Jeremías 4

1 «Israel, si piensas volver,
vuélvete a mí —afirma el Señor—. Si quitas de mi vista tus ídolos abominables y no te alejas de mí, 2 si con fidelidad, justicia y rectitud
juras: “Por la vida del Señor”,
entonces “en él serán benditas las naciones, y en él se gloriarán”.» 3 Así dice el Señor
a los habitantes de Judá y de Jerusalén: «Abran surcos en terrenos no labrados, y no siembren entre espinos. 4 Habitantes de Judá y de Jerusalén,
marquen su *corazón con la señal del *pacto: circuncídense para honrar al Señor,
no sea que por la maldad de sus obras mi furor se encienda como el fuego y arda sin que nadie pueda apagarlo.

La amenaza del norte

5 »¡Anúncienlo en Judá,
proclámenlo en Jerusalén! ¡Toquen la trompeta por todo el país! Griten a voz en cuello: “¡Reúnanse y entremos en las ciudades fortificadas!” 6 Señalen a *Sión con la bandera;
¡busquen refugio, no se detengan! Porque yo traigo del norte calamidad y gran destrucción. 7 Un león ha salido del matorral,
un destructor de naciones se ha puesto en marcha; ha salido de su lugar de origen para desolar tu tierra; tus ciudades quedarán en ruinas y totalmente despobladas. 8 Por esto, vístanse de luto,
laméntense y giman, porque la ardiente ira del Señor
no se ha apartado de nosotros. 9 »En aquel día desfallecerá
el *corazón del rey y de los jefes; los sacerdotes se llenarán de pánico y los profetas quedarán atónitos», afirma el Señor. 10 Yo dije: «¡Ah, Señor mi Dios,
cómo has engañado a este pueblo y a Jerusalén! Dijiste: “Tendrán *paz”, pero tienen la espada en el cuello.» 11 En aquel tiempo se les dirá
a este pueblo y a Jerusalén: «Desde las estériles lomas del desierto sopla un viento abrasador en dirección a la capital de mi pueblo. No es el viento que sirve para aventar ni para limpiar el trigo; 12 el viento que haré venir
es demasiado fuerte para eso, porque yo mismo dictaré sentencia contra ellos.» 13 ¡Mírenlo avanzar como las nubes!
¡Sus carros de guerra parecen un huracán! ¡Sus caballos son más veloces que las águilas! ¡Ay de nosotros! ¡Estamos perdidos! 14 Jerusalén, limpia de maldad tu corazón
para que seas salvada. ¿Hasta cuándo hallarán lugar en ti los pensamientos perversos? 15 Una voz anuncia desgracia
desde Dan y desde las colinas de Efraín. 16 «Adviertan a las naciones,
proclámenlo contra Jerusalén: “De lejanas tierras vienen sitiadores lanzando gritos de guerra contra las ciudades de Judá.” 17 La rodean como quien cuida un campo,
porque ella se rebeló contra mí —afirma el Señor—. 18 Tu conducta y tus acciones
te han causado todo esto. Ésta es tu desgracia. ¡Qué amarga es! ¡Cómo te ha calado en el propio corazón!» 19 ¡Qué angustia, qué angustia!
¡Me retuerzo de dolor! Mi corazón se agita. ¡Ay, corazón mío! ¡No puedo callarme! Puedo escuchar el toque de trompeta y el grito de guerra. 20 Un desastre llama a otro desastre;
todo el país está devastado. De repente fueron destruidos las carpas y los pabellones donde habito. 21 ¿Hasta cuándo tendré que ver la bandera
y escuchar el toque de la trompeta? 22 «Mi pueblo es *necio,
no me conoce; son hijos insensatos que no tienen entendimiento. Son hábiles para hacer el mal; no saben hacer el bien.» 23 Miré a la tierra, y era un caos total;
miré a los cielos, y todo era tinieblas. 24 Miré a las montañas, y estaban temblando;
¡se sacudían todas las colinas! 25 Miré, y no quedaba nadie;
habían huido todas las aves del cielo. 26 Miré, y la tierra fértil era un desierto;
yacían en ruinas todas las ciudades, por la acción del Señor,
por causa de su ardiente ira. 27 Así dice el Señor:
«Todo el país quedará desolado, pero no lo destruiré por completo. 28 Por eso el país estará de luto,
y los altos cielos se oscurecerán, pues ya lo dije, y no me retractaré; lo he decidido, y no me volveré atrás.» 29 Ante el ruido de arqueros y jinetes
huye toda la ciudad. Algunos se meten en los matorrales, otros trepan por los peñascos. Toda la ciudad queda abandonada; ¡no queda un solo habitante! 30 ¿Qué piensas hacer, ciudad devastada?
¿Para qué te vistes de púrpura? ¿Para qué te pones joyas de oro? ¿Para qué te maquillas los ojos? En vano te embelleces, pues tus amantes te desprecian; sólo buscan tu muerte. 31 Oigo gritos como de parturienta,
gemidos como de primeriza. Son los gemidos de la bella Sión, que respira con dificultad; que extiende los brazos y dice: «¡Ay de mí, que desfallezco! ¡Estoy en manos de 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!”