Jeremiah 4

Blessing or Curse

4If you return, ^hIsrael—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

you will return to Me, ⁱ

if you remove your detestable idols ^j

from My presence

and do not waver,

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

in truth, ^lin justice, and in righteousness, ^m

then the nations will be blessed ⁿby Him ^o

and will pride themselves in Him. ^p

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

Break up the unplowed ground; ^q

do not sow among the thorns. ^r

⁴Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;

remove the foreskin of your hearts, ^s

men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.

Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire

and burn with no one to extinguish it ^t

because of your evil deeds.

Judgment from the North

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

Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land. ^u

Cry out loudly and say:

Assemble yourselves,

and let’s flee to the fortified cities.

⁶Lift up a signal flag toward Zion. ^v

Run for cover! Don’t stand still!

For I am bringing disaster from the north—

a great destruction. ^w

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

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. ^y

⁸Because of this, put on sackcloth;

mourn and wail, ^z

for the Lord’s burning anger ^a

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 ^bthis people and Jerusalem, by announcing, ‘You will have peace,’ ^cwhile a sword is at ^dour throats.”

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

¹³Look, he advances like clouds; ⁱ

his chariots are like a storm. ^j

His horses are swifter than eagles. ^k

Woe to us, for we are ruined! ^l

¹⁴Wash the evil from your heart, ^mJerusalem,

so that you will be delivered.

How long will you harbor

malicious thoughts within you? ⁿ

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; ^o

they raise their voices

against the cities of Judah.

¹⁷They have her surrounded ^p

like those who guard a field,

because she has rebelled against Me. ^q

This is the Lord’s declaration.

¹⁸Your way of life and your actions

have brought this on you. ^r

This is your punishment. It is very bitter,

because it has reached your heart!

Jeremiah’s Lament

¹⁹My anguish, my anguish! ^sI writhe in agony!

Oh, the pain in ^tmy heart! ^u

My heart pounds;

I cannot be silent.

For you, my soul,

have heard the sound of the ram’s horn—

the shout of battle.

²⁰Disaster after disaster ^vis 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 ram’s horn?

²²“For My people are fools;

they do not know Me.

They are foolish children,

without understanding. ^w

They are skilled in doing what is evil,

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

²³I looked at the earth,

and it was formless and empty. ^y

I looked to the heavens,

and their light was gone. ^z

²⁴I looked at the mountains,

and they were quaking; ^a

all the hills shook.

²⁵I looked, and no man was left; ^b

all the birds of the sky had fled. ^c

²⁶I looked, and the fertile field ^dwas a wilderness. ^e

All its cities were torn down

because of the Lord

and His burning anger. ^f

²⁷For this is what the Lord says:

The whole land will be a desolation, ^g

but I will not finish it off. ^h

²⁸Because of this, the earth will mourn; ⁱ

the skies above will grow dark. ^j

I have spoken; I have planned,

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

²⁹Every city flees ^l

at the sound of the horseman and the archer.

They enter the thickets

and climb among the rocks. ^m

Every city is abandoned;

no inhabitant is left.

³⁰And you, devastated one, what are you doing ⁿ

that you dress yourself in scarlet,

that you adorn yourself with gold jewelry,

that you enlarge your eyes with paint? ^o

You beautify yourself for nothing.

Your lovers reject you; ^p

they want to take your life. ^q

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

a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child.

The cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,

stretching out her hands: ^s

Woe is me, for my life is weary

because of the murderers!