Jeremiah 4
4
How Israel Can Return to the Lord
1The Lord said:
Israel, if you really want
to come back to me, get rid
of those disgusting idols.
2Make promises only in my name,
and do what you promise!
Then all nations will praise me,
and I will bless them.
3 #
Ho 10.12. People of Jerusalem and Judah,
don't be so stubborn!
Your hearts have become hard,
like unplowed ground
where thornbushes grow.
4With all your hearts,
keep the agreement
I made with you.
But if you are stubborn
and keep on sinning,
my anger will burn like a fire
that cannot be put out.
Disaster Is Coming
The Lord said:
* 5“Sound the trumpets, my people.
Warn the people of Judah,#4.5 Judah: Hebrew “Judah and Jerusalem.”
‘Run for your lives!
6Head for Jerusalem
or another walled town!’
“Jeremiah, tell them I'm sending
disaster from the north.
7An army will come out,
like a lion from its den.
It will destroy nations
and leave your towns empty
and in ruins.”
8Then I told the people
of Israel,
“Put on sackcloth!#4.8 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
Mourn and cry out,
‘The Lord is still angry
with us.’ ”
9The Lord said,
“When all this happens,
the king and his officials,
the prophets and the priests
will be shocked and terrified.”
10I said, “You are the Lord God. So why have you fooled everyone, especially the people of Jerusalem? Why did you promise peace, when a knife is at our throats?”
The Coming Disaster
11-12When disaster comes, the Lord will tell you people of Jerusalem,
“I am sending a windstorm
from the desert—
not a welcome breeze.#4.11,12 a welcome breeze: Hebrew “a wind to blow away the husks.” Farmers used a special shovel to pitch grain and husks into the air. Wind would blow away the light husks, and the grain would fall back to the ground, where it could be gathered up.
And it will sweep you away
as punishment for your sins.
13Look! The enemy army
swoops down like an eagle;
their cavalry and chariots
race faster than storm clouds
blown by the wind.”
Then you will answer,
“We are doomed!”
14But Jerusalem, there is still time
for you to be saved.
Wash the evil from your hearts
and stop making sinful plans,
15before a message of disaster
arrives from the hills of Ephraim
and the town of Dan.#4.15 Ephraim … Dan: The hills of Ephraim were to the north of Jerusalem, and Dan was even farther north. They would be reached by the invading army first.
16-17The Lord said,
“Tell the nations that my people
have rebelled against me.
And so an army will come
from far away
to surround Jerusalem
and the towns of Judah.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
18“People of Judah,
your hearts will be in pain,
but it's your own fault
that you will be punished.”
Jeremiah's Vision of the Coming Punishment
19I can't stand the pain!
My heart pounds,
as I twist and turn in agony.
I hear the signal trumpet
and the battle cry of the enemy,
and I cannot be silent.
20I see the enemy defeating us
time after time,
leaving everything in ruins.
Even my own home
is destroyed in a moment.
21How long will I see enemy flags
and hear their trumpets?
22I heard the Lord say,
“My people ignore me.
They are foolish children
who do not understand
that they will be punished.
All they know is how to sin.”
23After this, I looked around.
The earth was barren,
with no form of life.
The sun, moon, and stars
had disappeared.
24The mountains were shaking;
25no people could be seen,
and all the birds
had flown away.
26Farmland had become a desert,
and towns were in ruins.
The Lord's fierce anger
had done all of this.
The Death of Jerusalem
27-28The Lord said:
I have made my decision,
and I won't change my mind.
This land will be destroyed,
although not completely.
The sky will turn dark,
and the earth will mourn.
29Enemy cavalry and archers
shout their battle cry.
People run for their lives
and try to find safety
among trees and rocks.
Every town is empty.
30Jerusalem, your land
has been wiped out.
But you act like a prostitute
and try to win back your lovers,
who now hate you.
You can put on a red dress,
gold jewelry, and eye shadow,
but it's no use—
your lovers are out to kill you!
31I heard groaning and crying.
Was it a woman giving birth
to her first child?
No, it was Jerusalem,
gasping for breath
and begging for help.
