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Jeremiah 4:1–4

Judah Threatened with Invasion

1 “If you will areturn, O Israel,” declares the Lord,

Then you should return to Me.

And bif you will put away your detested things from My presence,

And will not waver,

2 And you will aswear, ‘As the Lord lives,’

bIn truth, in justice and in righteousness;

Then the cnations will bless themselves in Him,

And din Him they will glory.”

3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,

1aBreak up your fallow ground,

And bdo not sow among thorns.

4 aCircumcise yourselves to the Lord

And remove the foreskins of your heart,

Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

Or else My bwrath will go forth like fire

And burn with cnone to quench it,

Because of the evil of your deeds.”

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Jeremiah 4:1–4 — The New International Version (NIV)

“If you, Israel, will return,

then return to me,”

declares the Lord.

“If you put your detestable idols out of my sight

and no longer go astray,

and if in a truthful, just and righteous way

you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’

then the nations will invoke blessings by him

and in him they will boast.”

This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“Break up your unplowed ground

and do not sow among thorns.

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,

circumcise your hearts,

you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire

because of the evil you have done—

burn with no one to quench it.

Jeremiah 4:1–4 — English Standard Version (ESV)

“If you return, O Israel,

declares the Lord,

to me you should return.

If you remove your detestable things from my presence,

and do not waver,

and if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’

in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,

then nations shall bless themselves in him,

and in him shall they glory.”

For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Break up your fallow ground,

and sow not among thorns.

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;

remove the foreskin of your hearts,

O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;

lest my wrath go forth like fire,

and burn with none to quench it,

because of the evil of your deeds.”

Jeremiah 4:1–4 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove. And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

Jeremiah 4:1–4 — New Living Translation (NLT)

“O Israel,” says the Lord,

“if you wanted to return to me, you could.

You could throw away your detestable idols

and stray away no more.

Then when you swear by my name, saying,

‘As surely as the Lord lives,’

you could do so

with truth, justice, and righteousness.

Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world,

and all people would come and praise my name.”

This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts!

Do not waste your good seed among thorns.

O people of Judah and Jerusalem,

surrender your pride and power.

Change your hearts before the Lord,

or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire

because of all your sins.

Jeremiah 4:1–4 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

“If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord,

“Return to Me;

And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,

Then you shall not be moved.

And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’

In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;

The nations shall bless themselves in Him,

And in Him they shall glory.”

For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Break up your fallow ground,

And do not sow among thorns.

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,

And take away the foreskins of your hearts,

You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

Lest My fury come forth like fire,

And burn so that no one can quench it,

Because of the evil of your doings.”

Jeremiah 4:1–4 — New Century Version (NCV)

“If you will return, Israel,

then return to me,” says the Lord.

“If you will throw away your idols that I hate,

then don’t wander away from me.

If you say when you make a promise,

‘As surely as the Lord lives,’

and you can say it in a truthful, honest, and right way,

then the nations will be blessed by him,

and they will praise him for what he has done.”

This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“Plow your unplowed fields,

and don’t plant seeds among thorns.

Give yourselves to the service of the Lord,

and decide to obey him,

people of Judah and people of Jerusalem.

If you don’t, my anger will spread among you like a fire,

and no one will be able to put it out,

because of the evil you have done.

Jeremiah 4:1–4 — American Standard Version (ASV)

If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith Jehovah, if thou wilt return unto me, and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight; then shalt thou not be removed; and thou shalt swear, As Jehovah liveth, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

For thus saith Jehovah to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye 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.

Jeremiah 4:1–4 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith Jehovah, return unto me; and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not be a wanderer; —and thou shalt in truth, in justice, and in righteousness swear, As Jehovah liveth! and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

For thus saith Jehovah to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up for you a fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves for Jehovah, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my fury come forth like fire and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

Jeremiah 4:1–4 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

The Lord declares, 

“If you come back, Israel, 

if you come back to me, 

if you take your disgusting idols out of my sight 

and you don’t wander away from me, 

if you take the oath, ‘As the Lord lives …’ 

in an honest, fair, and right way, 

then the nations will be blessed, 

and they will be honored by me.” 

This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: 

Plow your unplowed fields, 

and don’t plant among thorns. 

Be circumcised by the Lord

and get rid of the foreskins of your hearts, 

people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. 

If you don’t, my fury will flare up like a fire. 

It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out, 

because of the evil you do. 

Jeremiah 4:1–4 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

If you return, Israel—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

you will return to Me,

if you remove your detestable idols

from My presence

and do not waver,

then you can swear, “As the Lord lives,”

in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,

then the nations will be blessed by Him

and will pride themselves in Him.

For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

Break up the unplowed ground;

do not sow among the thorns.

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;

remove the foreskin of your hearts,

men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.

Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire

and burn with no one to extinguish it

because of your evil deeds.

Jeremiah 4:1–4 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

If you return, O Israel,

says the Lord,

if you return to me,

if you remove your abominations from my presence,

and do not waver,

and if you swear, “As the Lord lives!”

in truth, in justice, and in uprightness,

then nations shall be blessed by him,

and by him they shall boast.

For thus says the Lord to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem:

Break up your fallow ground,

and do not sow among thorns.

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,

remove the foreskin of your hearts,

O people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

or else my wrath will go forth like fire,

and burn with no one to quench it,

because of the evil of your doings.

Jeremiah 4:1–4 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

If you return, O Israel,” declares Yahweh,

“you return to me.

And if you remove your abominations from my presence,

and you do not wander,

and you swear, ‘As Yahweh lives,’

in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,

then nations will be blessed by him,

and in him they will boast.”

For thus says Yahweh

to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,

“Break up for yourselves prepared virgin soil,

and you must not sow among thornbushes.

Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh,

and remove the foreskins of your hearts,

men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

lest my wrath goes forth like the fire and burns,

and there is no one who extinguishes it,

because of the evil of your deeds.”

Jeremiah 4:1–4 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

“If you will return, Israel,

return to me,”

announces the Lord.

“Put the statues of your gods out of my sight.

I hate them.

Stop going down the wrong path.

Take all of your oaths in my name.

Say, ‘You can be sure that the Lord is alive.’

Let all of your promises be truthful, fair and honest.

Then I will bless the nations.

And they will take delight in me.”

Here is what the Lord is telling the people of Judah and Jerusalem. He says,

“Your hearts are as hard as a field

that has not been plowed.

So change your ways and produce good crops.

Do not plant seeds among thorns.

People of Judah and Jerusalem, obey me.

Do not let your hearts be stubborn.

If you do, my anger will blaze out against you.

It will burn like fire because of the evil things you have done.

No one will be able to put it out.


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