Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 4
4
1“If you do return, O Yisra’ĕl,” declares יהוה, “return to Me. And if you remove your abominations from My presence, and cease straying,
2and shall swear, ‘As יהוה lives,’ in truth, in right-ruling, and in righteousness – then nations shall bless themselves in Him, and they shall boast in Him!”
3For this is what יהוה said to the men of Yehuḏah and Yerushalayim, “Break up your tillable ground, and do not sow among thorns.
4“Circumcise yourselves unto יהוה, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, you men of Yehuḏah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim, lest My wrath come forth like fire and burn, with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.”
5Declare in Yehuḏah and let it be heard in Yerushalayim, and say, “Blow a shophar in the land. Cry aloud and say, ‘Gather yourselves, and let us go into the walled city.’
6“Lift up the banner toward Tsiyon. Be strong, do not stand still! For I am bringing evil from the north, and great destruction.”
7“A lion has come up from his bush, and the destroyer of nations is on his way. He has set out from his place to make your land a ruin. Your cities are laid waste, without inhabitant.
8“For this, gird yourself with sackcloth, lament and wail. For the burning displeasure of יהוה has not turned back from us.
9“And in that day it shall be,” declares יהוה, “that the heart of the sovereign shall perish, and the heart of the heads. And the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets wonder.”
10Then I said, “Ah, Master יהוה! Truly, You have greatly deceived this people and Yerushalayim, saying, ‘Peace is for you,’ whereas the sword reaches to the heart.”
11At that time it shall be said to this people and to Yerushalayim, “A scorching wind of the bare heights blows in the wilderness toward the daughter of My people, not to fan or to cleanse.
12“A wind too strong for this shall come for Me. Now it is I who speak judgments against them.
13“See, he comes up like clouds, and his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses shall be swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we shall be ravaged!”
14O Yerushalayim, wash your heart from evil, and be saved. Till when would your wicked thoughts remain within you?
15For a voice is declaring from Dan, and is proclaiming trouble from Mount Ephrayim:
16“Announce to the nations, look, proclaim against Yerushalayim, that besiegers are coming from a distant land and raise their voice against the cities of Yehuḏah.
17“Like keepers of a field they are against her all around, because she has rebelled against Me,” declares יהוה.
18“Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you. This is your evil, because it is bitter, because it has reached into your heart.”
19O my inward parts, my inward parts! I am in pain! O the walls of my heart! My heart pounds in me, I am not silent. For you have heard, O my being, a voice of a shophar, a shout of battle!
20Destruction upon destruction is cried, for all the land is ravaged. Suddenly my tents are ravaged – my curtains in a moment.
21How long shall I see a banner, and hear a voice of a shophar?
22“For My people are foolish, they have not known Me. They are stupid children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.”
23I looked at the earth, and saw it was formless and empty. And the heavens, they had no light.
24I looked at the mountains, and saw they shook, and all the hills were swaying.
25I looked, and saw there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled.
26I looked, and saw the garden land was a wilderness, and all its cities were broken down at the presence of יהוה, by His burning displeasure.
27For thus said יהוה, “All the earth shall be a ruin, but I shall not make a complete end.
28“On account of this, let the earth mourn and the heavens above be dark, because I have spoken, because I have purposed and shall not relent, nor do I turn back from it.”
29All the city is fleeing from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen. They shall go into bushes and climb up on the rocks. All the city is forsaken, and no one is dwelling in it.
30And when you are ravaged, what would you do? Though you put on crimson, though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge your eyes with paint, you beautify yourself in vain. Your lovers despise you, they seek your life.
31For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labour, the distress as of her who brings forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Tsiyon! She bewails herself, she spreads out her hands, saying, “Woe to me, for my being faints because of killers!”
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Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 4: TS2009
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Jeremiah 4
4
1“If you, Israel, will return,” announces the Lord,
“then return to me.
Put the statues of your gods out of my sight.
I hate them.
Stop going astray.
2Make all your promises in my name.
When you promise say, ‘You can be sure that the Lord is alive.’
Be truthful, fair and honest when you make these promises.
Then the nations will ask for blessings from me.
And they will boast about me.”
3Here is what the Lord is telling the people of Judah and Jerusalem. He says,
“Your hearts are as hard as a field
that has not been plowed.
