Jeremiah 4
4
1This message is from the Lord.
“Israel, if you want to come back,
then come back to me.
Throw away your idols.
Don’t wander farther away from me.
2If you do these things, you will be able to use my name to make a promise.
You will be able to say, ‘As the Lord lives.’
You will be able to use these words in a truthful, honest, and right way.
If you do these things, the nations will be blessed by the Lord.
They will brag about what the Lord has done.”
3This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Your fields have not been plowed.
Plow those fields!
Don’t plant seeds among the thorns.
4Become the Lord’s people.
Change your hearts.#4:4 Change your hearts Literally, “Be circumcised to the Lord. Cut away the foreskin of your hearts.” See “circumcise, circumcision” in the Word List. Jeremiah is saying that real circumcision must be from inside a person’s heart (mind).
Men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, if you don’t change,
then I will become very angry.
My anger will spread fast like a fire,
and it will burn you up.
No one will be able to put out that fire
because of the evil you have done.”
Disaster From the North
5“Give this message to the people of Judah:
Tell everyone in the city of Jerusalem:
‘Blow the trumpet all over the country.’
Shout out loud and say,
‘Come together!
Let us all escape to the strong cities for protection.’
6Raise the signal flag toward Zion.
Run for your lives! Don’t wait!
Do this because I am bringing disaster from the north.#4:6 north The Babylonian army came from this direction to attack Judah. Armies from countries north and east of Israel often came this way to attack Judah and Israel.
I am bringing terrible destruction.”
7A lion has come out of his cave.
A destroyer of nations has begun to march.
He has left his home to destroy your land.
Your towns will be destroyed.
There will be no one left to live in them.
8The Lord is angry with us,
so put on sackcloth and cry out loud!
9The Lord says, “When this happens,
the king and his officers will lose their courage.
The priests will be filled with fear,
and the prophets will be shocked.”
10Then I, Jeremiah, said, “Lord GOD, you have tricked the people of Judah and Jerusalem. You said to them, ‘You will have peace.’ But now the sword is pointing at their throats!”
11At that time this message will be given
to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“A hot wind blows from the bare hills.
It comes from the desert to my people.
It is not like the gentle wind that is used
to separate the grain from the chaff.
12It is a stronger wind than that,
and it comes from me.
Now I will announce my judgment
against the people of Judah.”
13Look! The enemy rises up like a cloud.
His chariots look like a windstorm.
His horses are faster than eagles.
It will be very bad for us!
We are ruined!
14People of Jerusalem,
wash the evil from your hearts.
Make your hearts pure so that you can be saved.
Don’t continue making evil plans.
15Listen! The voice of a messenger
from the land of Dan#4:15 land of Dan The people from the tribe of Dan lived near the border in the northern part of Israel. They would be the first to be attacked by an enemy from the north. is speaking.
Someone is bringing bad news
from the hill country of Ephraim#4:15 hill country of Ephraim This was the central part of the land that had been the northern kingdom of Israel.:
16“Report it to this nation.#4:16 “Report … nation The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
Spread the news to the people in Jerusalem.
Enemies are coming from a faraway country.
They are shouting words of war against the cities of Judah.
17The enemy has surrounded Jerusalem
like men guarding a field.
Judah, you turned against me,
so the enemy is coming against you.”
This message is from the Lord.
18“The way you lived and the things you did
brought this trouble to you.
It is your evil that made your life so hard.
Your evil life brought the pain that hurts deep in your heart.”
Jeremiah’s Cry
19My sadness and worry is making my stomach hurt.
I am bent over in pain.
I am so afraid.
My heart is pounding inside me.
I cannot keep quiet, because I have heard the trumpet blow.
The trumpet is calling the army to war.
20Disaster follows disaster.
The whole country is destroyed.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed.
My curtains are torn down!
21How long must I see the war flags?
How long must I hear the war trumpets?
22The Lord said, “My people are foolish.
They don’t 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.
It was empty; there was nothing on it.
I looked at the sky,
and its light was gone.#4:23 the earth … gone Jeremiah is comparing his country to the time before people were put on the earth. See Gen. 1:1.
24I looked at the mountains,
and they were shaking.
All the hills were trembling.
25I looked, but there were no people.
All the birds of the sky had flown away.
26I looked, and the good land had become a desert.
All the cities in that land were destroyed
by the Lord and his great anger.
27This is what the Lord says:
“The whole country will be ruined,
but I will not completely destroy the land.
28So the people in the land will cry for the dead.
The sky will grow dark.
I have spoken and will not change.
I have made a decision, and I will not change my mind.”
29The people of Judah will hear the sound
of the horse soldiers and the archers,
and the people will run away!
Some of them will hide in caves;#4:29 hide in caves This is from the ancient Greek version.
some will hide in the bushes;
some will climb up into the rocks.
All the cities of Judah will be empty.
No one will live in them.
30Judah, you have been destroyed.
So what are you doing now?
Why are you putting on your best red dress?
Why are you putting on your gold jewelry?
Why are you putting on your eye makeup?
You make yourself beautiful,
but it is a waste of time.
Your lovers hate you.
They are trying to kill you.
31I hear a cry like a woman in labor,
a scream like a woman giving birth to her first baby.
It is the cry of daughter Zion.#4:31 daughter Zion Another name for Jerusalem. See “Zion” in the Word List.
She is lifting her hands in prayer, saying,
“Oh! I am about to faint!
Murderers are all around me!”
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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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