Jeremiah 4

1 “If you will return, Israel, then return to me,” says the Lord.
“If you will throw away your idols that I hate, then don’t wander away from me.

2 If you say when you make a promise, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ and you can say it in a truthful, honest, and right way,
then the nations will be blessed by him, and they will praise him for what he has done.”

3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Plow your unplowed fields, and don’t plant seeds among thorns.

4 Give yourselves to the service of the Lord, and decide to obey him, people of Judah and people of Jerusalem.
If you don’t, my anger will spread among you like a fire, and no one will be able to put it out, because of the evil you have done.

Trouble from the North

5 “Announce this message in Judah and say it in Jerusalem: ‘Blow the trumpet throughout the country!’
Shout out loud and say, ‘Come together! Let’s all escape to the strong, walled cities!’

6 Raise the signal flag toward Jerusalem! Run for your lives, and don’t wait,
because I am bringing disaster from the north There will be terrible destruction.”

7 A lion has come out of his den; a destroyer of nations has begun to march.
He has left his home to destroy your land.
Your towns will be destroyed with no one left to live in them.

8 So put on rough cloth, show how sad you are, and cry loudly.
The terrible anger of the Lord has not turned away from us.

9 “When this happens,” says the Lord, “the king and officers will lose their courage.
The priests will be terribly afraid, and the prophets will be shocked!”

10 Then I said, “Lord God, you have tricked the people of Judah and Jerusalem. You said, ‘You will have peace,’ but now the sword is pointing at our throats!”
11 At that time this message will be given to Judah and Jerusalem: “A hot wind blows from the bare hilltops of the desert toward the Lord’s people. It is not a gentle wind to separate grain from chaff.

12 I feel a stronger wind than that. Now even I will announce judgments against the people of Judah.”

13 Look! The enemy rises up like a cloud, and his chariots come like a tornado.
His horses are faster than eagles. How terrible it will be for us! We are ruined!

14 People of Jerusalem, clean the evil from your hearts so that you can be saved. Don’t continue making evil plans.

15 A voice from Dan makes an announcement and brings bad news from the mountains of Ephraim.

16 “Report this to the nations. Spread this news in Jerusalem:
‘Invaders are coming from a faraway country, shouting words of war against the cities of Judah.

17 The enemy has surrounded Jerusalem as men guard a field, because Judah turned against me,’ ” says the Lord.

18 “The way you have lived and acted has brought this trouble to you.
This is your punishment. How terrible it is! The pain stabs your heart!”

Jeremiah’s Cry

19 Oh, how I hurt! How I hurt! I am bent over in pain.
Oh, the torture in my heart! My heart is pounding inside me. I cannot keep quiet,
because I have heard the sound of the trumpet. I have heard the shouts of war.

20 Disaster follows disaster; the whole country has been destroyed.
My tents are destroyed in only a moment. My curtains are torn down quickly.

21 How long must I look at the war flag? How long must I listen to the war trumpet?

22 The Lord says, “My people are foolish. They do not know me.
They are stupid children; they don’t understand.
They are skillful at doing evil, but they don’t know how to do good.”

Disaster Is Coming

23 I looked at the earth, and it was empty and had no shape.
I looked at the sky, and its light was gone.

24 I looked at the mountains, and they were shaking. All the hills were trembling.

25 I looked, and there were no people. Every bird in the sky had flown away.

26 I looked, and the good, rich land had become a desert. All its towns had been destroyed by the Lord and his great anger.

27 This is what the Lord says:
“All the land will be ruined, but I will not completely destroy it.

28 So the people in the land will cry loudly, and the sky will grow dark,
because I have spoken and will not change my mind. I have made a decision, and I will not change it.”

29 At the sound of the horsemen and the archers, all the people in the towns run away.
They hide in the thick bushes and climb up into the rocks.
All of the cities of Judah are empty; no one lives in them.

30 Judah, you destroyed nation, what are you doing? Why do you put on your finest dress and decorate yourself with gold jewelry?
Why do you put color around your eyes? You make yourself beautiful, but it is all useless.
Your lovers hate you; they want to kill you.

31 I hear a cry like a woman having a baby, distress like a woman having her first child.
It is the sound of Jerusalem gasping for breath. She lifts her hands in prayer and says,
“Oh! I am about to faint before my murderers!”

Jeremiah 4

1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith Jehovah, if thou wilt return unto me, and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight; then shalt thou not be removed;2 and thou shalt swear, As Jehovah liveth, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.3 For thus saith Jehovah to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.4 Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.6 Set up a standard toward Zion: flee for safety, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.7 A lion is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations; he is on his way, he is gone forth from his place, to make thy land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned back from us.9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith Jehovah, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.10 Then said I, Ah, Lord Jehovah! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the life.11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A hot wind from the bare heights in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow, nor to cleanse;12 a full wind from these shall come for me: now will I also utter judgments against them.13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as the whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are ruined.14 O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thine evil thoughts lodge within thee?15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth evil from the hills of Ephraim:16 make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.17 As keepers of a field are they against her round about, because she hath been rebellious against me, saith Jehovah.18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness; for it is bitter, for it reacheth unto thy heart.19 My anguish, my anguish! I am pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I cannot hold my peace; because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.20 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is laid waste: suddenly are my tents destroyed, and my curtains in a moment.21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?22 For my people are foolish, they know me not; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was waste and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved to and fro.25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful field was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of Jehovah, and before his fierce anger.27 For thus saith Jehovah, The whole land shall be a desolation; yet will I not make a full end.28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and I have not repented, neither will I turn back from it.29 Every city fleeth for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they go into the thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city is forsaken, and not a man dwelleth therein.30 And thou, when thou art made desolate, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with scarlet, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou enlargest thine eyes with paint, in vain dost thou make thyself fair; thy lovers despise thee, they seek thy life.31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that gaspeth for breath, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul fainteth before the murderers.