Yirmeyah 6
6
1O ye Bnei Binyamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Yerushalayim, and blow the shofar in Tekoa, and kindle the fire signal on Beit-HaKerem; for ra'ah (evil, disaster) appeareth out of the tzafon (north), and shever gadol (great destruction).
2Bat Tziyon, so beautiful and delicate, I will destroy.
3The ro'im (shepherds) with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their ohalim against her all around; they shall pasture each his portion.
4Prepare ye milchamah against her; arise, and let us go up to attack at noon. Oy unto us! For the yom fadeth away, for the shadows of erev are lengthening.
5Arise, and let us attack ba'lailah, and let us destroy her fortresses.
6For thus hath Hashem Tzva'os said, Cut ye down trees, and throw up a solelah (siege ramp) against Yerushalayim; this is the Ir that must be visited [for punishment]; oshek (oppression) is rampant within her.
7As a well casteth afresh her waters, so she#6:7 Jerusalem casteth afresh her rah (wickedness); chamas and shod (destruction) is heard in her; before Me tamid (continually) is sickness and wounds.
8Be thou warned, O Yerushalayim, lest My nefesh depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, an eretz not inhabited.
9Thus saith Hashem Tzva'os, They shall thoroughly glean the She'erit Yisroel (the Remnant of Israel) as a gefen (vine); turn back thine yad once again like a grape gatherer over the vine tendrils.
10To whom can I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? Hinei, their ear is arelah (uncircumcised), and to pay heed is beyond them; hinei, the Devar Hashem is unto them a reproach; they find no pleasure in it.
11Therefore I am full of the chamat Hashem; I am weary with holding in; I will pour it out upon the olal in the street, and upon the assembly of bocherim together; for even the ish with the isha shall be caught, the zaken, those weighed down with yamim (days).
12And their batim (houses) shall be turned over unto others, with their sadot and nashim together; for I will stretch out My yad upon the Yoshvei HaAretz (Inhabitants of the Land), saith Hashem.
13For from the katan of them even unto the gadol of them, every one is given to greediness for unjust gain; and from the navi even unto the kohen, every one doeth sheker (deceit, falsehood).
14They have provided superficial treatment for Ami, saying, Shalom, shalom; v'ein shalom.
15Were they ashamed when they had committed to'evah (abomination)? They were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush; therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them [in punishment] they shall be brought down, saith Hashem.
16Thus saith Hashem, Stand ye in the derakhim (crossroads), and look, and ask for the netivot olam (old paths), where is the derech hatov (good road, way), and walk therein, and ye shall find margo'a (rest) for your nefashot. But they said, We will not walk therein.
17Also I set tzofim (watchmen) over you, saying, Pay heed to the kol shofar (sound of the shofar). But they said, We will not pay heed.
18Therefore hear, ye Goyim, and know, O Edah (Congregation), what will happen to them.
19Hear, HaAretz (O Earth); hinei, I will bring ra'ah (evil, disaster) upon HaAm Hazeh, even the p'ri (fruit) of their machsh'vot (schemes), because they have not paid heed unto My devarim, nor to My torah, but rejected it.
20To what purpose cometh there to Me frankincense from Sheva,#6:20 i.e., southwest Arabia and the sweet cane from a far country? Your olot (burnt offerings) are not acceptable, nor your zevakhim pleasing unto Me.
21Therefore thus saith Hashem, Hineni, I will lay michsholim (stumblingblocks) before HaAm HaZeh, and the Avot and the Banim together shall stumble upon them; the shakhen (neighbor) and his re'a (neighbor, friend) shall perish.
22Thus saith Hashem, Hinei, Am (an Army, a people) cometh from the eretz tzafon, and a Goy Gadol is aroused from the ends of the earth.
23They shall lay hold of keshet (bow) and kidon (spear); they are cruel, and have no mercy; their kol (voice) roareth like the yam; and they ride upon susim, set in array as ish for milchamah against thee, O Bat Tziyon.
24We have heard the fame thereof; our hands hang limp; tzarah (anguish) hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in labor.
25Go not forth into the sadeh, nor walk by the derech; for the cherev of the oyev (enemy) and magur (fear, terror) is on every side.
26O Bat Ami, gird thee with sackcloth, and roll thyself in ashes; make thee evel (mourning), as for a yachid (only son), most bitter lamentation; for the shoded (destroyer) shall suddenly come upon us.
27I have set thee for a bachon (tester, assayer) of Ami (My People); that thou mayest know and test their derech (way, conduct).
28They are all maximum rebels, going about as rachil (talebearers, slanderers); they are nechoshet and barzel; they are all corrupt.
29The bellows blow, the oferet (lead) is consumed by the eish; the smelterʼs refining is in vain; for the ra'im are not drawn off.
30Nimas kesef (reprobate silver, rejected silver) shall men call them, because Hashem hath rejected them.
Currently Selected:
Yirmeyah 6: TOJB2011
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Jeremiah 6
6
The Enemy Surrounds Jerusalem
1“Run for your lives, people of Benjamin!
Run away from the city of Jerusalem!
Blow the war trumpet in the city of Tekoa!
Put up the warning flag in the city of Beth Hakkerem!
Do these things because disaster is coming from the north.#6:1 north The Babylonian army came from this direction to attack Judah. Armies from countries north and east of Israel often came this way to attack Judah and Israel.
Terrible destruction is coming to you.
