Jeremiah 4
4
1“If you return, O Israel,
declares the Lord,
#
Joel 2:12 to me you should return.
If you remove your detestable things from my presence,
# [1 Kgs. 14:15] and do not waver,
2 #
Deut. 6:13 and if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’
in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then #Isa. 65:16 nations shall bless themselves in him,
#
1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17 and in him shall they glory.”
3For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
#
Hos. 10:12 “Break up your fallow ground,
and #Matt. 13:7, 22; Mark 4:7, 18; Luke 8:7, 14sow not among thorns.
4 #
Deut. 10:16; [ch. 9:26; Rom. 2:28, 29] Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;
remove the foreskin of your hearts,
O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
# ch. 21:12 lest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
#
Deut. 28:20
because of the evil of your deeds.”
Disaster from the North
5Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
# [ch. 6:1; Hos. 5:8; Joel 2:1] “Blow the trumpet through the land;
cry aloud and say,
# ch. 8:14 ‘Assemble, and let us go
into the fortified cities!’
6 # [ch. 50:2; 51:12, 27] Raise a standard toward Zion,
flee for safety, stay not,
for I bring disaster from #See ch. 1:13 the north,
# [Isa. 1:28] and great destruction.
7 # ch. 2:15; 5:6; 49:19 A lion has gone up from his thicket,
a destroyer of nations has set out;
he has gone out from his place
to make your land a waste;
your cities will be ruins
# ch. 33:10; 34:22; 46:19; Isa. 5:9; 6:11 without inhabitant.
8For this #ch. 6:26; Isa. 22:12; 32:11 put on sackcloth,
lament and wail,
for #Num. 25:4; Ps. 78:49; See Isa. 13:9-13the fierce anger of the Lord
has not turned back from us.”
9“In that day, declares the Lord, #[Ps. 48:4, 5]courage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.” 10Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, #Ezek. 14:9; [1 Kgs. 22:22]surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life.”
11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from #See ch. 3:2the bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse, 12a wind too full for this comes for me. Now it is I who #ch. 1:16speak in judgment upon them.”
13Behold, he comes up like clouds;
#
Isa. 5:28 his chariots like the whirlwind;
his horses are #2 Sam. 1:23; Lam. 4:19 swifter than eagles—
woe to us, #ch. 9:19for we are ruined!
14O Jerusalem, #Ps. 51:2, 7; Isa. 1:16; James 4:8wash your heart from evil,
that you may be saved.
How long shall your wicked thoughts
lodge within you?
15For a voice #ch. 8:16 declares from Dan
and proclaims trouble from #See Josh. 24:33Mount Ephraim.
16Warn the nations that he is coming;
announce to Jerusalem,
“Besiegers come #ch. 5:15from a distant land;
they shout against the cities of Judah.
17Like keepers of a field #ch. 6:3; See 2 Kgs. 25:1-4are they against her all around,
because she has rebelled against me,
declares the Lord.
18Your ways and your deeds
have brought this upon you.
This is your doom, and #ch. 2:19it is bitter;
it has reached your very heart.”
Anguish over Judah’s Desolation
19 #
Isa. 16:11; Hab. 3:16; [ch. 9:1; Isa. 22:4] My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!
Oh the walls of my heart!
My heart is beating wildly;
I cannot keep silent,
for I hear the sound of the trumpet,
the alarm of war.
20 #
Ezek. 7:26 Crash follows hard on crash;
the whole land is laid waste.
# ch. 10:20; 49:29 Suddenly my tents are laid waste,
my curtains in a moment.
21How long must I see the standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22“For #Ps. 82:5; Isa. 1:3 my people are foolish;
they know me not;
they are stupid children;
they have no understanding.
#
Ps. 36:3; Isa. 1:16, 17; Rom. 16:19 They are ‘wise’—in doing evil!
But how to do good they know not.”
23I looked on the earth, and behold, it was #Gen. 1:2 without form and void;
#
Isa. 5:30
and to the heavens, and they had no light.
24I looked on #Nah. 1:5the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.
25 # [Zeph. 1:3] I looked, and behold, there was no man,
and all the birds of the air had fled.
26I looked, and behold, the #Ps. 107:34 fruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before #See ver. 8his fierce anger.
27For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation; #ch. 5:10, 18; 30:11; 46:28; Neh. 9:31; Ezek. 11:13yet I will not make a full end.
28 # ch. 12:4; Hos. 4:3 “For this the earth shall mourn,
#
Isa. 50:3 and the heavens above be dark;
for I have spoken; I have purposed;
# [Num. 23:19] I have not relented, nor will I turn back.”
29At the noise of horseman and archer
every city takes to flight;
they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;
all the cities are forsaken,
and #See ver. 7no man dwells in them.
