Jeremiah 4:1–31
4 “If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord,
a“Return to Me;
And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,
Then you shall not be moved.
2 bAnd you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’
cIn truth, in 1judgment, and in righteousness;
dThe nations shall bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they shall eglory.”
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
f“Break up your 2fallow ground,
And gdo not sow among thorns.
4 hCircumcise 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.”
5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:
i“Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry, ‘Gather together,’
And say, j‘Assemble yourselves,
And let us go into the fortified cities.’
6 Set up the 3standard toward Zion.
Take refuge! Do not delay!
For I will bring disaster from the knorth,
And great destruction.”
7 lThe lion has come up from his thicket,
And mthe destroyer of nations is on his way.
He has gone forth from his place
nTo make your land desolate.
Your cities will be laid waste,
Without inhabitant.
8 For this, oclothe yourself with sackcloth,
Lament and wail.
For the fierce anger of the Lord—
Has not turned back from us.
9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord,
“That the heart of the king shall perish,
And the heart of the princes;
The priests shall be astonished,
And the prophets shall wonder.”
10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God!
pSurely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem,
qSaying, ‘You shall have peace,’
Whereas the sword reaches to the 4heart.”
11 At that time it will be said
To this people and to Jerusalem,
r“A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness—
Toward the daughter of My people—
Not to fan or to cleanse—
12 A wind too strong for these will come for Me;
Now sI will also speak judgment against them.”
13 “Behold, he shall come up like clouds,
And this chariots like a whirlwind.
uHis horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are plundered!”
14 O Jerusalem, vwash your heart from wickedness,
That you may be saved.
How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?
15 For a voice declares wfrom Dan
And proclaims 5affliction from Mount Ephraim:
16 “Make mention to the nations,
Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem,
That watchers come from a xfar country
And raise their voice against the cities of Judah.
17 yLike keepers of a field they are against her all around,
Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the Lord.
18 “Your zways and your doings
Have procured these things for you.
This is your wickedness,
Because it is bitter,
Because it reaches to your heart.”
19 O my asoul, my soul!
I am pained in my very heart!
My heart makes a noise in me;
I cannot hold my peace,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
20 bDestruction upon destruction is cried,
For the whole land is plundered.
Suddenly cmy tents are plundered,
And my curtains in a moment.
21 How long will I see the 6standard,
And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are 7silly children,
And they have no understanding.
dThey are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”
23 eI beheld the earth, and indeed it was fwithout form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.
24 gI beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.
25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And hall the birds of the heavens had fled.
26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a iwilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the Lord,
By His fierce anger.
“The whole land shall be desolate;
jYet I will not make a full end.
28 For this kshall the earth mourn,
And lthe heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have mpurposed and nwill not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.
29 The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen.
They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks.
Every city shall be forsaken,
And not a man shall dwell in it.
30 “And when you are plundered,
What will you do?
Though you clothe yourself with crimson,
Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
oThough you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you will make yourself fair;
pYour lovers will despise you;
They will seek your life.
31 “For I have heard a voice as of a woman in 8labor,
The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child,
The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself;
She qspreads her hands, saying,
‘Woe is me now, for my soul is 9weary
Because of murderers!’