So change your ways and produce good crops.
Do not plant seeds among thorns.
4People of Judah and you who live in Jerusalem, obey me.
Do not let your hearts be stubborn.
If you do, my anger will blaze out against you.
It will burn like fire because of the evil things you have done.
No one will be able to put it out.
Trouble Will Come From the North
5“Announce my message in Judah.
Tell it in Jerusalem.
Say, ‘Blow trumpets all through the land!’
Give a loud shout and say,
‘Gather together!
Let’s run to cities that have high walls around them!’
6Warn everyone to go to Zion!
Run for safety! Do not wait!
I am bringing trouble from the north.
Everything will be totally destroyed.”
7Lions have come out of their dens.
Those who destroy nations have begun to march out.
They have left their place
to destroy your land completely.
Your towns will be broken to pieces.
No one will live in them.
8So put on the clothes of sadness.
Mourn and weep over what has happened.
The Lord hasn’t turned
his great anger away from us.
9“A dark day is coming,” announces the Lord.
“The king and his officials will lose hope.
The priests will be shocked.
And the prophets will be terrified.”
10Then I said, “You are my Lord and King. You have completely tricked the people of Judah and Jerusalem! You have told them, ‘You will have peace and rest.’ But swords are pointed at our throats!”
11At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be warned. They will be told, “A hot and dry wind is coming, my people. It is blowing toward you from the bare hilltops in the desert. But it does not separate straw from grain. 12It is much too strong for that. The wind is coming from me. I am making my decision against you.”
13Look! Our enemies are approaching like the clouds.
Their chariots are coming like a strong wind.
Their horses are faster than eagles.
How terrible it will be for us!
We’ll be destroyed!
14People of Jerusalem, wash your sins from your hearts and be saved.
How long will you hold on to your evil thoughts?
15A voice is speaking all the way from the city of Dan.
From the hills of Ephraim it announces
that trouble is coming.
16“Tell the nations.
Make an announcement concerning Jerusalem.
Say, ‘An army will attack Judah.
It is coming from a land far away.
It will shout a war cry
against the cities of Judah.
17It will surround them like people who guard a field.
Judah has refused to obey me,’ ”
announces the Lord.
18“The army will attack you
because of your conduct and actions.
This is how you will be punished.
It will be so bitter!
It will cut deep down into your hearts!”
19I’m suffering! I’m really suffering!
I’m hurting badly.
My heart is suffering so much!
It’s pounding inside me.
I can’t keep silent.
I’ve heard the sound of trumpets.
I’ve heard the battle cry.
20One trouble follows another.
The whole land is destroyed.
In an instant my tents are gone.
My home disappears in a moment.
21How long must I look at our enemy’s battle flag?
How long must I hear the sound of the trumpets?
22The Lord says, “My people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are children who do not have any sense.
They have no understanding at all.
They are skilled in doing what is evil.
They do not know how to do what is good.”
23I looked at the earth.
It didn’t have any shape. And it was empty.
I looked at the sky.
Its light was gone.
24I looked at the mountains.
They were shaking.
All the hills were swaying.
25I looked. And there weren’t any people.
Every bird in the sky had flown away.
26I looked. And the fruitful land had become a desert.
All its towns were destroyed.
The Lord had done all this because of his great anger.
27The Lord says,
“The whole land will be destroyed.
But I will not destroy it completely.
28So the earth will be filled with sadness.
The sky above will grow dark.
I have spoken, and I will not take pity on them.
I have made my decision, and I will not change my mind.”
29People can hear the sound of horsemen.
Men armed with bows are coming.
The people in every town run away.
Some of them go into the bushes.
Others climb up among the rocks.
All the towns are deserted.
No one is living in them.
30What are you doing, you who are destroyed?
Why do you dress yourself in bright red clothes?
Why do you put on jewels of gold?
Why do you put makeup on your eyes?
You make yourself beautiful for no reason at all.
Your lovers hate you.
They want to kill you.
31I hear a cry like the cry of a woman having a baby.
I hear a groan like someone having her first child.
It’s the cry of the people of Zion struggling to breathe.
They reach out their hands and say,
“Help us! We’re fainting!
Murderers are about to kill us!”
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