30And you, O desolate one,
what do you mean that you dress in scarlet,
# [Isa. 61:10] that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
# [2 Kgs. 9:30] that you enlarge your eyes with paint?
In vain you beautify yourself.
#
Lam. 1:2, 19; Ezek. 23:22 Your lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
31For I heard #ch. 6:24; See Isa. 13:8 a cry as of a woman in labor,
anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
#
Isa. 1:15; Lam. 1:17 stretching out her hands,
“Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.”
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Jeremiah 4
4
1 "O Israel, if you would return, says the Lord, then be converted to me. If you remove your offense from before my face, then you will not be shaken.
2 And you will swear, 'As the Lord lives,' in truth and in judgment and in justice." And the Gentiles will bless him, and they will praise him.
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and of Jerusalem: "Break new ground, and do not choose to sow upon thorns.
4 Be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins from your hearts, O men of Judah, O inhabitants of Jerusalem. Otherwise my indignation may burst forth and flare up like a fire. And then there will be no one who can extinguish it, because of the wickedness of your thoughts.
5 Declare it in Judah, and make it known in Jerusalem! Speak out and sound the trumpet in the land! Cry out strongly and say: 'Gather yourselves! And let us go forth to fortified cities!'
6 Lift up a standard in Zion. Be strengthened! Do not choose to stand still. For I am bringing an evil from the north, with great destruction.
7 The lion has ascended from his den, and the pillager of the nations has lifted himself up. He has gone forth from his place, so that he may set your land in desolation. Your cities will be laid waste, remaining without an inhabitant.
8 Concerning this, wrap yourselves in haircloth, mourn and wail: 'For the wrath of the fury of the Lord has not been turned away from us.'
9 And this shall be in that day, says the Lord: The heart of the king will perish, with the heart of the princes. And the priests will be stupefied, and the prophets will be in consternation."
10 And I said: "Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God! Could it be that you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: 'Peace shall be yours,' while, behold, the sword reaches even to the soul?"
11 "In that time, it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: 'A burning wind is in the ways that are in the desert, along the way of the daughter of my people, but not to winnow and not to cleanse.'
12 A full spirit from these places will come to me. And now I will speak my judgments over them.
13 Behold, he will ascend like a cloud, and his chariot will ascend like a tempest. His horses are swifter than eagles. 'Woe to us! For we are being devastated!'
14 Wash your heart from malice, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will harmful thoughts abide in you?
15 For there is a voice, of someone announcing from Dan, and he is making known the idol from mount Ephraim.
16 Say to the nations: 'Behold, it has been heard in Jerusalem! Guardians are coming from a far away land, to utter their voice against the cities of Judah.'
17 They have been stationed over her, like the guardians of fields, all around. For she has provoked me to wrath, says the Lord.
18 Your ways and your thoughts have brought these things upon you. This is your own wickedness. And it is bitter, because it has touched your heart.
19 I am afflicted in my heart, in my heart. The senses of my heart have been stirred up within me. I will not remain silent. For my soul has heard the voice of the trumpet, the clamor of the battle.
20 Destruction upon destruction has been called forth. And the entire earth has been devastated. My tabernacles have been destroyed suddenly, and my tents in an instant.
21 How long shall I watch those who are fleeing, and listen to the voice of the trumpet?
22 For my foolish people have not known me. They are foolish and mad sons. They are clever in doing evil, but they do not know how to do good.
23 I gazed upon the earth, and behold, it was empty and brought to nothing. And I gazed upon the heavens, but there was no light in them.
24 I watched the mountains, and behold, they trembled, and all the hills were shaken.
25 I looked, and there was no man. And all the flying things of the air had gone away.
26 I gazed, and behold, Carmel was a desert, and all its cities were destroyed before the face of the Lord, and before the face of the wrath of his fury."
27 For thus says the Lord: "All the earth will be desolate, but I will not yet bring about its consummation.
28 The earth will mourn, and the heavens will lament from above. For I have spoken, I have decided, and I have not regretted. Neither will I be turned away from it.
29 Before the voice of the horsemen and of those who send forth arrows, the entire city has fled. They have entered steep places, and they have ascended the cliffs. All of the cities have been abandoned, and no man lives within them.
30 So then, when you have been devastated, what will you do? Though you will clothe yourself with scarlet, though you will adorn yourself with a gold necklace and tint your eyes with cosmetics, you will be dressing yourself up in vain. Your lovers have spurned you; they will be seeking your life.
31 For I have heard a voice, like that of a woman giving birth, during the difficulties of labor. It is the voice of the daughter of Zion, dying, extending her hands: 'Woe to me! For my soul is failing because of those who have been slain!' "
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