Jeremiah 4

BLESSING OR CURSE

4If you return,^B Israel—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

you will return to me,^f

if you remove your abhorrent idols^g

from my presence

and do not waver,

²then you can swear, “As the Lord lives,”^h

in truth,ⁱ justice, and righteousness,^j

and then the nations will be blessed^C by him^k

and will boast in him.^l

³For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

Break up the unplowed ground;^m

do not sow among the thorns.ⁿ

⁴Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;

remove the foreskin of your hearts,^o

men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.

Otherwise, my wrath will break out like fire

and burn with no one to extinguish it^p

because of your evil deeds.

JUDGMENT FROM THE NORTH

⁵Declare in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,

Blow the trumpet throughout the land.^q

Cry out loudly and say,

“Assemble yourselves,

and let’s flee to the fortified cities.”

⁶Lift up a signal flag toward Zion.^r

Run for cover! Don’t stand still!

For I am bringing disaster from the north—

a crushing blow.^s

⁷A lion has gone up from his thicket;^t

a destroyer of nations has set out.

He has left his lair

to make your land a waste.

Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins.^u

⁸Because of this, put on sackcloth;

mourn and wail,^v

for the Lord’s burning anger^w

has not turned away from us.

⁹“On that day”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“the king and the officials will lose their courage. The priests will tremble in fear, and the prophets will be scared speechless.”

¹⁰I said, “Oh no, Lord God, you have certainly deceived^x this people and Jerusalem, by announcing, ‘You will have peace,’^y while a sword is at^A our throats.”

¹¹“At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, ‘A searing wind^z blows from the barren heights in the wilderness on the way to my dear^B people. It comes not to winnow or to sift; ¹²a wind too strong for this comes at my call.^C Now I will also pronounce judgments against them.’ ”^aa

¹³Look, he advances like clouds;^ab

his chariots are like a storm.^ac

His horses are swifter than eagles.^ad

Woe to us, for we are ruined!^ae

¹⁴Wash the evil from your heart,^af Jerusalem,

so that you will be delivered.

How long will you harbor

malicious thoughts?^ag

¹⁵For a voice announces from Dan,

proclaiming malice from Mount Ephraim.

¹⁶Warn the nations: Look!

Proclaim to Jerusalem:

Those who besiege are coming

from a distant land;^ah

they raise their voices

against the cities of Judah.

¹⁷They have her surrounded^a

like those who guard a field,

because she has rebelled against me.^b

This is the Lord’s declaration.

¹⁸Your way and your actions

have brought this on you.^c

This is your punishment. It is very bitter,

because it has reached your heart!

JEREMIAH’S LAMENT

¹⁹My anguish, my anguish!^D I writhe in agony!

Oh, the pain in^E my heart!^d

My heart pounds;

I cannot be silent.

For you, my soul,

have heard the sound of the trumpet—

the shout of battle.

²⁰Disaster after disaster^e is reported

because the whole land is destroyed.

Suddenly my tents are destroyed,

my tent curtains, in a moment.

²¹How long must I see the signal flag

and hear the sound of the trumpet?

²²“For my people are fools;

they do not know me.

They are foolish children,

without understanding.^f

They are skilled in doing what is evil,

but they do not know how to do what is good.”^g

²³I looked at the earth,

and it was formless and empty.^h

I looked to the heavens,

and their light was gone.ⁱ

²⁴I looked at the mountains,

and they were quaking;^j

all the hills shook.

²⁵I looked, and there was no human being,^k

and all the birds of the sky had fled.^l

²⁶I looked, and the fertile field^m was a wilderness.ⁿ

All its cities were torn down

because of the Lord

and his burning anger.^o

²⁷For this is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be a desolation,^p

but I will not finish it off.^q

²⁸Because of this, the earth will mourn;^r

the skies above will grow dark.^s

I have spoken; I have planned,

and I will not relent or turn back from it.”^t

²⁹Every city flees^u

at the sound of the horseman and the archer.

They enter the thickets

and climb among the rocks.^v

Every city is abandoned;

no inhabitant is left.

³⁰And you, devastated one, what are you doing^w

that you dress yourself in scarlet,

that you adorn yourself with gold jewelry,

that you enhance your eyes with makeup?^x

You beautify yourself for nothing.

Your lovers reject you;^y

they intend to take your life.^z

³¹I hear a cry like a woman in labor,^aa

a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child.

The cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,

stretching out her hands:^ab

“Woe is me, for my life is weary

because of the murderers!”