Jeremiah 6

Jerusalem Under Siege

1 “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!
Flee from Jerusalem!
Sound the trumpet in Tekoa!
Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!
For disaster looms out of the north,
even terrible destruction.

2 I will destroy the Daughter of Zion,
so beautiful and delicate.

3 Shepherds with their flocks will come against her;
they will pitch their tents around her,
each tending his own portion.”

4 “Prepare for battle against her!
Arise, let us attack at noon!
But, alas, the daylight is fading,
and the shadows of evening grow long.

5 So arise, let us attack at night
and destroy her fortresses!”

6 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Cut down the trees
and build siege ramps against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished;
it is filled with oppression.

7 As a well pours out its water,
so she pours out her wickedness.
Violence and destruction resound in her;
her sickness and wounds are ever before me.

8 Take warning, O Jerusalem,
or I will turn away from you
and make your land desolate
so no one can live in it.”

9 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Let them glean the remnant of Israel
as thoroughly as a vine;
pass your hand over the branches again,
like one gathering grapes.”

10 To whom can I speak and give warning?
Who will listen to me?
Their ears are closed
so they cannot hear.
The word of the Lord is offensive to them;
they find no pleasure in it.

11 But I am full of the wrath of the Lord,
and I cannot hold it in.

“Pour it out on the children in the street
and on the young men gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
and the old, those weighed down with years.

12 Their houses will be turned over to others,
together with their fields and their wives,
when I stretch out my hand
against those who live in the land,”
declares the Lord.

13 “From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.

14 They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
when there is no peace.

15 Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when I punish them,”
says the Lord.

16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

17 I appointed watchmen over you and said,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But you said, ‘We will not listen.’

18 Therefore hear, O nations;
observe, O witnesses,
what will happen to them.

19 Hear, O earth:
I am bringing disaster on this people,
the fruit of their schemes,
because they have not listened to my words
and have rejected my law.

20 What do I care about incense from Sheba
or sweet calamus from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
your sacrifices do not please me.”

21 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“I will put obstacles before this people.
Fathers and sons alike will stumble over them;
neighbors and friends will perish.”

22 This is what the Lord says:
“Look, an army is coming
from the land of the north;
a great nation is being stirred up
from the ends of the earth.

23 They are armed with bow and spear;
they are cruel and show no mercy.
They sound like the roaring sea
as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
to attack you, O Daughter of Zion.”

24 We have heard reports about them,
and our hands hang limp.
Anguish has gripped us,
pain like that of a woman in labor.

25 Do not go out to the fields
or walk on the roads,
for the enemy has a sword,
and there is terror on every side.

26 O my people, put on sackcloth
and roll in ashes;
mourn with bitter wailing
as for an only son,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.

27 “I have made you a tester of metals
and my people the ore,
that you may observe
and test their ways.

28 They are all hardened rebels,
going about to slander.
They are bronze and iron;
they all act corruptly.

29 The bellows blow fiercely
to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining goes on in vain;
the wicked are not purged out.

30 They are called rejected silver,
because the Lord has rejected 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.