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!”
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 4: CEB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 4
4
1“If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord,
#Jer. 3:1, 22; 15:19; Joel 2:12“Return to Me;
And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,
Then you shall not be moved.
2#Deut. 10:20; Is. 45:23; 65:16; Jer. 12:16And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’
#Is. 48:1; Zech. 8:8In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;
#(Gen. 22:18); Ps. 72:18; Is. 65:16; Jer. 3:17; (Gal. 3:8)The nations shall bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they shall #Is. 45:25; Jer. 9:24; 1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17glory.”
3For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
#Hos. 10:12“Break up your fallow ground,
And #Matt. 13:7do not sow among thorns.
4#Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 9:25, 26; (Rom. 2:28, 29; Col. 2:11)Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
And take away the foreskins of your hearts,
You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My fury come forth like fire,
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.”
An Imminent Invasion
5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:
#Jer. 6:1; Hos. 8:1“Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry, ‘Gather together,’
And say, #Josh. 10:20; Jer. 8:14‘Assemble yourselves,
And let us go into the fortified cities.’
6Set up the standard toward Zion.
Take refuge! Do not delay!
For I will bring disaster from the #Jer. 1:13–15; 6:1, 22; 50:17north,
And great destruction.”
7#2 Kin. 24:1; Dan. 7:4The lion has come up from his thicket,
And #Jer. 25:9; Ezek. 26:7–10the destroyer of nations is on his way.
He has gone forth from his place
#Is. 1:7; 6:11; Jer. 2:15To make your land desolate.
Your cities will be laid waste,
Without inhabitant.
8For this, #Is. 22:12; Jer. 6:26clothe yourself with sackcloth,
Lament and wail.
For the fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.
9“And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord,
“That the heart of the king shall perish,
And the heart of the princes;
The priests shall be astonished,
And the prophets shall wonder.”
10Then I said, “Ah, Lord God!
#2 Kin. 25:10–12; Ezek. 14:9; 2 Thess. 2:11Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem,
#Jer. 5:12; 14:13Saying, ‘You shall have peace,’
Whereas the sword reaches to the heart.”
11At that time it will be said
To this people and to Jerusalem,
#Jer. 51:1; Ezek. 17:10; Hos. 13:15“A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness
Toward the daughter of My people—
Not to fan or to cleanse—
12A wind too strong for these will come for Me;
Now #Jer. 1:16I will also speak judgment against them.”
13“Behold, he shall come up like clouds,
And #Is. 5:28his chariots like a whirlwind.
#Deut. 28:49; Lam. 4:19; Hos. 8:1; Hab. 1:8His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are plundered!”
14O Jerusalem, #Prov. 1:22; Is. 1:16; Jer. 13:27; James 4:8wash your heart from wickedness,
That you may be saved.
How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?
15For a voice declares #Jer. 8:16; 50:17from Dan
And proclaims affliction from Mount Ephraim:
16“Make mention to the nations,
Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem,
That watchers come from a #Is. 39:3; Jer. 5:15far country
And raise their voice against the cities of Judah.
17#2 Kin. 25:1, 4Like keepers of a field they are against her all around,
Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the Lord.
18“Your#Ps. 107:17; Is. 50:1; Jer. 2:17, 19 ways and your doings
Have procured these things for you.
This is your wickedness,
Because it is bitter,
Because it reaches to your heart.”
Sorrow for the Doomed Nation
19O my #2 Kin. 25:11; 2 Chr. 36:20; Is. 15:5; 16:11; 21:3; 22:4; Jer. 9:1, 10; 20:9soul, my soul!
I am pained in my very heart!
My heart makes a noise in me;
I cannot hold my peace,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
20#Ps. 42:7; Ezek. 7:26Destruction upon destruction is cried,
For the whole land is plundered.
Suddenly #Jer. 10:20my tents are plundered,
And my curtains in a moment.
21How long will I see the standard,
And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22“For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are silly children,
And they have no understanding.
#Jer. 9:3; 13:23; Rom. 16:19; 1 Cor. 14:20They are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”
23#Is. 24:19I beheld the earth, and indeed it was #Gen. 1:2without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.
24#Is. 5:25; Jer. 10:10; Ezek. 38:20I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.
25I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And #Jer. 9:10; 12:4; Zeph. 1:3all the birds of the heavens had fled.
26I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a #Jer. 9:10wilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the Lord,
By His fierce anger.
27For thus says the Lord:
“The whole land shall be desolate;
#Jer. 5:10, 18; 30:11; 46:28Yet I will not make a full end.
28For this #Jer. 12:4, 11; 14:2; Hos. 4:3shall the earth mourn,
And #Is. 5:30; 50:3; Joel 2:30, 31the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have #Is. 46:10, 11; (Dan. 4:35)purposed and #(Num. 23:19); Jer. 7:16; 23:30; 30:24will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.
29The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen.
They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks.
Every city shall be forsaken,
And not a man shall dwell in it.
30“And when you are plundered,
What will you do?
Though you clothe yourself with crimson,
Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
#2 Kin. 9:30; Ezek. 23:40Though you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you will make yourself fair;
#Jer. 22:20, 22; Lam. 1:2, 19; Ezek. 23:9, 10, 22Your lovers will despise you;
They will seek your life.
31“For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor,
The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child,
The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself;
She #Is. 1:15; Lam. 1:17spreads her hands, saying,
‘Woe is me now, for my soul is weary
Because of murderers!’
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.