Jeremiah 6
6
The Lord’s Rejection of Judah
1“Take cover, people of Benjamin!
Run away from Jerusalem!
Blow the ram’s horn in Tekoa.
Raise the flag over Beth Hakkerem,
because disaster and widespread destruction
are coming from the north.
2“My people Zion are like lovely pastures.
3With their flocks, shepherds will come to them,
pitch their tents all around them,
and each of them will tend his own flock.
4 ⌞The shepherds say,⌟ ‘Prepare yourselves for war against Zion.
Let’s attack at noon!
How horrible it will be for us. The day is passing,
and the shadows of evening are growing longer.
5Let’s attack at night and destroy its palaces.’ ”
6This is what the Lord of Armies says:
Cut down its trees.
Build up dirt mounds to attack Jerusalem.
This city must be punished.
There is nothing but oppression in it.
7As a well keeps its water fresh,
so Jerusalem keeps its evil fresh.
Violence and destruction can be heard in it.
I see that it is sick and wounded.
8Pay attention to my warning, Jerusalem,
or I will turn away from you.
I will make your land desolate,
a land where no one will live.
9This is what the Lord of Armies says:
Thoroughly pick through the faithful few of Israel
like someone picks through a grapevine.
Like someone picking grapes, pass your hand over its branches again.
10Whom can I speak to?
Whom can I give a warning to?
Who will listen?
Their ears are plugged,
and they aren’t able to pay attention.
When the Lord speaks his word to them,
they show contempt for it and object to it.
11I am filled with the anger of the Lord.
I am tired of holding it in.
“Pour it out on the children in the street
and on the gangs of young men.
A man and his wife will be taken away
as well as very old people.
12Their households, their fields, and their wives
will be turned over to others.
I will use my power against those who live in the land,”
declares the Lord.
13“All of them, from the least important to the most important,
are eager to make money dishonestly.
All of them, from prophets to priests, act deceitfully.
14They treat my people’s wounds as though they were not serious, saying,
‘Everything is alright! Everything is alright!’
But it’s not alright.
15Are they ashamed when they do disgusting things?
No, they’re not ashamed.
They don’t even know how to blush.
So they will die with those who die.
They will be brought down when I punish them,” says the Lord.
16This is what the Lord says:
Stand at the crossroads and look.
Ask which paths are the old, reliable paths.
Ask which way leads to blessings.
Live that way, and find a resting place for yourselves.
But you said that you wouldn’t live that way.
17I posted watchmen over you.
Pay attention to the sound of the ram’s horn.
But you said that you wouldn’t pay attention.
18Listen, you nations,
and learn, you witnesses, what will happen to them.
19Listen, earth!
I’m going to bring disaster on these people.
It is the result of their own plots,
because they won’t pay attention to my words.
They reject my teachings.
20Incense that comes from Sheba is no good to me.
Sugar cane that comes from a distant land is no good to me.
I won’t accept your burnt offerings.
I’m not pleased with your sacrifices.
21This is what the Lord says:
I’m going to lay stumbling blocks in front of these people.
Parents and children will stumble over them.
Neighbors and their friends will die.
22This is what the Lord says:
An army is going to come from the north.
A great nation is preparing itself in the distant parts of the earth.
23Its people take hold of bows and spears.
They are cruel and have no compassion.
They sound like the roaring sea.
They ride on horses.
They march like soldiers ready for battle
against my people Zion.
24We have heard the news about them.
Our hands hang limp.
We are gripped by anguish and pain
like a woman giving birth to a child.
25Don’t go into the field or walk on the road.
The enemy has a sword.
Terror is all around.
26Wear sackcloth, and roll around in ashes, my people.
Mourn as if you have lost your only child, and cry bitterly.
The destroyer will suddenly attack us.
27“Jeremiah, I have put you in charge of testing and refining my people.
You will know how to test their ways.
28They are all vicious rebels.
They go around slandering.
They are all like bronze and iron.
They corrupt themselves.
29The bellows of the blast furnace blow fiercely
to make the fire melt away the lead.
It is useless to go on refining
because the impurities can’t be removed.
30 ⌞People⌟ will call them useless silver
because the Lord has rejected them.”
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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 6
6
Destruction of Jerusalem Impending
1“Run for safety, you children of Benjamin,
Out of the midst of Jerusalem!
And blow a trumpet in Tekoa [in Judah]
And raise a signal-fire in Beth-haccherem [near Jerusalem];
For evil is looking down [with eager anticipation] from the north,
And great destruction.
