Jeremiah 4
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.
2Then 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
3This 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.
4O people of Judah and Jerusalem,
surrender your pride and power.
Change your hearts before the Lord,#4:4 Hebrew Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart.
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!’
6Raise a signal flag as a warning for Jerusalem#4:6 Hebrew Zion.:
‘Flee now! Do not delay!’
For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you
from the north.”
7A 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.
8So 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.”
10Then 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!”
11The 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.
12It is a roaring blast sent by me!
Now I will pronounce your destruction!”
13Our 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!
14O Jerusalem, cleanse your heart
that you may be saved.
How long will you harbor
your evil thoughts?
15Your 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.
17They 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
19My 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.
20Waves of destruction roll over the land,
until it lies in complete desolation.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed;
in a moment my shelters are crushed.
21How 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
23I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless.
I looked at the heavens, and there was no light.
24I looked at the mountains and hills,
and they trembled and shook.
25I looked, and all the people were gone.
All the birds of the sky had flown away.
26I looked, and the fertile fields had become a wilderness.
The towns lay in ruins,
crushed by the Lord’s fierce anger.
27This is what the Lord says:
“The whole land will be ruined,
but I will not destroy it completely.
28The 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.”
29At 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!
30What 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.
31I hear a cry, like that of a woman in labor,
the groans of a woman giving birth to her first child.
It is beautiful Jerusalem#4:31 Hebrew the daughter of Zion.
gasping for breath and crying out,
“Help! I’m being murdered!”
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Jeremiah 4: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Jeremiah 4
4
1If you return, Israel—oracle of the Lord—
return to me.
If you put your detestable things out of my sight,
and do not stray,#Jer 25:5.
2And swear, “As the Lord lives,”#As the Lord lives: this oath, made sincerely, implies Israel’s return and loyal adherence to God. Thus the ancient promises are fulfilled; cf. Gn 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; Ps 72:17.
in truth, in judgment, and in justice,
Then the nations shall bless themselves in him
and in him glory.#Jer 12:16; Dt 10:20; Is 65:16.
3For to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, thus says the Lord:
Till your untilled ground,
and do not sow among thorns.#Hos 10:12; Mt 13:7, 22.
4Be circumcised for the Lord,#The external rite of circumcision accomplishes nothing unless it is accompanied by the removal of blindness and obstinacy of heart. Jeremiah’s view is reflected in Rom 2:25, 29; 1 Cor 7:19; Gal 5:6; 6:13, 15.
remove the foreskins of your hearts,
people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
Or else my anger will break out like fire,
and burn so that no one can quench it,
because of your evil deeds.#Jer 9:24.
The Invasion from the North
5Proclaim it in Judah,
in Jerusalem announce it;
Blow the trumpet throughout the land,
call out, “Fill the ranks!”
Say, “Assemble, let us march
to the fortified cities.”
6Raise the signal—to Zion!
Seek refuge! Don’t stand there!
Disaster I bring from the north,
and great destruction.
7Up comes the lion from its lair,
the destroyer of nations has set out,
has left its place,
To turn your land into a desolation,
your cities into an uninhabited waste.#Jer 2:15; 5:6.
8So put on sackcloth,
mourn and wail:
“The blazing anger of the Lord
has not turned away from us.”#Jer 6:26; Is 5:25.
9In that day—oracle of the Lord—
The king will lose heart, and the princes;
the priests will be horrified,
and the prophets stunned.
10“Ah! Lord God,” they will say,
“You really did deceive#You really did deceive: Jeremiah complains that the Lord misled the people by fostering their complacency, leaving them unprepared and unrepentant as judgment approaches. us
When you said: You shall have peace,
while the sword was at our very throats.”#Jer 6:14.
11At that time it will be said
to this people and to Jerusalem,
A scorching wind from the bare heights comes
through the wilderness toward my daughter, the people.#My daughter, the people: the covenant people personified as a young woman. Ezekiel 16 presents Israel and Judah as female infants whom the Lord adopts and then abandons and punishes because they desire other lords.
Not to winnow, not to cleanse,
12a strong wind from there comes at my bidding.
Now I too pronounce
sentence upon them.#Jer 1:16.
13See! like storm clouds he advances,
like a whirlwind, his chariots;
Swifter than eagles, his horses:
“Woe to us! we are ruined.”
14Cleanse your heart of evil, Jerusalem,
that you may be saved.
How long will you entertain
wicked schemes?
15A voice proclaims it from Dan,
announces wickedness from Mount Ephraim:
16“Make this known to the nations,
announce it against Jerusalem:
Besiegers are coming from the distant land,
shouting their war cry against the cities of Judah.”#Jer 5:15.
17Like watchers in the fields they surround her,
for she has rebelled against me—oracle of the Lord.#Jer 6:3.
18Your conduct, your deeds, have done this to you;
how bitter is this evil of yours,
how it reaches to your very heart!#Jer 2:17, 19.
19My body! my body! how I writhe!#Probably the prophet’s own anguish at the coming destruction of Judah.
The walls of my heart!
My heart beats wildly,
I cannot be still;
For I myself have heard the blast of the horn,
the battle cry.
20Ruin upon ruin is reported;
the whole land is laid waste.
In an instant my tents are ravaged;
in a flash, my shelters.#Jer 10:20.
21How long must I see the signal,
hear the blast of the horn!
22My people are fools,
they do not know me;
They are senseless children,
without understanding;
They are wise at evil,
but they do not know how to do good.#Dt 32:5–6, 28.
23I looked at the earth—it was waste and void;
at the heavens—their light had gone out!#Is 24:1, 3.
24I looked at the mountains—they were quaking!
All the hills were crumbling!
25I looked—there was no one;
even the birds of the air had flown away!
26I looked—the garden land was a wilderness,
with all its cities destroyed
before the Lord, before his blazing anger.#Lv 26:31.
27For thus says the Lord:
The whole earth shall be waste,
but I will not wholly destroy it.#Jer 5:18.
28Because of this the earth shall mourn,
the heavens above shall darken;
I have spoken, I will not change my mind,
I have decided, I will not turn back.#Is 24:4.
29At the shout of rider and archer
each city takes to flight;
They shrink into the thickets,
they scale the rocks:
All the cities are abandoned,
no one lives in them.
30You now who are doomed, what are you doing
dressing in purple,
bedecking yourself with gold,
Enlarging your eyes with kohl?
You beautify yourself in vain!
Your lovers reject you,
they seek your life.
31Yes, I hear the cry, like that of a woman in labor,
like the anguish of a mother bearing her first child—
The cry of daughter Zion gasping,
as she stretches out her hands:
“Ah, woe is me! I sink exhausted
before my killers!”#Jer 6:24.
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