Jeremiah 4:5-31

5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “1Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry aloud and say, ‘2Assemble, and let’s go Into the fortified cities.’6Raise a 3flag toward Zion! Take refuge, do not stand still, For I am bringing 4evil from the north, And great destruction.7A 5lion has gone up from his thicket, And a 6destroyer of nations has set out; He has gone out from his place To 7make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruins, Without an inhabitant.8For this, 8put on sackcloth, Mourn and wail; For the 9fierce anger of the Lord Has not turned away from us.” 9“And it shall come about on that day,” declares the Lord, “that the 10heart of the king and the hearts of the leaders will fail; and the priests will tremble, and the 11prophets will be astonished.”

10Then I said, “Oh, Lord 12God! Surely You have utterly 13deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘14You will have peace’; yet a sword touches the 15throat.”

11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A 16scorching 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 17strong for 18this--will come 19at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.”13“Behold, he 20goes up like clouds, And his 21chariots like the whirlwind; His horses are 22swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for 23we are ruined!”

14Wash your heart from evil, Jerusalem, So that you may be saved. How long will your 24wicked thoughts Lodge within you?15For a voice declares from 25Dan, And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.16“Report it to the nations, now! Proclaim to Jerusalem, ‘26Enemies are coming from a 27remote country, And 28they raise their voices against the cities of Judah.17Like watchmen of a field they are 29against her all around, Because she has 30rebelled against Me,’ declares the Lord.18Your 31ways and your deeds Have 32brought these things upon you. This is your evil. How 33bitter! How it has touched your heart!”

1934My 35soul, my 36soul! I am in anguish! 37Oh, my heart! My 38heart is pounding in me; I cannot keep silent, Because, 39my soul, you have heard The 40sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war.2041Disaster upon disaster is proclaimed, For the 42whole land is devastated; Suddenly my 43tents are devastated, And my curtains in an instant.21How long must I see the flag And hear the sound of the trumpet?22“44For My people are foolish, They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are skillful at 45doing evil, But they do not know how to do good.”

23I looked at the earth, and behold, it was a 4647formless and desolate emptiness; And to the heavens, and they had no light.24I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were 48quaking, And all the hills jolted back and forth.25I looked, and behold, there was no human, And all the 49birds of the sky had fled.26I looked, and behold, 50the 51fruitful 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 52whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will 53not execute a complete destruction.28For this the 54earth will mourn, And the 55heavens above will become dark, Because I have 56spoken, I have purposed, And I have not 57changed My mind, nor will I turn from it.”29At the sound of the horseman and archer 58every city flees; They 59go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; 60Every city is abandoned, And no one lives in them.30And you, desolate one, 61what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, Although you adorn yourself with jewelry of gold, Although you 62enlarge your eyes with makeup, In vain you make yourself beautiful. Your 6364lovers 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 65gasping for breath, 66Stretching out her 67hands, saying, “Ah, woe to me, for 68I faint before murderers.”