2I will destroy the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem), the lovely and delicate one [so like a luxurious pasture].
3Shepherds with their flocks will come against her;
They will pitch their tents all around her;
They will pasture, each one in his place [eating up all her rich grasses].
4[They shout], ‘Prepare for war against her;
Arise, let us [take her by surprise and] attack her at noon.
But alas, the daylight pales,
The evening shadows grow long.
5Arise, let us [awaken to] attack her at night
And destroy her [fortified] palaces!’ ”
6For the Lord of hosts has said,
“Cut down her trees
And build a siege [mound] against Jerusalem.
This is the city which must be punished;
There is nothing but oppression inside her [walls].
7As a fountain springs up and pours out its fresh waters,
So she [continually] pours out her fresh wickedness.
Violence and destruction are heard inside her [walls];
Sickness and wounds are always before Me.
8Be wise and be warned, O Jerusalem,
Or I will be alienated from you,
And make you a desolation,
An uninhabited land.”
9Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“They will thoroughly gather like [fruit on] a vine what is left of Israel;
Pass your hand [over the vine] again and again [Babylon, tool of destruction] like a grape gatherer,
Over the branches [stripping the tendrils off the vine].”
10To whom shall I (Jeremiah) speak and give warning
That they may hear?
Behold, their ears are #Lit uncircumcised.closed [absolutely deaf to God]
And they cannot listen.
Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reprimand and an object of scorn to them;
They have no delight in it.
11But I am full of the wrath (judgment) of the Lord;
I am tired of restraining it.
“[I will] pour it out on the children in the street
And on the young men gathered together;
For both the husband and wife shall be taken,
The aged and the very old [though full of days they are not exempt from judgment].
12Their houses shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together;
For I will stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord.
13“For from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is greedy for [unfair] gain;
And from the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals deceitfully.
14They have treated superficially the [bloody] broken wound of My people,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
When there is no peace.
15Were they ashamed because they had committed disgusting and vile things?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
They did not even know how to blush [at their idolatry].
Therefore they will fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them
They will be overthrown,” says the Lord.
16Thus says the Lord,
“Stand by the roads and look; ask for the ancient paths,
Where the good way is; then walk in it,
And you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’
17I have set watchmen (prophets) over you,
Saying, ‘Listen and pay attention to the [warning] sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
18Therefore hear, O [Gentile] nations,
And see, O congregation, what [vengeful act] is to be done to them.
19Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
The fruit of their schemes,
Because they have not listened and paid attention to My words,
And as for My law, they have rejected it also.
20For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from #Located in southwestern Arabia, Sheba was ruled by the priest-kings of the Sabeans whose primary deity was Attar, a god of procreation. The ruins of the capital city of Mariaba attest to the splendor of the ancient kingdom. The Queen of Sheba visited Solomon the king of Israel in about 950 b.c. The purpose of her 1,200 mile journey was most likely to establish a fair trade agreement. Incense was among the most desirable and valuable exports of Sheba.Sheba
And the sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable
And your sacrifices are not sweet and pleasing to Me.”
21Therefore, thus says the Lord,
“Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people.
The fathers and the sons together
Will stumble against them;
The neighbor and his friend will perish.”
The Enemy from the North
22Thus says the Lord,
“Behold, a people is coming from the north country,
And a great nation shall be stirred up and put into action from the remote parts of the earth.
23They seize bow and spear;
They are cruel and inhuman and have no mercy.
Their voice sounds like the roaring sea;
They ride [in formation] on horses,
Arrayed as a man for battle
Against you, O Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem)!”
24We have heard the report of it;
Our hands become limp and helpless.
Anguish has gripped us,
Pain like that of a woman in childbirth.
25Do not go out into the field
Nor walk on the road,
For the enemy is armed with the sword;
Terror is on every side.
26O daughter of my people [says Jeremiah],
Clothe yourself in sackcloth and wallow in ashes;
Mourn [aloud] as for an only son,
A most bitter cry [of sorrow and regret],
For suddenly the destroyer will come upon us [on both prophet and people].
27“I [the Lord] have set you as an assayer [O Jeremiah] and as a tester [of the ore] of My people,
That you may know and analyze their acts.”
28They are all the worst [kind] of [stiff-necked, godless] rebels,
Going around spreading slander.
They are [not gold and silver ore, but] bronze and iron;
They are all corrupt.
29The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain they continue refining,
But the wicked are not separated and removed.
30They call them rejected silver [only dross, without value],
Because the Lord has rejected them.
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