Jeremiah 4

1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return to me: if thou wilt take away thy stumblingblocks out of my sight, thou shalt not be moved.

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 thou shalt swear: As the Lord liveth, in truth, and in judgement, and in justice: and the Gentiles shall bless him, and shall praise him.

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

3 For thus saith the Lord to the men of Juda and Jerusalem: Break up anew your fallow ground, and sow not upon 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 amongst thorns.

4 Be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, ye men of Juda, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my indignation come forth like fire, and burn, and there be none that can quench it: because of the wickedness of your thoughts.

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 Declare ye in Juda, and make it heard in Jerusalem: speak, and sound with the trumpet in the land: cry aloud, and say: Assemble yourselves, and let us go into strong 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 in Sion. Strengthen yourselves, stay not: for I bring evil from the north, and 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 out of his den, and the robber of nations hath roused himself: he is come forth out of his place, to make thy land desolate: thy cities shall be laid waste, remaining 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 haircloth, lament and howl: 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 in that day, saith the Lord: That the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes: and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall be amazed.

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 And I said: Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God, hast thou then deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: You shall have peace: and behold the sword reacheth even to 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 it shall be said to this people, and to Jerusalem: A burning wind is in the ways that are in the desert of the way of the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse.

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 full wind from these places shall come to me: and now I will speak my judgments with them.

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

13 Behold he shall come up as a cloud, and his chariots as a tempest: his horses are swifter than eagles: woe unto us, for we are laid waste.

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 thy heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that thou mayst be saved: how long shall hurtful thoughts abide in thee?

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 of one declaring from Dan, and giving notice of the idol from mount Ephraim.

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

16 Say ye to the nations: Behold it is heard in Jerusalem, that guards are coming from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Juda.

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 They are set round about her, as keepers of fields: because she hath provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord.

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

18 They ways, and thy devices have brought these things upon thee: this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it hath touched 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 are in pain, the senses of my heart are troubled within me, I will not hold my peace, for my soul hath heard the sound of the trumpet, the cry of battle.

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 Destruction upon destruction is called for, and all the earth is laid waste: my tents are destroyed on a sudden, and my pavilions in a moment.

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

21 How long shall I see men fleeing away, how long shall I hear the sound of the trumpet?

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

22 For my foolish people have not known me: they are foolish and senseless children: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

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 beheld the earth, and lo it was void, and nothing: and the heavens, and there was no light in them.

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

24 I looked upon the mountains, and behold they trembled: and all the hills were troubled.

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

25 I beheld, and lo there was no man: and all the birds of the air were gone.

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

26 I looked, and behold Carmel was a wilderness: and all its cities were destroyed at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of the wrath of his indignation.

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 saith the Lord: All the land shall be desolate, but yet I will not utterly destroy.

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

28 The earth shall mourn, and the heavens shall lament from above: because I have spoken, I have purposed, and I have not repented, neither am I turned away 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 At the voice of the horsemen, and the archers, all the city is fled away; they have entered into thickets and have climbed up the rocks: all the cities are forsaken, and there dwelleth not a man in them.

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 But when thou art spoiled what wilt thou do? though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, and paintest thy eyes with stibic stone, thou shalt dress thyself out in vain: thy lovers have despised thee, they will seek thy life.

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 I have heard the voice as of a woman in travail, anguishes as of a woman in labor of a child. The voice of the daughter of Sion, dying away, spreading her hands: Woe is me, for my soul hath fainted because of them that are slain.

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.