Jeremiah 4

4“If you, Israel, will return,^a

then return to me,”

declares the Lord.

“If you put your detestable idols^b out of my sight

and no longer go astray,

²and if in a truthful, just and righteous way

you swear,^c ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’^d

then the nations will invoke blessings^e by him

and in him they will boast.^f”

³This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“Break up your unplowed ground^g

and do not sow among thorns.^h

⁴Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,

circumcise your hearts,ⁱ

you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

or my wrath^j will flare up and burn like fire^k

because of the evil^l you have done—

burn with no one to quench^m it.

Disaster From the North

⁵“Announce in Judah and proclaimⁿ in Jerusalem and say:

‘Sound the trumpet^o throughout the land!’

Cry aloud and say:

‘Gather together!

Let us flee to the fortified cities!’^p

⁶Raise the signal^q to go to Zion!

Flee for safety without delay!

For I am bringing disaster^r from the north,^s

even terrible destruction.”

⁷A lion^t has come out of his lair;^u

a destroyer^v of nations has set out.

He has left his place

to lay waste^w your land.

Your towns will lie in ruins^x

without inhabitant.

⁸So put on sackcloth,^y

lament^z and wail,

for the fierce anger^a of the Lord

has not turned away from us.

⁹“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“the king and the officials will lose heart,^b

the priests will be horrified,

and the prophets will be appalled.”^c

¹⁰Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived^d this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’^e when the sword is at our throats!”

¹¹At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind^f from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; ¹²a wind^g too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments^h against them.”

¹³Look! He advances like the clouds,ⁱ

his chariots^j come like a whirlwind,^k

his horses^l are swifter than eagles.^m

Woe to us! We are ruined!ⁿ

¹⁴Jerusalem, wash^o the evil from your heart and be saved.^p

How long^q will you harbor wicked thoughts?

¹⁵A voice is announcing from Dan,^r

proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.^s

¹⁶“Tell this to the nations,

proclaim concerning Jerusalem:

‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,^t

raising a war cry^u against the cities of Judah.^v

¹⁷They surround^w her like men guarding a field,

because she has rebelled^x against me,’ ”

declares the Lord.

¹⁸“Your own conduct and actions^y

have brought this on you.^z

This is your punishment.

How bitter^a it is!

How it pierces to the heart!”

¹⁹Oh, my anguish, my anguish!^b

I writhe in pain.^c

Oh, the agony of my heart!

My heart pounds^d within me,

I cannot keep silent.^e

For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;^f

I have heard the battle cry.^g

²⁰Disaster follows disaster;^h

the whole land lies in ruins.ⁱ

In an instant my tents^j are destroyed,

my shelter in a moment.

²¹How long must I see the battle standard^k

and hear the sound of the trumpet?^l

²²“My people are fools;^m

they do not know me.ⁿ

They are senseless children;

they have no understanding.^o

They are skilled in doing evil;^p

they know not how to do good.”^q

²³I looked at the earth,

and it was formless and empty;^r

and at the heavens,

and their light^s was gone.

²⁴I looked at the mountains,

and they were quaking;^t

all the hills were swaying.

²⁵I looked, and there were no people;

every bird in the sky had flown away.^u

²⁶I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;^v

all its towns lay in ruins^w

before the Lord, before his fierce anger.^x

²⁷This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,^y

though I will not destroy^z it completely.

²⁸Therefore the earth will mourn^a

and the heavens above grow dark,^b

because I have spoken and will not relent,^c

I have decided and will not turn back.^d”

²⁹At the sound of horsemen and archers^e

every town takes to flight.^f

Some go into the thickets;

some climb up among the rocks.^g

All the towns are deserted;^h

no one lives in them.

³⁰What are you doing,ⁱ you devastated one?

Why dress yourself in scarlet

and put on jewels^j of gold?

Why highlight your eyes with makeup?^k

You adorn yourself in vain.

Your lovers^l despise you;

they want to kill you.^m

³¹I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,ⁿ

a groan as of one bearing her first child—

the cry of Daughter Zion^o gasping for breath,^p

stretching out her hands^q and saying,

“Alas! I am fainting;

my life is given over to murderers.”^r