Jeremiah 4

⁴If you return, O Israel,

says the Lord,

if you return to me,

if you remove your abominations from my presence

and do not waver,^*

²and if you swear, “As the Lord lives!”

in truth, in justice, and in uprightness,

then nations shall be blessed^j by you,^k

and by you^l they shall boast.^*

³For thus says the Lord to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem:

Break up your fallow ground,

and do not sow among thorns.^*

⁴Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;

remove the foreskin of your hearts,

O people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

or else my wrath will go forth like fire

and burn with no one to quench it,

because of the evil of your doings.^*

Invasion and Desolation of Judah Threatened

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

Blow the trumpet through the land;

shout aloud^m and say,

“Gather together, and let us go

into the fortified cities!”^*

⁶Raise a standard toward Zion;

flee for safety; do not delay,

for I am bringing evil from the north

and a great destruction.^*

⁷A lion has gone up from its thicket;

a destroyer of nations has set out;

he has gone out from his place

to make your land a waste;

your cities will be ruins

without inhabitant.^*

⁸Because of this put on sackcloth,

lament and wail:

“The fierce anger of the Lord

has not turned away from us.”^*

⁹On that day, says the Lord, courage shall fail the king and the officials; the priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.^{* 10}Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, how utterly you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ even while the sword is at the throat!”^*

¹¹At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: A hot wind comes from me out of the bare heightsⁿ in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse,^{* 12}a wind too strong for that. Now it is I who speak in judgment against them.^*

¹³Look! He comes up like clouds,

his chariots like the whirlwind;

his horses are swifter than eagles—

woe to us, for we are ruined!^*

¹⁴O Jerusalem, wash your heart clean of wickedness

so that you may be saved.

How long shall your evil schemes

lodge within you?^*

¹⁵For a voice declares from Dan

and proclaims disaster from Mount Ephraim.

¹⁶Tell the nations, “Here they are!”

Proclaim against Jerusalem,

“Besiegers come from a distant land;

they shout against the cities of Judah.^*

¹⁷They have closed in around her like watchers of a field

because she has rebelled against me,

says the Lord.^*

¹⁸Your ways and your doings

have brought this upon you.

This is your doom; how bitter it is!

It has reached your very heart.”^*

Sorrow for a Doomed Nation

¹⁹My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!

Oh, the walls of my heart!

My heart is beating wildly;

I cannot keep silent,

for I^o hear the sound of the trumpet,

the alarm of war.^*

²⁰Disaster overtakes disaster;

the whole land is laid waste.

Suddenly my tents are destroyed,

my curtains in a moment.^*

²¹How long must I see the standard

and hear the sound of the trumpet?

²²“For my people are foolish;

they do not know me;

they are stupid children;

they have no understanding.

They are skilled in doing evil

but do not know how to do good.”^*

²³I looked on the earth, and it was complete chaos,

and to the heavens, and they had no light.^*

²⁴I looked on the mountains, and they were quaking,

and all the hills moved to and fro.^*

²⁵I looked, and there was no one at all,

and all the birds of the air had fled.^*

²⁶I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert,

and all its cities were laid in ruins

before the Lord, before his fierce anger.^*

²⁷For thus says the Lord: The whole land shall be a desolation, yet I will not make a full end.^*

²⁸Because of this the earth shall mourn

and the heavens above grow black,

for I have spoken; I have purposed;

I have not relented, nor will I turn back.^*

²⁹At the noise of horseman and archer

every town takes to flight;

they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;

all the towns are forsaken,

and no one lives in them.^*

³⁰And you, O desolate one,

what do you mean that you dress in crimson,

that you deck yourself with ornaments of gold,

that you enlarge your eyes with paint?

In vain you beautify yourself.

Your lovers despise you;

they seek your life.^*

³¹For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor,

anguish as of one bringing forth her first child,

the cry of daughter Zion gasping for breath,

stretching out her hands,

“Woe is me! I am fainting before killers!”^*