Jeremiah 4

1 The Lord declares,“If you come back, Israel,if you come back to me,if you take your disgusting idols out of my sightand you don’t wander away from me,2 if you take the oath, “As the Lord lives...”in an honest, fair, and right way,then the nations will be blessed,and they will be honored by me.”

The Lord Will Bring Destruction on Judah From the North

3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:Plow your unplowed fields,and don’t plant among thorns.4 Be circumcised by the Lord,and get rid of the foreskins of your hearts,people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.If you don’t, my fury will flare up like a fire.It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out,because of the evil you do.5 Report this message in Judah.Make it heard in Jerusalem.Say, “Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land.”Shout loudly and say, “Gather together!Let’s go into the fortified cities.”6 Raise the flag to signal people to go to Zion.Take cover!Don’t just stand there!I’m bringing disaster and widespread destruction from the north.7 A lion has come out of its lair.A destroyer of nations has set out.He has left his place to destroy your land.Your cities will be ruined, and no one will live in them.8 So put on sackcloth, mourn, and crybecause the Lord’s burning anger hasn’t turned away from us.9 “When that day comes,” declares the Lord,“the king and the leaders will lose their courage.The priests will be stunned.The prophets will be amazed and astonished.”10 I said, “Almighty Lord,you certainly have deceived these people and Jerusalem.You said that everything would go well for them,but a sword is held at their throats.”11 At that time it will be said to these people and to Jerusalem:“A hot wind from the heights will blow in the deserton the tracks of my people.It will not be a wind that winnowst or cleanses.12 It will be a stronger wind than that.It will come from me.Now, I will pass sentence on them.”13 The enemy comes up like clouds.His chariots are like a raging wind.His horses are faster than eagles.How horrible it will be for us! We will be destroyed!14 Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heartso that you may be rescued.Don’t continue making evil plans.15 A message is heard from Dan,and a report of disaster comes from the mountains of Ephraim.16 Warn the nations about these things.Bring them to the attention of Jerusalem.“Hostile troops are coming from a distant country.They are shouting battle cries against the cities of Judah.17 They surround them like men guarding a field,because Judah has rebelled against me,”declares the Lord.18 “You brought this on yourself.This is your punishment.It is bitter.It breaks your heart.”19 My anguish, my anguish!I writhe in pain.My heart is beating wildly!My heart is pounding!I can’t keep quietbecause I hear a ram’s horn sounding the alarm for war.20 One disaster follows another.The whole land is ruined.My tents are suddenly destroyed.Their curtains are torn in an instant.21 How long must I see the battle flag and hear the sound of rams’ horns?22 “My people are fools. They don’t know me.They are stupid people. They don’t understand.They are experts in doing wrong,and they don’t know how to do good.”23 I see the earth. It’s formless and empty.I see the sky. Its lights are gone.24 I see the mountains. They are shaking,and the hills are swaying.25 I see that there are no people,and every bird has flown away.26 I see that the fertile land has become a desert,and all its cities are torn downbecause of the Lord and his burning anger.27 This is what the Lord says:The whole earth will be ruined,although I will not destroy it completely.28 The earth will mourn, and the sky will grow black.I have spoken, and I have planned it.I won’t change my plans, and I won’t turn back.29 All the people in the city will fleeat the sound of riders and archers.They will go off into the thicketsand climb among the rocks.The entire city will be abandoned, and no one will live in it.30 You are going to be destroyed!What are you going to do?Why do you dress in red and put on gold jewelry?Why do you wear eye shadow?You are making yourself beautiful for nothing.Your lovers reject you; they want to kill you.31 I hear a woman in labor.I hear the woman cry with anguish as she gives birth to her first child.My people Zion are gasping for breath.They are stretching out their hands, saying,“How horrible it is for us!We’re defenseless in the presence of murderers!”