2Jerusalem,#6:2 Jerusalem Literally, “daughter Zion.” See “Zion” in the Word List. you are like a beautiful meadow.#6:2 you are like a beautiful meadow The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
But I will destroy you!
3Enemy shepherds will surround you
with all their flocks.
They will set up their tents all around you,
and each one will let his sheep eat the grass.
4“Get ready to fight against Jerusalem.
Get up! We will attack the city at noon.
But it is already getting late.
The evening shadows are growing long.
5So get up! We will attack the city at night!
Let’s destroy the strong walls that are around Jerusalem.”
6This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Cut down the trees around Jerusalem,
and build a siege mound#6:6 siege mound A large pile of dirt and rock that an army put against the wall of a city they were attacking. This made it easier for the enemy soldiers to climb over the wall into the city. against it.
This city should be punished
because inside there is no justice—only slavery.
7As a well keeps its water fresh,
so Jerusalem keeps its wickedness fresh.
I hear about the robbing and violence in this city all the time.
I see nothing but pain and sickness there all the time.
8Listen to this warning, Jerusalem,
or I will turn my back on you.
I will make your land an empty desert.
No one will be able to live there.”
9This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Gather#6:9 Gather Or “glean.” There was a law that a farmer must leave some grain in his field during harvest, so that poor people and travelers could find something to eat. See Lev. 19:9; 23:22. the people of Israel who were left on their land.
Gather them the way you would gather the last grapes on a grapevine.
Check each vine,
like the workers check each vine when they pick the grapes.”
10Who can I speak to?
Who can I warn?
Who will listen to me?
The people of Israel have closed their ears,
so they cannot hear my warnings.
They don’t like the Lord’s teachings.
They don’t want to hear his message.
11But I am full of the Lord’s anger,
and I am tired of holding it in!
“Pour out my anger on the children playing in the streets
and on the young soldiers gathered there as well.
A man and his wife will both be captured
as well as all the old people.
12Their houses will be given to others.
Their fields and their wives will be given to other people.
I will raise my hand and punish the people of Judah.”
This message is from the Lord.
13“All the people of Israel want more and more money.
All of them, from the least important to the most important, are like that.
Even the prophets and priests tell lies.
14They should bandage the wounds my people have suffered,
but they treat their wounds like small scratches.
They say, ‘It’s all right, everything is all right.’
But it is not all right!
15They should be ashamed of the evil things they do,
but they are not ashamed at all.
They don’t know enough to be embarrassed by their sins.
So they will be punished with everyone else.
They will be thrown to the ground when I punish the people.”
This is what the Lord said.
16This is what the Lord says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look.
Ask where the old road is.
Ask where the good road is,
and walk on that road.
If you do, you will find rest for yourselves.
But you people have said, ‘We will not walk on the good road.’
17I chose watchmen to watch over you.
I told them, ‘Listen for the sound of the war trumpet.’
But they said, ‘We will not listen!’
18So listen, all you nations,
and pay attention, you people in those countries.#6:18 pay … countries The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
19Hear this, people of the earth:
I am going to bring disaster to the people of Judah
because of all the evil they planned,
and because they ignored my messages.
They refused to obey my law.
20“Why do you bring me incense from the country of Sheba#6:20 Sheba A land south of Israel, located where part of Saudi Arabia is today. Sheba controlled the spice trade in the time of Jeremiah.?
Why do you bring me sweet-smelling cane from a faraway country?
Your burnt offerings don’t make me happy.
Your sacrifices don’t please me.”
21So this is what the Lord says:
“I will give the people of Judah problems.
They will be like stones that make people fall.
Fathers and sons will stumble over them.
Friends and neighbors will die.”
22This is what the Lord says:
“An army is coming from the north.#6:22 north The Babylonian army came from this direction to attack Judah. Armies from countries north and east of Israel often came this way to attack Judah and Israel.
A great nation is coming from faraway places on earth.
23The soldiers carry bows and spears.
They are cruel; they have no mercy.
They are so powerful.
They sound like the roaring ocean as they ride their horses.
That army is coming, ready for battle.
It is coming to attack you, Jerusalem.#6:23 Jerusalem Literally, “daughter Zion.” See “Zion” in the Word List.”
24We have heard the news about that army,
and we are paralyzed with fear.
We feel trapped by our troubles,
in pain like a woman giving birth.
25Don’t go out into the fields.
Don’t go on the roads
because the enemy has swords,
and there is danger everywhere.
26My people, put on sackcloth
and roll in the ashes.#6:26 roll in the ashes This is one way people showed that they were sad or crying for a dead person.
Cry loudly for the dead.
Cry as if you lost an only son.
Do this because the destroyer
will come against us very quickly.
27“Jeremiah, I want you to be
like a worker who tests metals.
You will test my people
and watch how they live.
28My people have turned against me,
and they are very stubborn.
They say bad things about people.
They are like bronze and iron
that are covered with rust and tarnish.
29 They are like a worker who tried to make silver pure.
The bellows#6:29 bellows A tool for blowing air on a fire to make the fire hotter. blew strongly, and the fire became hotter,
but only lead came from the fire.#6:29 lead came from the fire Workers melted metals like silver to make the metals pure. Lead was the first metal to melt, so the workers poured the lead out, leaving the other metal pure. Here, Jeremiah is saying the people are all bad—they are all lead and no silver!
The worker wasted his time
trying to make that silver pure.
In the same way the evil was not removed from my people.
30My people will be called ‘Rejected Silver.’
They will be given that name because the Lord did not accept them.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International