Jeremías 4

1 “Si te vuelves, Israel — dice Yahvé —, si te vuelves a mí y si quitas tus abominaciones de mi vista, entonces no serás removido;

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],

2 y jurarás: “Vive Yahvé”, en verdad, en justicia y en rectitud. Las naciones se bendecirán en él, y se gloriarán en él”.

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.”

3 Porque Yahvé dice a los hombres de Judá y a Jerusalén: “Romped vuestro barbecho y no sembréis entre espinos.

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].

4 Circuncidaos a Yahvé, y quitad los prepucios de vuestro corazón, hombres de Judá y habitantes de Jerusalén; no sea que mi ira salga como un fuego, y arda de modo que nadie pueda apagarla, a causa de la maldad de vuestras acciones.

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.”

5 Proclamad en Judá y publicad en Jerusalén, y decid: ‘¡Tocad la trompeta en la tierra! Griten en voz alta y digan: ‘¡Reúnanse! Vayamos a las ciudades fortificadas’.

“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.

6 Levanten un estandarte hacia Sión. ¡Huid para poneros a salvo! No esperen, porque traeré el mal del norte y una gran destrucción”.

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.

7 Un león ha subido de su espesura, y un destructor de naciones. Está en camino. Ha salido de su lugar, para hacer que tu tierra quede desolada, que tus ciudades queden asoladas, sin habitantes.

[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.’

8 Por eso, vístete de tela de saco, lamenta y llora, porque el furor de Yahvé no se ha apartado de nosotros.

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.

9 “Sucederá en ese día — dice Yahvé — que el corazón del rey perecerá, junto con el corazón de los príncipes. Los sacerdotes se asombrarán y los profetas se maravillarán”.

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.

10 Entonces dije: “¡Ah, Señor Yahvé! Ciertamente has engañado mucho a este pueblo y a Jerusalén, diciendo: ‘Tendréis paz’; mientras que la espada llega hasta el corazón.”

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!”

11 En aquel tiempo se dirá a este pueblo y a Jerusalén: “Un viento caliente sopla desde las alturas desnudas del desierto hacia la hija de mi pueblo, no para aventar ni para limpiar.

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].

12 Un viento pleno de estos vendrá para mí. Ahora también pronunciaré juicios contra ellos”.

[They will be like] [MET] a strong blast that I will send. Now I am declaring that I will punish/destroy you.”

13 He aquí que subirá como las nubes, y sus carros serán como el torbellino. Sus caballos son más veloces que las águilas. ¡Ay de nosotros! Porque estamos arruinados.

[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!

14 Jerusalén, lava tu corazón de la maldad, para que te salves. ¿Hasta cuándo se alojarán en ti tus malos pensamientos?

[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?

15 Porque una voz declara desde Dan, y publica el mal desde las colinas de Efraín:

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.

16 “Decid a las naciones, he aquí que publican contra Jerusalén: ‘Vienen vigilantes de un país lejano, y levantan su voz contra las ciudades de Judá.

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.

17 Como guardianes de un campo, están contra ella por todas partes, porque se ha rebelado contra mí’, dice el Señor.

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.

18 “Tu camino y tus acciones te han traído estas cosas. Esta es tu maldad, pues es amarga, porque llega hasta tu corazón.”

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.”

19 ¡Mi angustia, mi angustia! ¡Me duele hasta el corazón! Mi corazón tiembla dentro de mí. No puedo callar, porque has oído, oh alma mía, el sonido de la trompeta, la alarma de la guerra.

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].

20 Destrucción sobre destrucción está decretada, pues toda la tierra está asolada. De pronto mis tiendas son destruidas, y mis cortinas desaparecen en un momento.

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.

21 ¿Hasta cuándo veré el estandarte y oiré el sonido de la trompeta?

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?

22 “Porque mi pueblo es necio. No me conocen. Son niños insensatos y no tienen entendimiento. Son hábiles para hacer el mal, pero no saben hacer el bien”.

[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.”

23 Vi la tierra, y he aquí que estaba desierta y vacía, y los cielos, y no tenían luz.

[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.

24 Vi las montañas, y he aquí que temblaban, y todas las colinas se movían de un lado a otro.

I looked at the mountains and hills, and they shook and moved from side to side.

25 Vi, y he aquí que no había hombre, y todas las aves del cielo habían huido.

I looked and saw that there were no [more] people, and all the birds had flown away.

26 Vi, y he aquí que el campo fructífero era un desierto, y todas sus ciudades fueron derribadas ante la presencia de Yahvé, ante su feroz ira.

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.

27 Porque Yahvé dice: “Toda la tierra será una desolación; sin embargo, no haré un final completo.

This is what Yahweh is saying: “The entire land [of Judah] will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely.

28 Por esto la tierra se enlutará, y los cielos de arriba se ennegrecerán, porque yo lo he dicho. Lo he planeado, y no me he arrepentido, ni me volveré atrás”.

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.”

29 Todas las ciudades huyen por el ruido de los jinetes y los arqueros. Se meten en los matorrales y se suben a las rocas. Toda ciudad está abandonada, y no hay un solo hombre que habite en ella.

[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.

30 Tú, cuando seas desolada, ¿qué harás? Aunque te vistas de escarlata, aunque te adornes con ornamentos de oro, aunque agrandes tus ojos con maquillaje, te embelleces en vano. Tus amantes te desprecian. Buscan tu vida.

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.

31 Porque he oído una voz como la de una mujer de parto, la angustia de la que da a luz a su primer hijo, la voz de la hija de Sión, que jadea, que extiende sus manos, diciendo: “¡Ay de mí ahora! Porque mi alma se desmaya ante los asesinos”.

[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!”