Jeremiah 6

Chapter 6

Jerusalem’s Last Warning

1 “Run for your lives, you people of Benjamin!
Get out of Jerusalem!
Sound the alarm in Tekoa!
Send up a signal at Beth-hakkerem!
A powerful army is coming from the north,
coming with disaster and destruction.2 O Jerusalem,t you are my beautiful and delicate daughter—
but I will destroy you!3 Enemies will surround you, like shepherds camped around the city.
Each chooses a place for his troops to devour.4 They shout, ‘Prepare for battle!
Attack at noon!’
‘No, it’s too late; the day is fading,
and the evening shadows are falling.’5 ‘Well then, let’s attack at night
and destroy her palaces!’”6 This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Cut down the trees for battering rams.
Build siege ramps against the walls of Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
for she is wicked through and through.7 She spouts evil like a fountain.
Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction.
I always see her sickness and sores.8 Listen to this warning, Jerusalem,
or I will turn from you in disgust.
Listen, or I will turn you into a heap of ruins,
a land where no one lives.”9 This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Even the few who remain in Israel
will be picked over again,
as when a harvester checks each vine a second time
to pick the grapes that were missed.”

Israel’s Constant Rebellion

10 To whom can I give warning?
Who will listen when I speak?
Their ears are closed,
and they cannot hear.
They scorn the word of the LORD.
They don’t want to listen at all.11 So now I am filled with the LORD’s fury.
Yes, I am tired of holding it in!
“I will pour out my fury on children playing in the streets
and on gatherings of young men,
on husbands and wives
and on those who are old and gray.12 Their homes will be turned over to their enemies,
as will their fields and their wives.
For I will raise my powerful fist
against the people of this land,”
says the LORD.13 “From the least to the greatest,
their lives are ruled by greed.
From prophets to priests,
they are all frauds.14 They offer superficial treatments
for my people’s mortal wound.
They give assurances of peace
when there is no peace.15 Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions?
Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush!
Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered.
They will be brought down when I punish them,”
says the LORD.

Israel Rejects the LORD’s Way

16 This is what the LORD says:
“Stop at the crossroads and look around.
Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.
Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.
But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’17 I posted watchmen over you who said,
‘Listen for the sound of the alarm.’
But you replied,
‘No! We won’t pay attention!’18 “Therefore, listen to this, all you nations.
Take note of my people’s situation.19 Listen, all the earth!
I will bring disaster on my people.
It is the fruit of their own schemes,
because they refuse to listen to me.
They have rejected my word.20 There’s no use offering me sweet frankincense from Sheba.
Keep your fragrant calamus imported from distant lands!
I will not accept your burnt offerings.
Your sacrifices have no pleasing aroma for me.”21 Therefore, this is what the LORD says:
“I will put obstacles in my people’s path.
Fathers and sons will both fall over them.
Neighbors and friends will die together.”

An Invasion from the North

22 This is what the LORD says:
“Look! A great army coming from the north!
A great nation is rising against you from far-off lands.23 They are armed with bows and spears.
They are cruel and show no mercy.
They sound like a roaring sea
as they ride forward on horses.
They are coming in battle formation,
planning to destroy you, beautiful Jerusalem.t”24 We have heard reports about the enemy,
and we wring our hands in fright.
Pangs of anguish have gripped us,
like those of a woman in labor.25 Don’t go out to the fields!
Don’t travel on the roads!
The enemy’s sword is everywhere
and terrorizes us at every turn!26 Oh, my people, dress yourselves in burlap
and sit among the ashes.
Mourn and weep bitterly, as for the loss of an only son.
For suddenly the destroying armies will be upon you!27 “Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of metals,t
that you may determine the quality of my people.28 They are the worst kind of rebel,
full of slander.
They are as hard as bronze and iron,
and they lead others into corruption.29 The bellows fiercely fan the flames
to burn out the corruption.
But it does not purify them,
for the wickedness remains.30 I will label them ‘Rejected Silver,’
for I, the LORD, am discarding them.”

JEREMIAH 6

A Warning for the People //of Jerusalem

The [Lord] said:

1 Run for your lives,
people of Benjamin.
Get out of Jerusalem.
Sound a trumpet in Tekoa
and light a signal fire
in Beth-Haccherem.
Soon you will be struck
by disaster from the north.

2 Jerusalem is a lovely pasture,

3 but shepherds will surround it
and divided up,
then let their flocks
eat all the grass.t

4 Kings will tell their troops,
“If we reach Jerusalem
in the morning,
we'll attack at noon.
But if we arrive later,

5 we'll attack after dark
and destroy its fortresses.”

6 I am the [Lord] All-Powerful,
and I will command these armies
to chop down trees
and build a ramp up to the walls
of Jerusalem.
People of Jerusalem,
I must punish you
for your injustice.

7 Evil pours from your city
like water from a spring.
Sounds of injustice and violence
echo within your walls;
victims are everywhere,
wounded and dying.

8 Listen to me,
you people of Jerusalem
and Judah.
I will abandon you,
and your land will become
an empty desert.

9 I will tell your enemies
to leave your nation bare
like a vine stripped of grapes.
I, the [Lord] All-Powerful,
have spoken.

Jeremiah's Anger

10 I have told the people
that you, [Lord],
will punish them,
but they just laugh
and refuse to listen.

11 Your anger against Judah
flames up inside me,
and I can't hold it in
much longer.

The [Lord]'s Anger //Will Sweep Everyone Away

The [Lord] answered:

12  t I'll punish the people of Judah
and give to others
their houses and fields,
as well as their wives.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

13 Everyone is greedy and dishonest,
whether poor or rich.
Even the prophets and priests
cannot be trusted.

14  t All they ever offer
to my deeply wounded people
are empty hopes for peace.

15 They should be ashamed
of their disgusting sins,
but they don't even blush.
And so, when I punish Judah,
they will end up on the ground,
dead like everyone else.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

The People of Judah //Rejected God's Way of Life

16 The [Lord] said:
My people, when you stood
at the crossroads,
I told you, “Follow the road
your ancestors took,
and you will find peace.”
But you refused.

17 I also sent prophets
to warn you of danger,
but when they sounded the alarm,
you paid no attention.

18 So I tell all nations on earth,
“Watch what I will do!

19 My people ignored me
and rejected my laws.
They planned to do evil,
and now the evil they planned
will happen to them.”

20 People of Judah,
you bring me incense from Sheba
and spices from distant lands.
You offer sacrifices of all kinds.
But why bother?
I hate these gifts of yours!

21 So I will put stumbling blocks
in your path,
and everyone will die,
including parents and children,
neighbors and friends.

An Army from the North

22 The [Lord] said,
“Look toward the north,
where a powerful nation
has prepared for war.

23 Its well-armed troops are cruel
and never show mercy.
Their galloping horses sound
like ocean waves
pounding on the shore.
This army will attack you,
lovely Jerusalem.”

24 Then the people said,
“Just hearing about them
makes us tremble with fear,
and we twist and turn in pain
like a woman giving birth.”

25 The [Lord] said,
“Don't work in your fields
or walk along the roads.
It's too dangerous.
The enemy is well armed

26 and attacks without warning.
So mourn, my people, as though
your only child had died.
Wear clothes made of sackclotht
and roll in the ash pile.”

The [Lord]'s People //Must Be Tested

The [Lord] said:

27 Jeremiah, test my people
as though they were metal.

28 And you'll find they are hard
like bronze and iron.
They are stubborn rebels,
always spreading lies.
*

29-30 Silver can be purified
in a fiery furnace,
but my people are too wicked
to be made pure,
and so I have rejected them.