Jeremiah 6

Jerusalem Under Siege

6“Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!

Flee from Jerusalem!

Sound the trumpet^s in Tekoa!^t

Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!^u

For disaster looms out of the north,^v

even terrible destruction.

²I will destroy Daughter Zion,^w

so beautiful and delicate.^x

³Shepherds^y with their flocks will come against her;

they will pitch their tents around^z her,

each tending his own portion.”

⁴“Prepare for battle against her!

Arise, let us attack at noon!^a

But, alas, the daylight is fading,

and the shadows of evening grow long.

⁵So arise, let us attack at night

and destroy her fortresses!”

⁶This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Cut down the trees^b

and build siege ramps^c against Jerusalem.

This city must be punished;

it is filled with oppression.^d

⁷As a well pours out its water,

so she pours out her wickedness.

Violence^e and destruction^f resound in her;

her sickness and wounds are ever before me.

⁸Take warning, Jerusalem,

or I will turn away^g from you

and make your land desolate

so no one can live in it.”

⁹This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Let them glean the remnant^h of Israel

as thoroughly as a vine;

pass your hand over the branches again,

like one gathering grapes.”

¹⁰To whom can I speak and give warning?

Who will listenⁱ to me?

Their ears are closed^aj

so they cannot hear.^k

The word^l of the Lord is offensive to them;

they find no pleasure in it.

¹¹But I am full of the wrath^m of the Lord,

and I cannot hold it in.ⁿ

“Pour it out on the children in the street

and on the young men^o gathered together;

both husband and wife will be caught in it,

and the old, those weighed down with years.^p

¹²Their houses will be turned over to others,^q

together with their fields and their wives,^r

when I stretch out my hand^s

against those who live in the land,”

declares the Lord.

¹³“From the least to the greatest,

all^t are greedy for gain;^u

prophets and priests alike,

all practice deceit.^v

¹⁴They dress the wound of my people

as though it were not serious.

‘Peace, peace,’ they say,

when there is no peace.^w

¹⁵Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?

No, they have no shame at all;

they do not even know how to blush.^x

So they will fall among the fallen;

they will be brought down when I punish^y them,”

says the Lord.

¹⁶This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;

ask for the ancient paths,^z

ask where the good way^a is, and walk in it,

and you will find rest^b for your souls.

But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

¹⁷I appointed watchmen^c over you and said,

‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’^d

But you said, ‘We will not listen.’^e

¹⁸Therefore hear, you nations;

you who are witnesses,

observe what will happen to them.

¹⁹Hear, you earth:^f

I am bringing disaster^g on this people,

the fruit of their schemes,^h

because they have not listened to my wordsⁱ

and have rejected my law.^j

²⁰What do I care about incense from Sheba^k

or sweet calamus^l from a distant land?

Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;^m

your sacrificesⁿ do not please me.”^o

²¹Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“I will put obstacles before this people.

Parents and children alike will stumble^p over them;

neighbors and friends will perish.”

²²This is what the Lord says:

“Look, an army is coming

from the land of the north;^q

a great nation is being stirred up

from the ends of the earth.^r

²³They are armed with bow and spear;

they are cruel and show no mercy.^s

They sound like the roaring sea^t

as they ride on their horses;^u

they come like men in battle formation

to attack you, Daughter Zion.^v”

²⁴We have heard reports about them,

and our hands hang limp.^w

Anguish^x has gripped us,

pain like that of a woman in labor.^y

²⁵Do not go out to the fields

or walk on the roads,

for the enemy has a sword,

and there is terror on every side.^z

²⁶Put on sackcloth,^a my people,

and roll in ashes;^b

mourn with bitter wailing^c

as for an only son,^d

for suddenly the destroyer^e

will come upon us.

²⁷“I have made you a tester^f of metals

and my people the ore,

that you may observe

and test their ways.

²⁸They are all hardened rebels,^g

going about to slander.^h

They are bronze and iron;ⁱ

they all act corruptly.

²⁹The bellows blow fiercely

to burn away the lead with fire,

but the refining^j goes on in vain;

the wicked are not purged out.

³⁰They are called rejected silver,^k

because the Lord has rejected them.”^l