Jeremiah 4
4
1“If you, Israel, will return,” announces the Lord,
“then return to me.
Put the statues of your gods out of my sight.
I hate them.
Stop going astray.
2Make all your promises in my name.
When you promise say, ‘You can be sure that the Lord is alive.’
Be truthful, fair and honest when you make these promises.
Then the nations will ask for blessings from me.
And they will boast about me.”
3Here is what the Lord is telling the people of Judah and Jerusalem. He says,
“Your hearts are as hard as a field
that has not been plowed.
So change your ways and produce good crops.
Do not plant seeds among thorns.
4People of Judah and you who live in Jerusalem, obey me.
Do not let your hearts be stubborn.
If you do, my anger will blaze out against you.
It will burn like fire because of the evil things you have done.
No one will be able to put it out.
Trouble Will Come From the North
5“Announce my message in Judah.
Tell it in Jerusalem.
Say, ‘Blow trumpets all through the land!’
Give a loud shout and say,
‘Gather together!
Let’s run to cities that have high walls around them!’
6Warn everyone to go to Zion!
Run for safety! Do not wait!
I am bringing trouble from the north.
Everything will be totally destroyed.”
7Lions have come out of their dens.
Those who destroy nations have begun to march out.
They have left their place
to destroy your land completely.
Your towns will be broken to pieces.
No one will live in them.
8So put on the clothes of sadness.
Mourn and weep over what has happened.
The Lord hasn’t turned
his great anger away from us.
9“A dark day is coming,” announces the Lord.
“The king and his officials will lose hope.
The priests will be shocked.
And the prophets will be terrified.”
10Then I said, “You are my Lord and King. You have completely tricked the people of Judah and Jerusalem! You have told them, ‘You will have peace and rest.’ But swords are pointed at our throats!”
11At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be warned. They will be told, “A hot and dry wind is coming, my people. It is blowing toward you from the bare hilltops in the desert. But it does not separate straw from grain. 12It is much too strong for that. The wind is coming from me. I am making my decision against you.”
13Look! Our enemies are approaching like the clouds.
Their chariots are coming like a strong wind.
Their horses are faster than eagles.
How terrible it will be for us!
We’ll be destroyed!
14People of Jerusalem, wash your sins from your hearts and be saved.
How long will you hold on to your evil thoughts?
15A voice is speaking all the way from the city of Dan.
From the hills of Ephraim it announces
that trouble is coming.
16“Tell the nations.
Make an announcement concerning Jerusalem.
Say, ‘An army will attack Judah.
It is coming from a land far away.
It will shout a war cry
against the cities of Judah.
17It will surround them like people who guard a field.
Judah has refused to obey me,’ ”
announces the Lord.
18“The army will attack you
because of your conduct and actions.
This is how you will be punished.
It will be so bitter!
It will cut deep down into your hearts!”
19I’m suffering! I’m really suffering!
I’m hurting badly.
My heart is suffering so much!
It’s pounding inside me.
I can’t keep silent.
I’ve heard the sound of trumpets.
I’ve heard the battle cry.
20One trouble follows another.
The whole land is destroyed.
In an instant my tents are gone.
My home disappears in a moment.
21How long must I look at our enemy’s battle flag?
How long must I hear the sound of the trumpets?
22The Lord says, “My people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are children who do not have any sense.
They have no understanding at all.
They are skilled in doing what is evil.
They do not know how to do what is good.”
23I looked at the earth.
It didn’t have any shape. And it was empty.
I looked at the sky.
Its light was gone.
24I looked at the mountains.
They were shaking.
All the hills were swaying.
25I looked. And there weren’t any people.
Every bird in the sky had flown away.
26I looked. And the fruitful land had become a desert.
All its towns were destroyed.
The Lord had done all this because of his great anger.
27The Lord says,
“The whole land will be destroyed.
But I will not destroy it completely.
28So the earth will be filled with sadness.
The sky above will grow dark.
I have spoken, and I will not take pity on them.
I have made my decision, and I will not change my mind.”
29People can hear the sound of horsemen.
Men armed with bows are coming.
The people in every town run away.
Some of them go into the bushes.
Others climb up among the rocks.
All the towns are deserted.
No one is living in them.
30What are you doing, you who are destroyed?
Why do you dress yourself in bright red clothes?
Why do you put on jewels of gold?
Why do you put makeup on your eyes?
You make yourself beautiful for no reason at all.
Your lovers hate you.
They want to kill you.
