Jeremiah 4

Chapter 4

1 “O Israel,” says the LORD,
“if you wanted to return to me, you could.
You could throw away your detestable idols
and stray away no more.2 Then when you swear by my name, saying,
‘As surely as the LORD lives,’
you could do so
with truth, justice, and righteousness.
Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world,
and all people would come and praise my name.”

Coming Judgment against Judah

3 This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts!
Do not waste your good seed among thorns.4 O people of Judah and Jerusalem,
surrender your pride and power.
Change your hearts before the LORD,t
or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire
because of all your sins.5 “Shout to Judah, and broadcast to Jerusalem!
Tell them to sound the alarm throughout the land:
‘Run for your lives!
Flee to the fortified cities!’6 Raise a signal flag as a warning for Jerusalemt:
‘Flee now! Do not delay!’
For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you
from the north.”7 A lion stalks from its den,
a destroyer of nations.
It has left its lair and is headed your way.
It’s going to devastate your land!
Your towns will lie in ruins,
with no one living in them anymore.8 So put on clothes of mourning
and weep with broken hearts,
for the fierce anger of the LORD
is still upon us.9 “In that day,” says the LORD,
“the king and the officials will tremble in fear.
The priests will be struck with horror,
and the prophets will be appalled.”10 Then I said, “O Sovereign LORD,
the people have been deceived by what you said,
for you promised peace for Jerusalem.
But the sword is held at their throats!”11 The time is coming when the LORD will say
to the people of Jerusalem,
“My dear people, a burning wind is blowing in from the desert,
and it’s not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain.12 It is a roaring blast sent by me!
Now I will pronounce your destruction!”13 Our enemy rushes down on us like storm clouds!
His chariots are like whirlwinds.
His horses are swifter than eagles.
How terrible it will be, for we are doomed!14 O Jerusalem, cleanse your heart
that you may be saved.
How long will you harbor
your evil thoughts?15 Your destruction has been announced
from Dan and the hill country of Ephraim.16 “Warn the surrounding nations
and announce this to Jerusalem:
The enemy is coming from a distant land,
raising a battle cry against the towns of Judah.17 They surround Jerusalem like watchmen around a field,
for my people have rebelled against me,”
says the LORD.18 “Your own actions have brought this upon you.
This punishment is bitter, piercing you to the heart!”

Jeremiah Weeps for His People

19 My heart, my heart—I writhe in pain!
My heart pounds within me! I cannot be still.
For I have heard the blast of enemy trumpets
and the roar of their battle cries.20 Waves of destruction roll over the land,
until it lies in complete desolation.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed;
in a moment my shelters are crushed.21 How long must I see the battle flags
and hear the trumpets of war?22 “My people are foolish
and do not know me,” says the LORD.
“They are stupid children
who have no understanding.
They are clever enough at doing wrong,
but they have no idea how to do right!”

Jeremiah’s Vision of Coming Disaster

23 I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless.
I looked at the heavens, and there was no light.24 I looked at the mountains and hills,
and they trembled and shook.25 I looked, and all the people were gone.
All the birds of the sky had flown away.26 I looked, and the fertile fields had become a wilderness.
The towns lay in ruins,
crushed by the LORD’s fierce anger.27 This is what the LORD says:
“The whole land will be ruined,
but I will not destroy it completely.28 The earth will mourn
and the heavens will be draped in black
because of my decree against my people.
I have made up my mind and will not change it.”29 At the noise of charioteers and archers,
the people flee in terror.
They hide in the bushes
and run for the mountains.
All the towns have been abandoned—
not a person remains!30 What are you doing,
you who have been plundered?
Why do you dress up in beautiful clothing
and put on gold jewelry?
Why do you brighten your eyes with mascara?
Your primping will do you no good!
The allies who were your lovers
despise you and seek to kill you.31 I hear a cry, like that of a woman in labor,
the groans of a woman giving birth to her first child.
It is beautiful Jerusalemt
gasping for breath and crying out,
“Help! I’m being murdered!”

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!”