Jeremiah 6
6
Threatened Siege of Jerusalem
1“Run for cover, # Ex 9:19; Is 10:31; Jr 4:6 Benjaminites,
out of Jerusalem!
Sound the ram’s horn # Jr 4:5; 51:27; Am 3:6 in Tekoa; # 2Sm 14:2; 2Ch 11:6; 20:20
raise a smoke signal # Jdg 20:38,40; Neh 3:14 over Beth-haccherem, # = House of the Vineyard
for disaster threatens from the north, # Jr 1:13; 4:6,20; 6:22; 15:12; 47:2; 50:3,9,41; 51:48
even great destruction.
2Though she is beautiful and delicate,
I will destroy # Or silence Daughter Zion.
3Shepherds and their flocks will come against her;
they will pitch their tents all around her. # Jr 4:17
Each will pasture his own portion.
4Set them apart for war # Jr 51:27; Mc 3:5 against her;
rise up, let’s attack at noon.
Woe to us, for the day is passing;
the evening shadows grow long.
5Rise up, let’s attack by night.
Let us destroy her fortresses.”
6For this is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Cut down the trees; # Dt 20:19-20
raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished.
There is nothing but oppression within her. # Is 30:12; 59:9-15; Jr 22:17; Ezk 22:7,12,29; Am 3:9; Hab 1:3
7As a well gushes out its water,
so she pours out her evil. # Or well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps her evil fresh
Violence and destruction # Jr 20:8; Am 3:10; Hab 1:3 resound in her.
Sickness and wounds keep coming to My attention.
8Be warned, Jerusalem,
or I will turn away from you; # Ezk 23:18; Hs 9:12
I will make you a desolation,
a land without inhabitants. # Jr 9:11; 25:9; 29:18; 34:22; Ezk 30:12
Wrath on Israel
9This is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Glean the remnant of Israel # Is 10:20; Jr 31:7; Ezk 9:8; 11:13; Mc 2:12; Zph 3:13
as thoroughly as a vine.
Pass your hand once more like a grape gatherer
over the branches.
10Who can I speak to and give such a warning # Or and bear witness
that they will listen?
Look, their ear is uncircumcised, # They are unresponsive to God. # Lv 26:41; Jr 9:26; Ezk 44:7,9
so they cannot pay attention.
See, the word of the Lord has become contemptible to them —
they find no pleasure in it. # 1Sm 15:23; Jr 8:9
11But I am full of the Lord’s wrath;
I am tired of holding it back. # Jr 20:9; Hs 5:10
Pour it out on the children in the street, # Jr 9:21
on the gang of young men as well.
For both husband and wife will be captured,
the old with the very old. # Lit with fullness of days
12Their houses will be turned over to others, # Jr 8:10-12
their fields and wives as well,
for I will stretch out My hand # Ex 3:20; Jr 15:6; Ezk 6:14; 14:13; 25:7; Zph 1:4
against the inhabitants of the land.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
13For from the least to the greatest of them, # Est 1:20; Jr 8:10; 31:34; 42:1,8; 44:12
everyone is making profit dishonestly. # Pr 1:19; 15:27; Hab 2:9
From prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely. # Jr 5:31; 8:10; 14:14; 20:6; 23:14,25,26,32; 27:10,14-16; 28:15; 29:9,21,31; Lm 2:14; Zch 13:3
14They have treated My people’s brokenness superficially,
claiming, “Peace, peace,” # 1Ch 12:18; Is 57:19
when there is no peace.
15Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently?
They weren’t at all ashamed.
They can no longer feel humiliation. # Jr 3:3; 8:12
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.
When I punish them, they will collapse, # Jr 8:10-12
says the Lord.
Disaster because of Disobedience
16This is what the Lord says:
Stand by the roadways and look.
Ask about the ancient paths: # Is 59:8; Jr 18:15; Jb 24:13; Pr 8:20; 12:28
Which is the way to what is good?
Then take it
and find rest for yourselves. # Mt 11:29
But they protested, “We won’t!”
17I appointed watchmen over you # Is 21:11; 58:1; Hs 9:8
and said: Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.
But they protested, “We won’t listen!”
18Therefore listen, you nations
and you witnesses,
learn what the charge is against them.
19Listen, earth!
I am about to bring disaster on these people,
the fruit of their own plotting, # Pr 1:31
for they have paid no attention to My word.
They have rejected My instruction. # Is 5:24; Jr 23:17
20What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba # 1Kg 10:1; Is 60:6
or sweet cane # Ex 30:23; Is 43:24; Ezk 27:19 from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
your sacrifices do not please Me. # Ps 40:6; Is 1:11; 43:23; 66:3; Hs 9:4; Am 5:21; Mc 6:6; Mal 1:10
21Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
I am going to place stumbling blocks before these people;
fathers and sons together will stumble over them; # Is 8:15; Jr 31:9; Ezk 7:19
friends and neighbors will also perish.
A Cruel Nation from the North
22This is what the Lord says:
Look, an army is coming from a northern land; # Is 13:4; Jr 1:13; 6:1; 38:3; Lm 1:15; Ezk 38:15; Jl 2:25
a great nation will be awakened
from the remote regions of the earth. # Jr 25:32; 31:8
23They grasp bow and javelin.
They are cruel and show no mercy. # Is 13:18; Jr 50:42; Hab 1:6-17
Their voice roars like the sea, # Is 5:30; 17:12
and they ride on horses,
lined up like men in battle formation
against you, Daughter Zion.
24We have heard about it,
and we are discouraged. # Lit and our hands fail
Distress has seized us —
pain like a woman in # Ps 48:6; Is 13:8; 21:3; 42:14; Jr 4:31; 13:21; 22:23; 30:6; 50:43; Mc 4:9-10; 1Th 5:3 labor. # Jr 50:41-43
25Don’t go out to the fields;
don’t walk on the road.
For the enemy has a sword;
terror is on every side. # Ps 31:13; Jr 20:3,10; 49:29
26My dear # Lit Daughter of My people, dress yourselves in sackcloth
and roll in the dust. # Jr 25:34; Ezk 27:30; Mc 1:10
Mourn as you would for an only son, # Am 8:10
a bitter lament,
for suddenly the destroyer # Ex 12:23; Is 21:2; 54:16; Jr 48:8,15,18,32; 1Co 10:10; Heb 11:28 will come on us. # Is 47:11; Jr 4:20; 15:8
Jeremiah Appointed as an Examiner
27I have appointed you to be an assayer among My people —
a refiner # Text emended; MT reads fortress —
so you may know and assay their way of life. # 1Ch 29:17; Ps 7:9; Pr 17:3
28All are stubborn rebels
spreading slander. # Lv 19:16; Pr 11:13; 20:19; Is 1:23
They are bronze and iron;
all of them are corrupt. # 2Ch 27:2; Is 1:4
29The bellows blow,
blasting the lead with fire.
The refining is completely in vain;
the evil ones are not separated out.
30They are called rejected silver,
for the Lord has rejected them. # 1Sm 15:23,26; Jr 2:37; 7:29
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Jeremiah 6: HCSB
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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.