Jeremiah 4

Judah Threatened with Invasion

1“If you will 1return, Israel,” declares the Lord, “Then you should return to Me. And 2if you will put away your detestable things from My presence, And will not waver,2And if you will 3swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ 4In truth, in justice, and in righteousness; Then the 5nations will bless themselves in Him, And 6in Him they will boast.”

3For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: “78Break up your uncultivated ground, And 9do not sow among thorns.410Circumcise yourselves to the Lord And remove the foreskins of your hearts, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My 11wrath will spread like fire And burn with 12no one to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.”

5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “13Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry aloud and say, ‘14Assemble, and let’s go Into the fortified cities.’6Raise a 15flag toward Zion! Take refuge, do not stand still, For I am bringing 16evil from the north, And great destruction.7A 17lion has gone up from his thicket, And a 18destroyer of nations has set out; He has gone out from his place To 19make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruins, Without an inhabitant.8For this, 20put on sackcloth, Mourn and wail; For the 21fierce anger of the Lord Has not turned away from us.” 9“And it shall come about on that day,” declares the Lord, “that the 22heart of the king and the hearts of the leaders will fail; and the priests will tremble, and the 23prophets will be astonished.”

10Then I said, “Oh, Lord 24God! Surely You have utterly 25deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘26You will have peace’; yet a sword touches the 27throat.”

11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A 28scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness, in the direction of the daughter of My people--not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12a wind too 29strong for 30this--will come 31at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.”13“Behold, he 32goes up like clouds, And his 33chariots like the whirlwind; His horses are 34swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for 35we are ruined!”

14Wash your heart from evil, Jerusalem, So that you may be saved. How long will your 36wicked thoughts Lodge within you?15For a voice declares from 37Dan, And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.16“Report it to the nations, now! Proclaim to Jerusalem, ‘38Enemies are coming from a 39remote country, And 40they raise their voices against the cities of Judah.17Like watchmen of a field they are 41against her all around, Because she has 42rebelled against Me,’ declares the Lord.18Your 43ways and your deeds Have 44brought these things upon you. This is your evil. How 45bitter! How it has touched your heart!”

Grief over Judah’s Devastation

1946My 47soul, my 48soul! I am in anguish! 49Oh, my heart! My 50heart is pounding in me; I cannot keep silent, Because, 51my soul, you have heard The 52sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war.2053Disaster upon disaster is proclaimed, For the 54whole land is devastated; Suddenly my 55tents are devastated, And my curtains in an instant.21How long must I see the flag And hear the sound of the trumpet?22“56For My people are foolish, They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are skillful at 57doing evil, But they do not know how to do good.”

23I looked at the earth, and behold, it was a 5859formless and desolate emptiness; And to the heavens, and they had no light.24I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were 60quaking, And all the hills jolted back and forth.25I looked, and behold, there was no human, And all the 61birds of the sky had fled.26I looked, and behold, 62the 63fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the Lord, before His fierce anger.

27For this is what the Lord says: “The 64whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will 65not execute a complete destruction.28For this the 66earth will mourn, And the 67heavens above will become dark, Because I have 68spoken, I have purposed, And I have not 69changed My mind, nor will I turn from it.”29At the sound of the horseman and archer 70every city flees; They 71go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; 72Every city is abandoned, And no one lives in them.30And you, desolate one, 73what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, Although you adorn yourself with jewelry of gold, Although you 74enlarge your eyes with makeup, In vain you make yourself beautiful. Your 7576lovers despise you; They seek your life.31For I heard a voice cry as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child. The voice of the daughter of Zion 77gasping for breath, 78Stretching out her 79hands, saying, “Ah, woe to me, for 80I faint before murderers.”