהיטיב לא ידעו׃ 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.”
ראיתי את הארץ והנה תהו ובהו ואל השמים ואין אורם׃ 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.
ראיתי ההרים והנה רעשים וכל הגבעות התקלקלו׃ 24
I looked at the mountains and hills, and they shook and moved from side to side.
ראיתי והנה אין האדם וכל עוף השמים נדדו׃ 25
I looked and saw that there were no [more] people, and all the birds had flown away.
ראיתי והנה הכרמל המדבר וכל עריו נתצו מפני יהוה מפני חרון אפו׃ 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.
כי כה אמר יהוה שממה תהיה כל הארץ וכלה לא אעשה׃ 27
This is what Yahweh is saying: “The entire land [of Judah] will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely.
על זאת תאבל הארץ וקדרו השמים ממעל על כי דברתי זמתי ולא נחמתי ולא אשוב ממנה׃ 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.”
מקול פרש ורמה קשת ברחת כל העיר באו בעבים ובכפים עלו כל העיר עזובה ואין יושב בהן איש׃ 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.
ואתי שדוד מה תעשי כי תלבשי שני כי תעדי עדי זהב כי תקרעי בפוך עיניך לשוא תתיפי מאסו בך עגבים נפשך יבקשו׃ 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.
כי קול כחולה שמעתי צרה כמבכירה קול בת ציון תתיפח תפרש כפיה אוי נא לי כי עיפה נפשי להרגים׃ 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!”

< ירמיה 4 >