Jeremias (Jeremiah) 6
6
1Strengthen yourselves, ye sons of Benjamin, in the midst of Jerusalem, and sound the trumpet in Thecua, and set up the standard over Bethacarem: for evil is seen out of the north, and a great destruction.
2I have likened the daughter of Sion to a beautiful and delicate woman.
3The shepherds shall come to her with their flocks: they have pitched their tents against her round about: every one shall feed them that are under his hand.
4Prepare ye war against her: arise, and let us go up at midday. Woe unto us, for the day is declined, for the shadows of the evening are grown longer.
5Arise, and let us go up in the night, and destroy her houses.
6For thus saith the Lord of hosts: Hew down her trees, cast up a trench about Jerusalem. This is the city to be visited all oppression is in the midst of her.
7As a cistern maketh its water cold, so hath she made her wickedness cold. Violence and spoil shall be heard in her: infirmity and stripes are continually before me.
8Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee, lest I make thee desolate, a land uninhabited.
9Thus saith the Lord of hosts: They shall gather the remains of Israel, as in a vine, even to one cluster: turn back thy hand, as a grape-gatherer into the basket.
10To whom shall I speak? And to whom shall I testify, that he may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised and they cannot hear, Behold, the word of the Lord is become unto them a reproach: and they will not receive it.
11Therefore am I full of the fury of the Lord, I am weary with holding in. Pour it out upon the child abroad and upon the council of the young men together: for man and woman shall be taken, the ancient and he that is full of days.
12And their houses shall be turned over to others, with their lands and their wives together: for I will stretch for my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord.
13For, from the least of them even to the greatest, all are given to covetousness: and from the prophet even to the priest, all are guilty of deceit.
14And they healed the breach of the daughter of my people disgracefully, saying: Peace, peace. And there was no peace.
15They were confounded, because they committed abomination: yea rather, they were not confounded with confusion and they knew not how to blush. Wherefore they shall fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall fall down, saith the Lord.
16Thus saith the Lord: Stand ye on the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, which is the good way, and walk ye in it: and you shall find refreshment for your souls. And they said: We will not walk.
17And I appointed watchmen over you, saying: Hearken ye to the sound of the trumpet. And they said: We will not hearken.
18Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what great things I will do to them.
19Hear, O earth: Behold, I will bring evils upon this people, the fruits of their own thoughts: because they have not heard my words and they have cast away my law.
20To what purpose do you bring me frankincense from Saba, and the sweet smelling cane from a far country? Your holocausts are not acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21Therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will bring destruction upon this people, by which fathers and sons together shall fall, neighbor and kinsman shall perish.
22Thus saith the Lord: Behold, a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great nation shall rise up from the ends of the earth.
23They shall lay hold on arrow and shield: they are cruel and will have no mercy. Their voice shall roar like the sea: and they shall mount upon horses, prepared as men for war, against thee, O daughter of Sion.
24We have heard the fame thereof, our hands grow feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, as a woman in labor.
25Go not out into the fields, nor walk in the highway: for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
26Gird thee with sackcloth, O daughter of my people, and sprinkle thee with ashes: make thee mourning as for an only son, a bitter lamentation, because the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us.
27I have set thee for a strong trier among my people: and thou shalt know, and prove their way.
28All of these princes go out of the way, they walk deceitfully, they are brass and iron, they are all corrupted.
29The bellows have failed, the lead is consumed in the fire, the founder hath melted in vain: for their wicked deeds are not consumed.
30Call them reprobate silver, for the Lord hath rejected them.
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Jeremias (Jeremiah) 6: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Jeremiah 6
6
A Warning for the People of Jerusalem
The Lord said:
1Run for your lives,
people of Benjamin.
Get out of Jerusalem.
Sound a trumpet in Tekoa
and light a signal fire
in Beth-Haccherem.
Soon you will be struck
by disaster from the north.
2Jerusalem is a lovely pasture,
3but shepherds will surround it
and divided up,
then let their flocks
eat all the grass.#6.2,3 Jerusalem … grass: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
4Kings will tell their troops,
“If we reach Jerusalem
in the morning,
we'll attack at noon.
But if we arrive later,
5we'll attack after dark
and destroy its fortresses.”
6I am the Lord All-Powerful,
and I will command these armies
to chop down trees
and build a ramp up to the walls
of Jerusalem.
People of Jerusalem,
I must punish you
for your injustice.
7Evil pours from your city
like water from a spring.
Sounds of injustice and violence
echo within your walls;
victims are everywhere,
wounded and dying.
8Listen to me,
you people of Jerusalem
and Judah.
I will abandon you,
and your land will become
an empty desert.
9I will tell your enemies
to leave your nation bare
like a vine stripped of grapes.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have spoken.
Jeremiah's Anger
10I have told the people
that you, Lord,
will punish them,
but they just laugh
and refuse to listen.
11Your anger against Judah
flames up inside me,
and I can't hold it in
much longer.
The Lord's Anger Will Sweep Everyone Away
The Lord answered:
Don't hold back my anger!
Let it sweep away everyone—
the children at play
and all adults,
young and old alike.
12 #
Jr 8.10-12. I'll punish the people of Judah
and give to others
their houses and fields,
as well as their wives.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
13Everyone is greedy and dishonest,
whether poor or rich.
Even the prophets and priests
cannot be trusted.
14 #
Ez 13.10. All they ever offer
to my deeply wounded people
are empty hopes for peace.
15They should be ashamed
of their disgusting sins,
but they don't even blush.
And so, when I punish Judah,
they will end up on the ground,
dead like everyone else.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The People of Judah Rejected God's Way of Life
16The Lord said:
My people, when you stood
at the crossroads,
I told you, “Follow the road
your ancestors took,
and you will find peace.”
But you refused.
17I also sent prophets
to warn you of danger,
but when they sounded the alarm,
you paid no attention.
18So I tell all nations on earth,
“Watch what I will do!
19My people ignored me
and rejected my laws.
They planned to do evil,
and now the evil they planned
will happen to them.”
20People of Judah,
you bring me incense from Sheba
and spices from distant lands.
You offer sacrifices of all kinds.
But why bother?
I hate these gifts of yours!
21So I will put stumbling blocks
in your path,
and everyone will die,
including parents and children,
neighbors and friends.
An Army from the North
22The Lord said,
“Look toward the north,
where a powerful nation
has prepared for war.
23Its well-armed troops are cruel
and never show mercy.
Their galloping horses sound
like ocean waves
pounding on the shore.
This army will attack you,
lovely Jerusalem.”
24Then the people said,
“Just hearing about them
makes us tremble with fear,
and we twist and turn in pain
like a woman giving birth.”
25The Lord said,
“Don't work in your fields
or walk along the roads.
It's too dangerous.
The enemy is well armed
26and attacks without warning.
So mourn, my people, as though
your only child had died.
Wear clothes made of sackcloth#6.26 sackcloth: See the note at 4.8.
and roll in the ash pile.”
The Lord's People Must Be Tested
The Lord said:
27Jeremiah, test my people
as though they were metal.
28And you'll find they are hard
like bronze and iron.
They are stubborn rebels,
always spreading lies.
* 29-30Silver can be purified
in a fiery furnace,
but my people are too wicked
to be made pure,
and so I have rejected them.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.