THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH

 

Jeremiah Chapter 4

1 ¶ The LORD says, If you will come back, O Israel, come back to me: and if you remove your abominations from my sight, and do not waver,

2 And if you swear, As the LORD lives, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; then the nations will bless themselves by him, and glory in him.

3 ¶ For the LORD says this to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and do not plant among thorns.

4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskin of your hearts, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: otherwise, because of your evil deeds, my wrath will break out like fire, and burn so that no one can put it out.

5 ¶ Announce it in Judah, proclaim it in Jerusalem; and say, Blow the trumpet throughout the land: cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, gather together, and let us flee into the fortified cities.

6 Raise a standard to guide you toward Zion: do not stand still, but retreat: for I will bring disaster from the north, and great destruction.

7 A lion is coming out of his thicket, and a destroyer of the nations is on his way; he has left his home to make your land desolate; and your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins.

8 For this put on your sackcloth, mourn and wail: for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.

9 And on that day, says the LORD, the courage of the king will fail, the princes; and the priests will tremble, and the prophets will be astounded.

10 Then I said, Alas, Lord GOD! surely you have greatly deceived these people and Jerusalem, saying, You will have peace; when a sword is at their throats.

11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A hot wind from the bare heights in the desert comes toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, or to cleanse,

12 A strong wind from those places will blow for me: now I will pronounce sentence against them.

13 You will see him come up like clouds, and his chariots will be like a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! for we are destroyed.

14 O Jerusalem, wash away the wickedness of your heart, so that you may be saved. How long will your evil thoughts remain within you?

15 For a messenger cries out from Dan, and proclaims calamity from mount Ephraim.

16 Warn the nations; announce to Jerusalem, that besiegers are coming from a distant country, and raise their voices against the cities of Judah.

17 Like watchmen guarding a field, they surround her; because she has been rebellious against me, says the LORD.

18 Your ways and your doings have brought these things down upon you; this is what comes of your wickedness, because it is bitter, because it has reached your heart.

19 ¶ My anguish, my anguish! My soul is in agony; and my heart pounds within me; I cannot remain silent, because I have heard the sound of trumpet, the alarm of war.

20 Disaster after disaster is reported; for the whole land is laid waste: in a moment my tents are destroyed, and my curtains torn in a flash.

21 How long must I see the flag, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 For my people are foolish, they do not know me; they are stupid children, who do not understand: they are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do what is good.

23 I looked at the earth, and it was a desolate waste; and the heavens had no light.

24 I saw the mountains, and they trembled, and all the hills shook.

25 I looked, and no man was left, and all the birds of the sky had fled.

26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a wilderness, and all of its cities were in ruins at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.

27 For the LORD has said, The whole land will be desolate; yet will I not put an end to it.

28 The earth will mourn over this, and the heavens will put on black: because I have said it, I have planned it, and will not change my mind, or turn back from it.

29 At the noise of horsemen and bowmen every city flees; they run into the thickets, and climb up onto the rocks: every city will be deserted, and no one will live in them.

30 When you are ruined, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, and enlarge your eyes with paint, you beautify yourself for nothing; for your lovers despise you, they want to take your life.

31 For I have heard a cry as of a woman in travail, a cry of anguish as of one bringing forth her first child, the cry of the daughter of Zion, who gasps for breath, stretching out her hands, saying, Woe is me! for I am fainting before murderers.