Jeremías 4

1 Si has de volver, oh Israel--declara el Señor-- vuélvete a mí. Si quitas de mi presencia tus abominaciones, y no vacilas,

2 y juras: "Vive el Señor", en verdad, en juicio y en justicia, entonces se bendecirán en El las naciones, y en El se gloriarán.
3 Porque así dice el Señor a los hombres de Judá y de Jerusalén: Romped el barbecho, y no sembréis entre espinos.

4 Circuncidaos para el Señor, y quitad los prepucios de vuestros corazones, hombres de Judá y habitantes de Jerusalén, no sea que mi furor salga como fuego y arda y no haya quien lo apague, a causa de la maldad de vuestras obras.
5 Declarad en Judá y proclamad en Jerusalén, y decid: Tocad la trompeta en la tierra; clamad en alta voz, y decid: "Reuníos y entremos en las ciudades fortificadas."6 Izad bandera hacia Sion; buscad refugio, no os detengáis; porque traigo del norte la calamidad, una gran destrucción.7 Ha salido el león de la espesura, y el destructor de naciones se ha puesto en marcha; ha salido de su lugar para convertir tu tierra en desolación. Tus ciudades quedarán en ruinas, sin habitantes.8 Por eso, vestíos de cilicio, lamentaos y gemid; porque no se ha apartado de nosotros la ardiente ira del Señor.

9 Y sucederá en aquel día--declara el Señor-- que fallará el corazón del rey y el corazón de los príncipes; se quedarán atónitos los sacerdotes y los profetas se pasmarán.

10 Entonces dije: ¡Ah, Señor Dios! Ciertamente has engañado en gran manera a este pueblo y a Jerusalén, diciendo: "Paz tendréis", cuando tienen la espada al cuello.
11 En aquel tiempo se dirá a este pueblo y a Jerusalén: Un viento abrasador de las alturas desoladas del desierto, en dirección a la hija de mi pueblo, no para aventar, ni para limpiar,12 un viento demasiado fuerte para esto, vendrá a mi mandato. Ahora yo pronunciaré juicios contra ellos.

13 He aquí que él sube como las nubes, y como un torbellino sus carros; sus caballos son más ligeros que las águilas. ¡Ay de nosotros, porque estamos perdidos!
14 Lava de maldad tu corazón, Jerusalén, para que seas salva. ¿Hasta cuándo morarán dentro de ti pensamientos perversos?15 Porque una voz lo anuncia desde Dan, y proclama el mal desde los montes de Efraín.16 Avisad lo a las naciones: ¡Aquí están! Proclamad sobre Jerusalén: "Sitiadores vienen de tierra lejana y alzan sus voces contra las ciudades de Judá.17 "Como guardas de campo están apostados contra ella por todos lados, porque se ha rebelado contra mí"--declara el Señor.

18 Tu comportamiento y tus acciones te han traído estas cosas. Esta es tu maldad. ¡Qué amarga! ¡Cómo ha penetrado hasta tu corazón!
19 ¡Alma mía, alma mía! Estoy angustiado, ¡oh corazón mío! Mi corazón se agita dentro de mí; no callaré, porque has oído, alma mía, el sonido de la trompeta, el pregón de guerra.20 Desastre sobre desastre se anuncia, porque es arrasada toda la tierra; de repente son arrasadas mis tiendas, en un instante mis cortinas.21 ¿Hasta cuándo he de ver la bandera y he de oír el sonido de la trompeta?

22 Porque mi pueblo es necio, no me conoce; hijos torpes son, no son inteligentes. Astutos son para hacer el mal, pero hacer el bien no saben.
23 Miré a la tierra, y he aquí que estaba sin orden y vacía; y a los cielos, y no tenían luz.24 Miré a los montes, y he aquí que temblaban, y todas las colinas se estremecían.25 Miré, y he aquí que no había hombre alguno, y todas las aves del cielo habían huido.

26 Miré, y he aquí que la tierra fértil era un desierto, y todas sus ciudades estaban arrasadas delante del Señor, delante del ardor de su ira.
27 Porque así dice el Señor: Una desolación será toda la tierra, pero no causaré una destrucción total.28 Por eso se enlutará la tierra, y se oscurecerán los cielos arriba, porque he hablado, lo he decidido, y no me arrepentiré, ni me retractaré de ello.29 Al ruido de jinetes y arqueros huye toda la ciudad; entran en las espesuras y trepan por los peñascos. Toda ciudad está abandonada, y no queda en ellas morador alguno.30 Y tú, desolada, ¿qué harás? Aunque te vistas de escarlata, aunque te pongas adornos de oro, aunque te agrandes con pintura los ojos, en vano te embelleces; te desprecian tus amantes, sólo buscan tu vida.31 Porque oí un grito como de mujer de parto, angustia como de primeriza; era el grito de la hija de Sion que se ahogaba, y extendía sus manos, diciendo: ¡Ay ahora de mí, porque desfallezco ante los asesinos!

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!”