Jeremiah 4

“If you, Israel, will return,ⁱ

then return to me,”

declares the Lord.

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

and no longer go astray,

and if in a truthful, just and righteous way

you swear,^k ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’^l

then the nations will invoke blessings^m by him

and in him they will boast.ⁿ”

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

“Break up your unplowed ground^o

and do not sow among thorns.^p

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,

circumcise your hearts,^q

you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

or my wrath^r will flare up and burn like fire^s

because of the evil^t you have done—

burn with no one to quench^u it.

Disaster From the North

“Announce in Judah and proclaim^a in Jerusalem and say:

‘Sound the trumpet^b throughout the land!’

Cry aloud and say:

‘Gather together!

Let us flee to the fortified cities!’^c

Raise the signal^d to go to Zion!

Flee for safety without delay!

For I am bringing disaster^e from the north,^f

even terrible destruction.”

A lion^g has come out of his lair;^h

a destroyerⁱ of nations has set out.

He has left his place

to lay waste^j your land.

Your towns will lie in ruins^k

without inhabitant.

So put on sackcloth,^l

lament^m and wail,

for the fierce angerⁿ of the Lord

has not turned away from us.

“In that day,” declares the Lord,

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

the priests will be horrified,

and the prophets will be appalled.”^p

Then I said, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, how completely you have deceived^q this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’^r when the sword is at our throats.”

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

Look! He advances like the clouds,^v

his chariots^w come like a whirlwind,^x

his horses^y are swifter than eagles.^z

Woe to us! We are ruined!^a

Jerusalem, wash^b the evil from your heart and be saved.^c

How long^d will you harbor wicked thoughts?

A voice is announcing from Dan,^e

proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.^f

“Tell this to the nations,

proclaim concerning Jerusalem:

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

raising a war cry^h against the cities of Judah.ⁱ

They surround^j her like people guarding a field,

because she has rebelled^k against me,’ ”

declares the Lord.

“Your own conduct and actions^l

have brought this on you.^m

This is your punishment.

How bitterⁿ it is!

How it pierces to the heart!”

Oh, my anguish, my anguish!^o

I writhe in pain.^p

Oh, the agony of my heart!

My heart pounds^q within me,

I cannot keep silent.^r

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

I have heard the battle cry.^t

Disaster follows disaster;^u

the whole land lies in ruins.^v

In an instant my tents^w are destroyed,

my shelter in a moment.

How long must I see the battle standard^x

and hear the sound of the trumpet?^y

“My people are fools;^z

they do not know me.^a

They are senseless children;

they have no understanding.^b

They are skilled in doing evil;^c

they know not how to do good.”^d

I looked at the earth,

and it was formless and empty;^e

and at the heavens,

and their light^f was gone.

I looked at the mountains,

and they were quaking;^g

all the hills were swaying.

I looked, and there were no people;

every bird in the sky had flown away.^h

I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;ⁱ

all its towns lay in ruins^j

before the Lord, before his fierce anger.^k

This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,^l

though I will not destroy^m it completely.

Therefore the earth will mournⁿ

and the heavens above grow dark,^o

because I have spoken and will not relent,^p

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

At the sound of horsemen and archers^r

every town takes to flight.^s

Some go into the thickets;

some climb up among the rocks.^t

All the towns are deserted;^u

no one lives in them.

What are you doing,^v you devastated one?

Why dress yourself in scarlet

and put on jewels^w of gold?

Why color your eyes with paint?^x

You adorn yourself in vain.

Your lovers^y despise you;

they seek your life.^z

I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,^a

a groan as of one bearing her first child—

the cry of Daughter Zion^b gasping for breath,^c

stretching out her hands^d and saying,

“Alas! I am fainting;

my life is given over to murderers.”^e