Jeremiah 4
4
1-2“If you want to come back, O Israel,
you must really come back to me.
You must get rid of your stinking sin paraphernalia
and not wander away from me anymore.
Then you can say words like, ‘As God lives . . . ’
and have them mean something true and just and right.
And the godless nations will get caught up in the blessing
and find something in Israel to write home about.”
* * *
3-4Here’s another Message from God
to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Plow your unplowed fields,
but then don’t plant weeds in the soil!
Yes, circumcise your lives for God’s sake.
Plow your unplowed hearts,
all you people of Judah and Jerusalem.
Prevent fire—the fire of my anger—
for once it starts it can’t be put out.
Your wicked ways
are fuel for the fire.
God’s Sledgehammer Anger
5-8“Sound the alarm in Judah,
broadcast the news in Jerusalem.
Say, ‘Blow the ram’s horn trumpet through the land!’
Shout out—a bullhorn bellow!—
‘Close ranks!
Run for your lives to the shelters!’
Send up a flare warning Zion:
‘Not a minute to lose! Don’t sit on your hands!’
Disaster’s descending from the north. I set it off!
When it lands, it will shake the foundations.
Invaders have pounced like a lion from its cover,
ready to rip nations to shreds,
Leaving your land in wrack and ruin,
your cities in rubble, abandoned.
Dress in funereal black.
Weep and wail,
For God’s sledgehammer anger
has slammed into us head-on.
9“When this happens”
—God’s Decree—
“King and princes will lose heart;
priests will be baffled and prophets stand dumbfounded.”
10Then I said, “Alas, Master God!
You’ve fed lies to this people, this Jerusalem.
You assured them, ‘All is well, don’t worry,’
at the very moment when the sword was at their throats.”
* * *
11-12At that time, this people, yes, this very Jerusalem,
will be told in plain words:
“The northern hordes are sweeping in
from the desert steppes—
A wind that’s up to no good, a gale-force wind.
I ordered this wind.
I’m pronouncing
my hurricane judgment on my people.”
Your Evil Life Is Piercing Your Heart
13-14Look at them! Like banks of storm clouds,
racing, tumbling, their chariots a tornado,
Their horses faster than eagles!
Woe to us! We’re done for!
Jerusalem! Scrub the evil from your lives
so you’ll be fit for salvation.
How much longer will you harbor
devious and malignant designs within you?
15-17What’s this? A messenger from Dan?
Bad news from Ephraim’s hills!
Make the report public.
Broadcast the news to Jerusalem:
“Invaders from far off are
raising war cries against Judah’s towns.
They’re all over her, like a dog on a bone.
And why? Because she rebelled against me.”
God’s Decree.
18“It’s the way you’ve lived
that’s brought all this on you.
The bitter taste is from your evil life.
That’s what’s piercing your heart.”
* * *
19-21I’m doubled up with cramps in my belly—
a poker burns in my gut.
My insides are tearing me up,
never a moment’s peace.
The ram’s horn trumpet blast rings in my ears,
the signal for all-out war.
Disaster hard on the heels of disaster,
the whole country in ruins!
In one stroke my home is destroyed,
the walls flattened in the blink of an eye.
How long do I have to look at the warning flares,
listen to the siren of danger?
Experts at Evil
22“What fools my people are!
They have no idea who I am.
A company of half-wits,
dopes and donkeys all!
Experts at evil
but klutzes at good.”
23-26I looked at the earth—
it was back to pre-Genesis chaos and emptiness.
I looked at the skies,
and not a star to be seen.
I looked at the mountains—
they were trembling like aspen leaves,
And all the hills
rocking back and forth in the wind.
I looked—what’s this! Not a man or woman in sight,
and not a bird to be seen in the skies.
I looked—this can’t be! Every garden and orchard shriveled up.
All the towns were ghost towns.
And all this because of God,
because of the blazing anger of God.
27-28Yes, this is God’s Word on the matter:
“The whole country will be laid waste—
still it won’t be the end of the world.
The earth will mourn
and the skies lament
Because I’ve given my word and won’t take it back.
I’ve decided and won’t change my mind.”
You’re Not Going to Seduce Anyone
29Someone shouts, “Horsemen and archers!”
and everybody runs for cover.
They hide in ditches,
they climb into caves.
The cities are emptied,
not a person left anywhere.
30-31And you, what do you think you’re up to?
Dressing up in party clothes,
Decking yourselves out in jewelry,
putting on lipstick and rouge and mascara!
Your primping goes for nothing.
You’re not going to seduce anyone. They’re out to kill you!
And what’s that I hear? The cry of a woman in labor,
the screams of a mother giving birth to her firstborn.
It’s the cry of Daughter Zion, gasping for breath,
reaching out for help:
“Help, oh help me! I’m dying!
The killers are on me!”
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Jeremiah 4: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Jeremiah 4
4
Blessing or Curse
1If you return, # Or Repent Israel —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
you will return to Me, # Zch 1:3
if you remove your detestable idols # Jr 7:30; 16:18; 32:34
from My presence
and do not waver,
2then you can swear, “As the Lord lives,” # Dt 6:13; 10:20; Jr 5:2
in truth, # Is 65:16 in justice, and in righteousness, # Hs 2:19
then the nations will be blessed # Or will bless themselves by Him # Gn 26:3-4
and will pride themselves in Him. # Gn 12:1-3; 18:18; 22:18; 1Co 1:31
3For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
Break up the unplowed ground; # Hs 10:12
do not sow among the thorns. # Mt 13:7
4Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;
remove the foreskin of your hearts, # Gn 17:14; Dt 10:16; Jr 9:25; Rm 2:28-29
men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.
Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire
and burn with no one to extinguish it # Is 1:31; Jr 21:12; Am 5:6; Mal 4:1
because of your evil deeds.
Judgment from the North
5Declare in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:
Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land. # Jr 6:1; Hs 5:8; Jl 2:1; 1Th 4:16-17
Cry out loudly and say:
Assemble yourselves,
and let’s flee to the fortified cities.
6Lift up a signal flag toward Zion. # Is 62:10
Run for cover! Don’t stand still!
For I am bringing disaster from the north —
a great destruction. # Is 14:31; 41:25; Jr 1:13; 4:20; 6:1; 15:12; 47:2; 50:3,9,41; 51:48; Ezk 26:7
7A lion has gone up from his thicket; # Ps 10:9; 17:12; Is 5:29; Jr 2:15; 5:6; 25:38; 49:19; 50:17,44
a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his lair
to make your land a waste.
Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins. # Is 1:7; 6:11
8Because of this, put on sackcloth;
mourn and wail, # Jl 1:13
for the Lord’s burning anger # Nm 25:4; Ps 78:49
has not turned away from us.
9“On that day” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “the king and the officials will lose their courage. The priests will tremble in fear, and the prophets will be scared speechless.”
10I said, “Oh no, Lord God, You have certainly deceived # 1Kg 22:22; Ezk 14:9; 2Th 2:11 this people and Jerusalem, by announcing, ‘You will have peace,’ # Jr 6:14; 23:17 while a sword is at # Lit sword touches our throats.”
11“At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, ‘A searing wind # Ezk 17:10 blows from the barren heights in the wilderness on the way to My dear # Lit to the daughter of My people. It comes not to winnow or to sift; 12a wind too strong for this comes at My call. # Lit comes for Me Now I will also pronounce judgments against them.’ ” # Jr 1:16; Ezk 5:8
13Look, he advances like clouds; # Rv 1:7
his chariots are like a storm. # Is 5:28; 66:15
His horses are swifter than eagles. # 2Sm 1:23; Jb 9:26; Lm 4:19
Woe to us, for we are ruined! # Lm 5:16
14Wash the evil from your heart, # Ps 51:2,7; Is 1:16; Jr 2:22; Ti 3:5; Jms 4:8 Jerusalem,
so that you will be delivered.
How long will you harbor
malicious thoughts within you? # Ps 119:113
15For a voice announces from Dan,
proclaiming malice from Mount Ephraim.
16Warn the nations: Look!
Proclaim to Jerusalem:
Those who besiege are coming
from a distant land; # Is 39:3
they raise their voices
against the cities of Judah.
17They have her surrounded # 2Kg 25:1-4
like those who guard a field,
because she has rebelled against Me. # Is 1:20
This is the Lord’s declaration.
18Your way of life and your actions
have brought this on you. # Ps 107:17; Pr 1:31; Jr 7:3,5; 17:10; 18:11; 23:22; 25:5; 26:3,13; 32:19; Hs 4:9; 12:2; Zch 1:4,6
This is your punishment. It is very bitter,
because it has reached your heart!
Jeremiah’s Lament
19My anguish, my anguish! # Lit My inner parts, my inner parts I writhe in agony!
Oh, the pain in # Lit the walls of my heart! # Is 16:11; Hab 3:16; Rm 9:1-2
My heart pounds;
I cannot be silent.
For you, my soul,
have heard the sound of the ram’s horn —
the shout of battle.
20Disaster after disaster # Ezk 7:26 is reported
because the whole land is destroyed.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed,
my tent curtains, in a moment.
21How long must I see the signal flag
and hear the sound of the ram’s horn?
22“For My people are fools;
they do not know Me.
They are foolish children,
without understanding. # Ps 82:5; Is 1:3
They are skilled in doing what is evil,
but they do not know how to do what is good.” # Rm 16:19
23I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty. # Gn 1:2; Jb 26:7; Is 45:18
I looked to the heavens,
and their light was gone. # Is 5:30; 13:10
24I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking; # Jdg 5:5; Ps 46:1-3
all the hills shook.
25I looked, and no man was left; # Gn 2:5
all the birds of the sky had fled. # Zph 1:3
26I looked, and the fertile field # Jr 2:7 was a wilderness. # Ps 107:34
All its cities were torn down
because of the Lord
and His burning anger. # Ps 76:7
27For this is what the Lord says:
The whole land will be a desolation, # Is 6:11
but I will not finish it off. # Neh 9:31; Jr 5:10,18; Rm 11:1-7
28Because of this, the earth will mourn; # Jr 8:13; 14:2; Hs 4:3
the skies above will grow dark. # Ps 105:28; Is 13:10; 50:3; Ezk 30:18
I have spoken; I have planned,
and I will not relent or turn back from it. # Nm 23:19; Is 46:11; 48:15; Ezk 37:14
29Every city flees # 2Kg 25:4
at the sound of the horseman and the archer.
They enter the thickets
and climb among the rocks. # Is 2:19-21
Every city is abandoned;
no inhabitant is left.
30And you, devastated one, what are you doing # Is 10:3
that you dress yourself in scarlet,
that you adorn yourself with gold jewelry,
that you enlarge your eyes with paint? # 2Kg 9:30
You beautify yourself for nothing.
Your lovers reject you; # Jr 30:14; Lm 1:19
they want to take your life. # Ezk 23:9-10,22
31I hear a cry like a woman in labor, # Ps 48:6; Is 13:8; 21:3; 42:14; Jr 6:24; 13:21; 22:23; 30:6; 50:43; Mc 4:9-10; 1Th 5:3
a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child.
The cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands: # Is 1:15
Woe is me, for my life is weary
because of the murderers!
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