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
1“If you will return, Israel,
then return to me,” says the Lord.
“If you will throw away your idols that I hate,
then don’t wander away from me.
2If you say when you make a promise,
‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
and you can say it in a truthful, honest, and right way,
then the nations will be blessed by him,
and they will praise him for what he has done.”
3This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Plow your unplowed fields,
and don’t plant seeds among thorns.
4Give yourselves to the service of the Lord,
and decide to obey him,
people of Judah and people of Jerusalem.
If you don’t, my anger will spread among you like a fire,
and no one will be able to put it out,
because of the evil you have done.
Trouble from the North
5“Announce this message in Judah and say it in Jerusalem:
‘Blow the trumpet throughout the country!’
Shout out loud and say,
‘Come together!
Let’s all escape to the strong, walled cities!’
6Raise the signal flag toward Jerusalem!
Run for your lives, and don’t wait,
because I am bringing disaster from the north
There will be terrible destruction.”
7A lion has come out of his den;
a destroyer of nations has begun to march.
He has left his home
to destroy your land.
Your towns will be destroyed
with no one left to live in them.
8So put on rough cloth,
show how sad you are, and cry loudly.
The terrible anger of the Lord
has not turned away from us.
9“When this happens,” says the Lord,
“the king and officers will lose their courage.
The priests will be terribly afraid,
and the prophets will be shocked!”
10Then I said, “Lord God, you have tricked the people of Judah and Jerusalem. You said, ‘You will have peace,’ but now the sword is pointing at our throats!”
11At that time this message will be given to Judah and Jerusalem: “A hot wind blows from the bare hilltops of the desert toward the Lord’s people. It is not a gentle wind to separate grain from chaff. 12I feel a stronger wind than that. Now even I will announce judgments against the people of Judah.”
13Look! The enemy rises up like a cloud,
and his chariots come like a tornado.
His horses are faster than eagles.
How terrible it will be for us! We are ruined!
14People of Jerusalem, clean the evil from your hearts so that you can be saved.
Don’t continue making evil plans.
15A voice from Dan makes an announcement
and brings bad news from the mountains of Ephraim.
16“Report this to the nations.
Spread this news in Jerusalem:
‘Invaders are coming from a faraway country,
shouting words of war against the cities of Judah.
17The enemy has surrounded Jerusalem as men guard a field,
because Judah turned against me,’ ” says the Lord.
18“The way you have lived and acted
has brought this trouble to you.
This is your punishment.
How terrible it is!
The pain stabs your heart!”
Jeremiah’s Cry
19Oh, how I hurt! How I hurt!
I am bent over in pain.
Oh, the torture in my heart!
My heart is pounding inside me.
I cannot keep quiet,
because I have heard the sound of the trumpet.
I have heard the shouts of war.
20Disaster follows disaster;
the whole country has been destroyed.
My tents are destroyed in only a moment.
My curtains are torn down quickly.
21How long must I look at the war flag?
How long must I listen to the war trumpet?
22The Lord says, “My people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are stupid children;
they don’t understand.
They are skillful at doing evil,
but they don’t know how to do good.”
Disaster Is Coming
23I looked at the earth,
and it was empty and had no shape.
I looked at the sky,
and its light was gone.
24I looked at the mountains,
and they were shaking.
All the hills were trembling.
25I looked, and there were no people.
Every bird in the sky had flown away.
26I looked, and the good, rich land had become a desert.
All its towns had been destroyed
by the Lord and his great anger.
27This is what the Lord says:
“All the land will be ruined,
but I will not completely destroy it.
28So the people in the land will cry loudly,
and the sky will grow dark,
because I have spoken and will not change my mind.
I have made a decision, and I will not change it.”
29At the sound of the horsemen and the archers,
all the people in the towns run away.
They hide in the thick bushes
and climb up into the rocks.
All of the cities of Judah are empty;
no one lives in them.
30Judah, you destroyed nation, what are you doing?
Why do you put on your finest dress
and decorate yourself with gold jewelry?
Why do you put color around your eyes?
You make yourself beautiful, but it is all useless.
Your lovers hate you;
they want to kill you.
31I hear a cry like a woman having a baby,
distress like a woman having her first child.
It is the sound of Jerusalem gasping for breath.
She lifts her hands in prayer and says,
“Oh! I am about to faint
before my murderers!”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.