Jeremiah 4

1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, unto me must thou return; and if thou wilt put away thy abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not wander about [any more].

If Israel will return to me, says the Lord, he shall return: and if he will remove his abominations out of his mouth, and fear before me, and swear,

2 And if thou wilt swear, As the Lord liveth, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness: then shall nations bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glorify themselves.

The Lord lives, with truth, in judgment and righteousness, then shall nations bless by him, and by him they shall praise God in Jerusalem.

3 For thus hath said the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Plough up your fallow ground, that ye may not sow among thorns.

For thus says the Lord to the men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Break up fresh ground for yourselves, and sow not among thorns.

4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and remove the obduracy of your heart, O ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

Circumcise yourselves to your God, and circumcise your hardness of heart, you men of Juda, and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my wrath go forth as fire, and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the evil of your devices.

5 Tell ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say, Blow ye the cornet in the land: call out, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.

Declare you in Juda, and let it be heard in Jerusalem: say you, Sound the trumpet in the land; cry you aloud: say you, Gather yourselves together, and let us enter into the fortified cities.

6 Set up the standard toward Zion; save yourselves by flight, stay not; for evil do I bring from the north, and a great destruction.

Gather up [your wares] and flee to Sion: hasten, stay not: for I will bring evils from the north, and great destruction.

7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of nations hath commenced his march, he is gone forth from his place, to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, left without an inhabitant.

The lion is gone up from his lair, he has roused [himself] to the destruction of the nations, and has gone forth out of his place, to make the land desolate; and the cities shall be destroyed, so as to be without inhabitant.

8 For this gird yourselves with sackcloths, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned away from us.

For these things gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament, and howl: for the anger of the Lord is not turned away from you.

9 And it shall come to pass on that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes shall fail; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be amazed, and the prophets shall wonder.

10 Then said I, Ah, Lord Eternal! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

And I said, O sovereign Lord, verily you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, There shall be peace; whereas behold, the sword has reached even to their soul.

11 At that time shall be announced to this people and to Jerusalem a dry wind from the mountain-peaks in the wilderness, [coming] on the road to the daughter of my people; not to winnow, nor to cleanse [the corn],

At that time they shall say to this people and to Jerusalem, [There is] a spirit of error in the wilderness: the way of the daughter of my people is not to purity, nor to holiness.

12 A strong wind from these places shall come unto me: now also will I myself pronounce judgment against them.

[But] a spirit of full vengeance shall come upon me; and now I declare my judgments against them.

13 Behold, like clouds shall he come up, and like a whirlwind shall be his chariots: swifter than eagles are his horses. “Woe unto us! for we are wasted.”

Behold, he shall come up as a cloud, and his chariots as a tempest: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! for we are in misery.

14 Wash from wrong doing thy heart, O Jerusalem, in order that thou mayest be saved. How long wilt thou let lodge within thee the thoughts of thy wickedness?

Cleanse your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved: how long will your grievous thoughts be within you?

15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth unhappiness from the mountain of Ephraim.

For a voice of one publishing from Dan shall come, and trouble out of mount Ephraim shall be heard of.

16 Make ye mention of it to the nations; behold, let it be heard against Jerusalem, that beleaguerers come from a far-off country, and send forth their voice against the cities of Judah.

Remind you the nations; behold, they are come: proclaim [it] in Jerusalem, that bands are approaching from a land afar off, and have uttered their voice against the cities of Juda.

17 As keepers of a field are they against her round about; because against me hath she been rebellious, saith the Lord.

As keepers of a field, they have surrounded her; because you, says the Lord, has neglected me.

18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee: this is thy wickedness, which is so bitter, which so reacheth unto thy heart.

Your ways and your devices have brought these things upon you; this is your wickedness, for [it is] bitter, for it has reached to your heart.

19 My bowels, my bowels! I am shaken, at the very chambers of my heart; my heart beateth tumultuously in me; I cannot remain silent; because the sound of the cornet hast thou heard, O my soul, the alarm of war.

I am pained in my bowels, my bowels, and the sensitive powers of my heart; my soul is in great commotion, my heart is torn: I will not be silent, for my soul has heard the sound of a trumpet, the cry of war, and of distress: it calls on destruction;

20 Ruin upon ruin is called out; for the whole land is wasted: suddenly are my tents wasted, and in a moment, my curtains.

for all the land is distressed: suddenly [my] tabernacle is distressed, my curtains have been tore asunder.

21 How long shall I see the standard, hear the sound of the cornet?

How long shall I see fugitives, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 “Because my people is foolish, me have they not known; sottish children are they, and they have not any understanding: wise are they to do evil, but how to do good they do not know.”

For the princes of my people have not known me, they are foolish and unwise children: they are wise to do evil, but [how] to do good they have not known.

23 I look at the earth, and, lo, it is without form and void; and toward the heavens, and their light is gone.

I looked upon the earth, and, behold, [it was] not; and to the sky, an there was no light in it.

24 I look at the mountains, and, lo, they tremble, and all the hills are moved.

I saw the mountains, and they trembled, and [I saw] all the hills in commotion.

25 I look, and, lo, there is no man, and all the birds of the heavens are fled.

I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky were scared.

26 I look, and, lo, the fruitful country is a wilderness, and all its cities are laid waste at the presence of the Lord, because of the fierceness of his anger.

I saw, and, behold, Carmel was desert, and all the cities were burnt with fire at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of his fierce anger they were utterly destroyed.

27 For thus hath said the Lord, Desolate shall be the whole land; yet a full end will I not make.

Thus says the Lord, The whole land shall be desolate; but I will not make a full end.

28 For this shall mourn the earth, and black shall be the heavens above; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and I will not repent, and I will not turn back from it.

For these things let the earth mourn, and let the sky be dark above: for I have spoken, and I will not repent; I have purposed, and I will not turn back from it.

29 From the noise of horsemen and those that shoot with the bow fleeth the whole city; they go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city is forsaken, and not a man dwelleth therein.

The whole land has recoiled from the noise of the horseman and the bent bow; they have gone into the caves, and have hidden themselves in the groves, and have gone up upon the rocks: every city was abandoned, no man lived in them.

30 And thou, O wasted one, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself with scarlet, though thou adorn thyself with ornaments of gold, though thou encircle with paint thy eyes: in vain shalt thou make thyself beautiful; the adulterers will despise thee, thy life will they seek.

And what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with scarlet, and adorn yourself with golden ornaments; though you adorn your eyes with stibium, your beauty [will be] in vain: your lovers have rejected you, they seek your life.

31 For a voice as of a woman in travail have I heard, the anguish as of one that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that groaneth, that spreadeth out her hands, [saying, ] “Woe is me now! for my soul succumbeth to the murderers.”

For I have heard your groaning as the voice of a woman in travail, as of her that brings forth her first child; the voice of the daughter of Zion shall fail through weakness, and she shall lose the strength of her hands, [saying], Woe is me! for my soul faints because of the slain.