“I'm dying!” she said.
“They have murdered me.”
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 4
4
1If you return, Israel, return to me, declares the LORD.
If you get rid of your disgusting idols from my presence
and wander no more,
2and if you swear by the living God
in truth, justice, and righteousness,
then the nations will enjoy God’s blessings;#4.2 Or bless themselves in him or be blessed by him or will bless themselves
they will boast about him.
3This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and to the residents of Jerusalem:
Break up your hard rocky soil;
don’t plant among the thorns.
4Dedicate#4.4 Or circumcise yourselves to the LORD;
don’t be thick-skinned,#4.4 Or remove the foreskins of your hearts
people of Judah and residents of Jerusalem,
or else my anger will spread like a wildfire.
It will burn, with no one to put it out,
because of your evil deeds.
Disaster approaches
5Announce in Judah,
in Jerusalem proclaim,
sound the alarm throughout the land,
cry out and say,
“Gather together!
Let’s flee to the fortified towns!”
6Set up a flag to Zion;
take cover, don’t just stand there!
I’m bringing disaster from the north,
massive devastation.
7A lion bursts out of the thicket;
a destroyer of nations advances.
He’s gone forth from his place
to ravage your land,
to wipe out your towns,
until no one is left.
8So put on funeral clothing.
Weep and wail,
for the LORD’s fierce anger
hasn’t turned away from us.
9On that day, declares the LORD,
the courage of the king and his princes will fail,
the priests will be stunned,
and the prophets will be shocked.
10Then I said, “LORD God, no!
You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem
by promising them peace
even though the sword is at their throats.”
11At that time, this people and Jerusalem will be told:
A blistering wind from the bare heights;
it rages in the desert toward my people,
not merely to winnow or cleanse.
12This wind is too devastating for that.
Now I, even I, will pronounce my sentence against them.
13Look! He approaches like the clouds;
his chariots advance like a tempest,
his horses swifter than eagles.
How horrible! We’re doomed!
14Cleanse your heart of evil, Jerusalem,
that you may be saved.
How long will you entertain your destructive ideas?
15A voice declares from Dan;
someone proclaims disaster from the highlands of Ephraim.
16Warn the nations,
proclaim it to Jerusalem!
Armies are approaching from a far-away country,
raising their war cries against the towns of Judah.
17They hem her in like those guarding a field,
because she has rebelled against me,
declares the LORD.
18Your own conduct, your own deeds have done this to you.
This is your payment and how bitter it is,
piercing into the depths of your heart.
Anguish over looming disaster
19Oh, my suffering, my suffering!
My pain is unbearable;
my heart is in turmoil;
it throbs nonstop.
I can’t be silent, because I hear the blast of the trumpet
and the roar of the battle cry!
20Disaster follows disaster;
the whole land is ruined.
Suddenly, my tents are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
21How long must I see the battle flags
and hear the blast of the trumpet?
22My people are foolish.
They don’t even know me!
They are thoughtless children
without understanding;
they are skilled at doing wrong,
inept at doing right.
23I looked at the earth,
and it was without shape or form;
at the heavens
and there was no light.
24I looked at the mountains
and they were quaking;
all the hills were rocking back and forth.
25I looked and there was no one left;
every bird in the sky had taken flight.
26I looked and the fertile land was a desert;
all its towns were in ruins
before the LORD,
before his fury.
27The LORD proclaims:
The whole earth will become a desolation,
but I will not destroy it completely.
28Therefore, the earth will grieve
and the heavens grow dark
because I have declared my plan
and will neither change my mind
nor cancel the plan.
29As the horsemen and archers approach,
the people take flight.
They hide in the bushes
and escape to the cliffs.
Every city is deserted;
no one remains.
30And you, devastated one,
why dress up in scarlet,
deck yourself in gold jewelry,
and color your eyes with paint?
In vain you get all decked out;
your lovers have rejected you
and now seek your life.
31I hear the cry of a woman in labor,
the distress of one delivering her first child.
It is the cry of Daughter Zion,
gasping for breath,
her arms stretched out,
and moaning,
“I’m about to fall into the hands of murderers!”
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