Jeremiah 4
4
1If you return, O Israel,
says the Lord,
if you return to me,
if you remove your abominations from my presence,
and do not waver,
2and if you swear, “As the Lord lives!”
in truth, in justice, and in uprightness,
then nations shall be blessed#4.2 Or shall bless themselves by him,
and by him they shall boast.
3For thus says the Lord to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
Break up your fallow ground,
and do not sow among thorns.
4Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
remove the foreskin of your hearts,
O people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or else my wrath will go forth like fire,
and burn with no one to quench it,
because of the evil of your doings.
Invasion and Desolation of Judah Threatened
5Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:
Blow the trumpet through the land;
shout aloud#4.5 Or shout, take your weapons: Heb shout, fill (your hand) and say,
“Gather together, and let us go
into the fortified cities!”
6Raise a standard toward Zion,
flee for safety, do not delay,
for I am bringing evil from the north,
and a great destruction.
7A lion has gone up from its thicket,
a destroyer of nations has set out;
he has gone out from his place
to make your land a waste;
your cities will be ruins
without inhabitant.
8Because of this put on sackcloth,
lament and wail:
“The fierce anger of the Lord
has not turned away from us.”
9On that day, says the Lord, courage shall fail the king and the officials; the priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded. 10Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, how utterly you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ even while the sword is at the throat!”
11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: A hot wind comes from me out of the bare heights#4.11 Or the trails in the desert toward my poor people, not to winnow or cleanse— 12a wind too strong for that. Now it is I who speak in judgment against them.
13Look! He comes up like clouds,
his chariots like the whirlwind;
his horses are swifter than eagles—
woe to us, for we are ruined!
14O Jerusalem, wash your heart clean of wickedness
so that you may be saved.
How long shall your evil schemes
lodge within you?
15For a voice declares from Dan
and proclaims disaster from Mount Ephraim.
16Tell the nations, “Here they are!”
Proclaim against Jerusalem,
“Besiegers come from a distant land;
they shout against the cities of Judah.
17They have closed in around her like watchers of a field,
because she has rebelled against me,
says the Lord.
18Your ways and your doings
have brought this upon you.
This is your doom; how bitter it is!
It has reached your very heart.”
Sorrow for a Doomed Nation
19My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!
Oh, the walls of my heart!
My heart is beating wildly;
I cannot keep silent;
for I#4.19 Another reading is for you, O my soul, hear the sound of the trumpet,
the alarm of war.
20Disaster overtakes disaster,
the whole land is laid waste.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed,
my curtains in a moment.
21How long must I see the standard,
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22“For my people are foolish,
they do not know me;
they are stupid children,
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil,
but do not know how to do good.”
23I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void;
and to the heavens, and they had no light.
24I looked on the mountains, and lo, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.
25I looked, and lo, there was no one at all,
and all the birds of the air had fled.
26I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.
27For thus says the Lord: The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.
28Because of this the earth shall mourn,
and the heavens above grow black;
for I have spoken, I have purposed;
I have not relented nor will I turn back.
29At the noise of horseman and archer
every town takes to flight;
they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;
all the towns are forsaken,
and no one lives in them.
30And you, O desolate one,
what do you mean that you dress in crimson,
that you deck yourself with ornaments of gold,
that you enlarge your eyes with paint?
In vain you beautify yourself.
Your lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
31For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor,
anguish as of one bringing forth her first child,
the cry of daughter Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands,
“Woe is me! I am fainting before killers!”
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Jeremiah 4: NRSV-CI
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 4
4
1 If you return, O Israel,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“you return to me.
And if you remove your abominations from my presence,#Literally “faces”
and you do not wander,
2and you swear, ‘As Yahweh lives,’#Literally “life of Yahweh”
in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then nations will be blessed by him,
and in him they will boast.”
3For thus says Yahweh
to the men#Hebrew “man” of Judah and to Jerusalem,
“Break up for yourselves prepared virgin soil,
and you must not sow among thornbushes.
4Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh,
and remove the foreskins of your hearts,#Hebrew “heart”
men#Hebrew “man” of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
lest my wrath goes forth like the fire and burns,
and there is no one who extinguishes it,#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
because of the evil of your deeds.”
An Invasion from the North
5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say,
“Blow a horn through the land,
call with a loud voice#Literally “call fill” and say,
‘Be gathered and let us go into the fortified cities.’
6Lift up a signal toward Zion,
bring yourselves to safety; you must not remain standing,
for I am bringing evil from the north,
and a great destruction.
7A lion has gone up from his thicket,
and a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has gone out from his place to make your land as a horror,
your cities will go to ruin without#Literally “from not” inhabitant.
8Because of this gird yourselves with sackcloth,#Hebrew “sackcloths” lament and wail,
for the burning anger#Literally “the blaze of the nose” of Yahweh has not turned back from us.
9And then on that day,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“the heart of the king and the heart of the officials will be destroyed,
and the priests will be appalled,
and the prophets will be astonished.”
10Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh, surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It will be peace for you,’ while the sword reaches up to the throat.”
11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem,
“A hot wind from the barren heights#Literally “a wind of shimmering of barren heights” in the desert,#Or “wilderness”
in the direction of#Literally “the way of” the daughter of my people,
not to winnow and not to cleanse,
12a wind too strong for#Literally “a wind strong more than” these will come for me,
now also I speak judgments against them.”
13Look, he comes up like the clouds,
and his chariots are like the whirlwind,
his horses are swifter than eagles,
woe to us, for we are devastated.
14Cleanse your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem,
so that you may be saved.
How long#Literally “until when” will your thoughts of mischief
dwell in your inner part?
15For a voice is declaring from Dan,
and is proclaiming disaster from the mountain of Ephraim.
16“Report to the nations, ‘Here they are!’
Proclaim against Jerusalem,
‘Besiegers are coming from a distant land,#Literally “from a land the distance place”
and they raise their voice against the cities of Judah.’
17Like watchers of a field they were against her from all around,
because she has rebelled against me,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
18“You obtained this for yourself
because of your way and your deeds.
This is your doom, for it is bitter,
yes, it has reached up to your heart.”
19My bowels, my bowels! I writhe!
The walls of my heart!
My heart is restless within me, I cannot keep silent,
for I hear in my inner self the sound of a horn, the alarm of war.
20Destruction on destruction is proclaimed,
for all of the land is devastated.
Suddenly my tents are devastated,
my tent curtains in a moment.
21How long must I see the banner,
and hear the sound of a horn?
22“For my people are foolish,
they have not known me.
They are foolish children,
and they do not have insight.
They are skillful at doing evil,
and they do not know how to do good.”
23I looked at the earth, and behold, it was wasteland and emptiness,
and to the heavens, and they were without their light.
24I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
and all of the hills were jolted to and fro.
25I looked and behold, there was no person,
and all of the birds#Hebrew “bird” of the sky had fled.
26I looked and behold, the fruitful land was a desert,#Or “wilderness”
and all of its cities were ruined before Yahweh,
before the face of his burning anger.#Literally “the blaze of his nose”
27For thus says Yahweh, “All of the land will be a desolation,
yet I will not make a complete desolation.
28Because of this the earth will mourn,
and the heavens above will become dark.
Because I have spoken, I have planned,
and I have not relented, and I will not turn back from it.”
29From the sound of a horseman and an archer#Literally “one who shoots arrows of a bow” every town flees,
they enter in the thickets and among the rocks they climb.
Every town is forsaken,
and there is no person who lives in them.
30And you, O devastated one, what do you do,
that you put on crimson,
that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
that you make your eyes look bigger with the eye make-up?
In vain you beautify yourself.
Your lovers reject you;
they seek your life.
31For I heard a voice like an ill woman,
anxiety like a woman who bears her first child,
the voice of the daughter of Zion.
She is gasping for breath,
she is spreading out her hands:
“Woe is me, for I am becoming tired#Or “fainting” before killers.”
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