Jeremiah 4

1 “If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord,
“if you want to come back to met
you must get those disgusting idolst out of my sight
and must no longer go astray.t

2 You must be truthful, honest and upright
when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’t
If you do,t the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are
and will make him the object of their boasting.”t

3 Yes,t the Lord has this to say
to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground,
you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning;
just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted,
you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives.t

4 Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin
as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment,
you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the Lord
and get rid of everything that hinders your commitment to me,t
people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.
If you do not,t my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you
that no one will be able to extinguish.
That will happen because of the evil you have done.”

Warning of Coming Judgment

5 The Lord said,t
“Announcet this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem:s
‘Sound the trumpett throughout the land!’
Shout out loudly,
‘Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!’

6 Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion.t
Run for safety! Do not delay!
For I am about to bring disaster out of the north.
It will bring great destruction.t

7 Like a lion that has come up from its lairt
the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base.t
He is coming out to lay your land waste.
Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.

8 So put on sackcloth!
Mourn and wail, saying,
‘The fierce anger of the Lord
has not turned away from us!’”t

9 “When this happens,”t says the Lord,
“the king and his officials will lose their courage.
The priests will be struck with horror,
and the prophets will be speechless in astonishment.”

10 In response to all thist I said, “Ah, Lord God,t you have surely allowedt the people of Judah and Jerusalemt to be deceived by those who say, ‘You will be safe!’t But in fact a sword is already at our throats.”t

11 “At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalemt will be told,
‘A scorching wind will sweep down
from the hilltops in the desert onts my dear people.t
It will not be a gentle breeze
for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff.t

12 No,t a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding.
Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.’t

13 Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds.t
The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind.t
His horses move more swiftly than eagles.”
I cry out,t “We are doomed,t for we will be destroyed!”

14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evilt
so that you may yet be delivered.
How long will you continue to harbor up
wicked schemes within you?

15 For messengers are coming, heralding disaster,
from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim.t

16 They are saying,t
‘Announce to the surrounding nations,t
“The enemy is coming!”s
Proclaim this messaget to Jerusalem:
“Those who besiege citiest are coming from a distant land.
They are ready to raise the battle cry againstt the towns in Judah.”’

17 They will surround Jerusalemt
like men guarding a fields
because they have rebelled against me,”
says the Lord.

18 “The way you have lived and the things you have donet
will bring this on you.
This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed.t
The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart.”t

19 I said,t
“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach!t
I writhe in anguish.
Oh, the pain in my heart!t
My heart pounds within me.
I cannot keep silent.
For I hear the sound of the trumpet;t
the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul!s

20 I seet one destruction after another taking place,
so that the whole land lies in ruins.
I see ourt tents suddenly destroyed,
theirt curtains torn down in a mere instant.t

21 “How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags
and hear the military signals of their bugles?”t

22 The Lord answered,t
“This will happent because my people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are like children who have no sense.t
They have no understanding.
They are skilled at doing evil.
They do not know how to do good.”

23 “I looked at the land and sawt that it was an empty wasteland.t
I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

24 I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking.
All the hills were swaying back and forth!

25 I looked and saw that there were no more people,t
and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.

26 I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert
and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins.
The Lord had brought this all about
because of his blazing anger.t

27 All this will happen because the Lord said,t
“The whole land will be desolate;
however, I will not completely destroy it.

28 Because of this the land will mourn
and the sky above will grow black.s
For I have made my purpose knownt
and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out.”t

29 At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers
the people of every town will flee.
Some of them will hide in the thickets.
Others will climb up among the rocks.
All the cities will be deserted.
No one will remain in them.

30 And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction,t
you accomplish nothingt by wearing a beautiful dress,t
decking yourself out in jewels of gold,
and putting on eye shadow!t
You are making yourself beautiful for nothing.
Your lovers spurn you.
They want to kill you.t

31 In fact,t I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor,
a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby.
It is the cry of Daughter Zions gasping for breath,
reaching out for help,t saying, “I am done in!t
My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”