31I hear a cry like the cry of a woman having a baby.
I hear a groan like someone having her first child.
It’s the cry of the people of Zion struggling to breathe.
They reach out their hands and say,
“Help us! We’re fainting!
Murderers are about to kill us!”
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 4: NIrV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Yirmeyahu (Jer) 4
4
1“Isra’el, if you will return,” says Adonai,
“yes, return to me; and if you will banish
your abominations from my presence
without wandering astray again;
2and if you will swear, ‘As Adonai lives,’
in truth, justice and righteousness;
then the nations will bless themselves by him,
and in him will they glory.”
3For here is what Adonai says
to the people of Y’hudah and Yerushalayim:
“Break up your ground that hasn’t been plowed,
and do not sow among thorns.”
4“People of Y’hudah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim,
circumcise yourselves for Adonai,
remove the foreskins of your heart!
Otherwise my fury will lash out like fire,
burning so hot that no one can quench it,
because of how evil your actions are.
5“Announce in Y’hudah, proclaim in Yerushalayim;
say: ‘Blow the shofar in the land!’
Shout the message aloud: ‘Assemble!
Let us go to the fortified cities!’
6Set up a signal toward Tziyon,
head for cover without delay.
For I will bring disaster from the north,
yes, dire destruction.
7A lion has risen from his lair,
a destroyer of nations has set out,
left his own place to ruin your land,
to demolish and depopulate your cities.”
8So wrap yourselves in sackcloth,
lament and wail, for Adonai’s fierce anger
has not turned away from us.
9“When that day comes,” says Adonai,
“the king’s heart will fail him,
likewise the princes’;
the cohanim will be appalled
and the prophets stupefied.”
10Then I said, “Oh, Adonai Elohim! Surely you have sadly deceived this people and Yerushalayim by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our very throats!”
11“At that time it will be said
of this people and of Yerushalayim:
‘A scorching wind from the desert heights
is sweeping down on my people.’
It is not coming to winnow or cleanse;
12this wind of mine is too strong for that.
Now I will pass sentence on them.”
13Here he comes, like the clouds,
his chariots like the whirlwind,
his horses faster than eagles!
Woe to us, we are doomed!
14Wash the evil from your heart, Yerushalayim,
so that you can be saved.
How long will you harbor within yourselves
your evil thoughts?
15For a voice is announcing the news from Dan,
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Efrayim:
16“Report it to the nations,
proclaim about Yerushalayim:
‘[Enemies] are coming from a distant country,
watching and shouting their war cry
against the cities of Y’hudah.’
17Like guards in a field they surround her,
because she has rebelled against me,” says Adonai.
18“Your own ways and your actions
have brought these things on yourselves.
This is your wickedness, so bitter!
It has reached your very heart.”
19My guts! My guts! I’m writhing in pain!
My heart! It beats wildly — I can’t stay still! —
because I have heard the shofar sound;
it’s the call to war.
20The news is disaster after disaster!
All the land is ruined!
My tents are suddenly destroyed,
my tent curtains in an instant.
21How long must I see that signal
and hear the shofar sound?
22“It is because my people are foolish —
they do not know me; they are stupid children,
without understanding, wise when doing evil;
but they don’t know how to do good.”
23I looked at the land — it was unformed and void —
and at the sky — it had no light.
24I looked at the mountains, and they shook —
all the hills moved back and forth.
25I looked, and there was no human being;
all the birds in the air had fled.
26I looked, and the fertile fields were a desert,
all the land’s cities were razed to the ground
at the presence of Adonai,
before his burning anger.
27For here is what Adonai says:
“The whole land will be desolate
(although I will not destroy it completely).
28Because of this, the land will mourn
and the sky above be black;
for I have spoken, I have decided,
I will not change my mind, I will not turn back.”
29At the noise of the horsemen and archers,
the entire city flees —
some plunge into thickets; others climb rocks;
all cities are deserted; no one lives there.
30And you, who are doomed to be plundered,
what do you mean by putting on crimson,
decking yourselves with jewels and gold,
enlarging your eyes with eye make-up?
You beautify yourself in vain —
your lovers despise you, they seek your life!
31For I have heard a sound like a woman in labor,
in anguish giving birth to her first child.
It is the sound of the daughter of Tziyon
gasping for breath as she spreads her hands:
“Woe to me! Everything in me
is so weary before the killers.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
For more information and to purchase a hard copy of the Complete Jewish Bible,
Learn More About Complete Jewish Bible