Jeremiah 4
4
1The Lord declares,
“If you come back, Israel,
if you come back to me,
if you take your disgusting idols out of my sight
and you don’t wander away from me,
2if you take the oath, ‘As the Lord lives …’
in an honest, fair, and right way,
then the nations will be blessed,
and they will be honored by me.”
The LORD Will Bring Destruction on Judah from the North
3This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:
Plow your unplowed fields,
and don’t plant among thorns.
4Be circumcised by the Lord,
and get rid of the foreskins of your hearts,
people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.
If you don’t, my fury will flare up like a fire.
It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out,
because of the evil you do.
5Report this message in Judah.
Make it heard in Jerusalem.
Say, “Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land.”
Shout loudly and say, “Gather together!
Let’s go into the fortified cities.”
6Raise the flag to signal people to go to Zion.
Take cover!
Don’t just stand there!
I’m bringing disaster and widespread destruction from the north.
7A lion has come out of its lair.
A destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his place to destroy your land.
Your cities will be ruined, and no one will live in them.
8So put on sackcloth, mourn, and cry
because the Lord’s burning anger hasn’t turned away from us.
9“When that day comes,” declares the Lord,
“the king and the leaders will lose their courage.
The priests will be stunned.
The prophets will be amazed and astonished.”
10I said, “Almighty Lord,
you certainly have deceived these people and Jerusalem.
You said that everything would go well for them,
but a sword is held at their throats.”
11At that time it will be said to these people and to Jerusalem:
“A hot wind from the heights will blow in the desert
on the tracks of my people.
It will not be a wind that winnows #4:11 Winnowing is the process of separating husks from grain. or cleanses.
12It will be a stronger wind than that.
It will come from me.
Now, I will pass sentence on them.”
13The enemy comes up like clouds.
His chariots are like a raging wind.
His horses are faster than eagles.
How horrible it will be for us! We will be destroyed!
14Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart
so that you may be rescued.
Don’t continue making evil plans.
15A message is heard from Dan,
and a report of disaster comes from the mountains of Ephraim.
16Warn the nations about these things.
Bring them to the attention of Jerusalem.
“Hostile troops are coming from a distant country.
They are shouting battle cries against the cities of Judah.
17They surround them like men guarding a field,
because Judah has rebelled against me,”
declares the Lord.
18“You brought this on yourself.
This is your punishment.
It is bitter.
It breaks your heart.”
19My anguish, my anguish!
I writhe in pain.
My heart is beating wildly!
My heart is pounding!
I can’t keep quiet
because I hear a ram’s horn sounding the alarm for war.
20One disaster follows another.
The whole land is ruined.
My tents are suddenly destroyed.
Their curtains are torn in an instant.
21How long must I see the battle flag and hear the sound of rams’ horns?
22“My people are fools. They don’t know me.
They are stupid people. They don’t understand.
They are experts in doing wrong,
and they don’t know how to do good.”
23I see the earth. It’s formless and empty.
I see the sky. Its lights are gone.
24I see the mountains. They are shaking,
and the hills are swaying.
25I see that there are no people,
and every bird has flown away.
26I see that the fertile land has become a desert,
and all its cities are torn down
because of the Lord and his burning anger.
27This is what the Lord says:
The whole earth will be ruined,
although I will not destroy it completely.
28The earth will mourn, and the sky will grow black.
I have spoken, and I have planned it.
I won’t change my plans, and I won’t turn back.
29All the people in the city will flee
at the sound of riders and archers.
They will go off into the thickets
and climb among the rocks.
The entire city will be abandoned, and no one will live in it.
30You are going to be destroyed!
What are you going to do?
Why do you dress in red and put on gold jewelry?
Why do you wear eye shadow?
You are making yourself beautiful for nothing.
Your lovers reject you; they want to kill you.
31I hear a woman in labor.
I hear the woman cry with anguish as she gives birth to her first child.
My people Zion are gasping for breath.
They are stretching out their hands, saying,
“How horrible it is for us!
We’re defenseless in the presence of murderers!”
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Jeremiah 4: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
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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