Jeremiah 4:3-31

3For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: “12Break up your uncultivated ground, And 3do not sow among thorns.44Circumcise yourselves to the Lord And remove the foreskins of your hearts, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My 5wrath will spread like fire And burn with 6no one to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.”

5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “7Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry aloud and say, ‘8Assemble, and let’s go Into the fortified cities.’6Raise a 9flag toward Zion! Take refuge, do not stand still, For I am bringing 10evil from the north, And great destruction.7A 11lion has gone up from his thicket, And a 12destroyer of nations has set out; He has gone out from his place To 13make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruins, Without an inhabitant.8For this, 14put on sackcloth, Mourn and wail; For the 15fierce anger of the Lord Has not turned away from us.” 9“And it shall come about on that day,” declares the Lord, “that the 16heart of the king and the hearts of the leaders will fail; and the priests will tremble, and the 17prophets will be astonished.”

10Then I said, “Oh, Lord 18God! Surely You have utterly 19deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘20You will have peace’; yet a sword touches the 21throat.”

11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A 22scorching 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 23strong for 24this--will come 25at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.”13“Behold, he 26goes up like clouds, And his 27chariots like the whirlwind; His horses are 28swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for 29we are ruined!”

14Wash your heart from evil, Jerusalem, So that you may be saved. How long will your 30wicked thoughts Lodge within you?15For a voice declares from 31Dan, And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.16“Report it to the nations, now! Proclaim to Jerusalem, ‘32Enemies are coming from a 33remote country, And 34they raise their voices against the cities of Judah.17Like watchmen of a field they are 35against her all around, Because she has 36rebelled against Me,’ declares the Lord.18Your 37ways and your deeds Have 38brought these things upon you. This is your evil. How 39bitter! How it has touched your heart!”

1940My 41soul, my 42soul! I am in anguish! 43Oh, my heart! My 44heart is pounding in me; I cannot keep silent, Because, 45my soul, you have heard The 46sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war.2047Disaster upon disaster is proclaimed, For the 48whole land is devastated; Suddenly my 49tents are devastated, And my curtains in an instant.21How long must I see the flag And hear the sound of the trumpet?22“50For My people are foolish, They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are skillful at 51doing evil, But they do not know how to do good.”

23I looked at the earth, and behold, it was a 5253formless and desolate emptiness; And to the heavens, and they had no light.24I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were 54quaking, And all the hills jolted back and forth.25I looked, and behold, there was no human, And all the 55birds of the sky had fled.26I looked, and behold, 56the 57fruitful 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 58whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will 59not execute a complete destruction.28For this the 60earth will mourn, And the 61heavens above will become dark, Because I have 62spoken, I have purposed, And I have not 63changed My mind, nor will I turn from it.”29At the sound of the horseman and archer 64every city flees; They 65go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; 66Every city is abandoned, And no one lives in them.30And you, desolate one, 67what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, Although you adorn yourself with jewelry of gold, Although you 68enlarge your eyes with makeup, In vain you make yourself beautiful. Your 6970lovers 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 71gasping for breath, 72Stretching out her 73hands, saying, “Ah, woe to me, for 74I faint before murderers.”