Jeremiah 4

1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, Declareth Yahweh, Unto me, mayst thou return, —And if thou wilt remove thine abominations from before me, Then shalt thou not become a wanderer.

“O Israel, if you would return, says the Lord, then be converted to me. If you remove your offense from before my face, then you will not be shaken.

2 If thou wilt swear, By the life of Yahweh! in faithfulness in justice and in righteousness, Then shall the nations bless themselves in him, And, in him, shall they glory.

And you will swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth and in judgment and in justice.” And the Gentiles will bless him, and they will praise him.

3 For thus saith Yahweh Unto the men of Judah and unto Jerusalem, Till ye the untilled ground, —And do not sow among thorns.

For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and of Jerusalem: “Break new ground, and do not choose to sow upon thorns.

4 Circumcise yourselves unto Yahweh So shall ye remove the impurity of your heart, ye men of Judah and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, —Lest mine indignation, go forth as fire, and burn and there be none to quench it, Because of the wickedness of your doings.

Be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins from your hearts, O men of Judah, O inhabitants of Jerusalem. Otherwise my indignation may burst forth and flare up like a fire. And then there will be no one who can extinguish it, because of the wickedness of your thoughts.

5 Declare ye in Judah And in Jerusalem, let it be heard, And say, Blow ye a horn in the land, —Cry, with frill voice And say, Gather yourselves together, And let us enter the defenced cities.

Declare it in Judah, and make it known in Jerusalem! Speak out and sound the trumpet in the land! Cry out strongly and say: ‘Gather yourselves! And let us go forth to fortified cities!’

6 Lift up an ensign—Zion-ward, Bring into safety, do not tarry, —For, calamity, am, I, bringing in from the North, Even, a great destruction:

Lift up a standard in Zion. Be strengthened! Do not choose to stand still. For I am bringing an evil from the north, with great destruction.

7 There hath come up a lion out of his thicket, Yea, a destroyer of nations—hath set forward, hath come forth out of his place, —To make thy land a desolation, Thy cities, shall fall in ruins, so as to have no inhabitant.

The lion has ascended from his den, and the pillager of the nations has lifted himself up. He has gone forth from his place, so that he may set your land in desolation. Your cities will be laid waste, remaining without an inhabitant.

8 On this account, gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl, —Because the glow of the anger of Yahweh hath not turned from us.

Concerning this, wrap yourselves in haircloth, mourn and wail: ‘For the wrath of the fury of the Lord has not been turned away from us.’

9 And it shall come to pass, in that day, Declareth Yahweh, That the courage of the king shall fail, And the courage of the princes, —And the priests shall be astonished, And, the prophets, shall be amazed.

And this shall be in that day, says the Lord: The heart of the king will perish, with the heart of the princes. And the priests will be stupefied, and the prophets will be in consternation.”

10 Then said I, —Ah! My Lord Yahweh! Surely, thou hast suffered this people and Jerusalem to be beguiled, saying, Peace, shall ye have, —whereas the sword shall reach unto the soul.

And I said: “Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God! Could it be that you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: ‘Peace shall be yours,’ while, behold, the sword reaches even to the soul?”

11 At that time, shall it be said of this people and of Jerusalem, —The sharp wind of the bare heights in the desert, cometh towards the daughter of my people, —not to winnow nor to cleanse.

“In that time, it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: ‘A burning wind is in the ways that are in the desert, along the way of the daughter of my people, but not to winnow and not to cleanse.’

12 A wind too strong for these, cometh in for me. Now, will, I also, pronounce sentences upon them:

A full spirit from these places will come to me. And now I will speak my judgments over them.

13 Lo! like clouds, shall he come up, Even as a storm-wind, his chariots, Swifter than eagles, his horses, —Woe to us for we are laid waste!

Behold, he will ascend like a cloud, and his chariot will ascend like a tempest. His horses are swifter than eagles. ‘Woe to us! For we are being devastated!’

14 Wash from wickedness thy heart, O Jerusalem, That thou mayest be saved, —How long, shall lodge within thee thy wicked devices?

Wash your heart from malice, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will harmful thoughts abide in you?

15 For a voice, declareth from Dan, —And publisheth trouble from the hill country of Ephraim.

For there is a voice, of someone announcing from Dan, and he is making known the idol from mount Ephraim.

16 Put ye in mind the nations Lo! publish ye against Jerusalem, Blockaders! are coming in from a land afar off, —And have uttered against the cities of Judah their voice:

Say to the nations: ‘Behold, it has been heard in Jerusalem! Guardians are coming from a far away land, to utter their voice against the cities of Judah.’

17 As the keepers of a field, have they come against her round about, —For against me, hath she rebelled, Declareth Yahweh.

They have been stationed over her, like the guardians of fields, all around. For she has provoked me to wrath, says the Lord.

18 Thine own way And thine own doings, Have done these things unto thee, —This thy wickedness, Surely it is bitter, Surely it hath reached unto thy heart.

Your ways and your thoughts have brought these things upon you. This is your own wickedness. And it is bitter, because it has touched your heart.

19 My bowels! My bowels! I am pained in the walls of my heart My heart beateth aloud to me I cannot be still! For the sound of a horn, hast thou heard O my soul, The loud shout of war!

I am afflicted in my heart, in my heart. The senses of my heart have been stirred up within me. I will not remain silent. For my soul has heard the voice of the trumpet, the clamor of the battle.

20 Breach upon breach, they cry, For ruined, is all the land, —Suddenly, are ruined my tents, In a moment, my curtains!

Destruction upon destruction has been called forth. And the entire earth has been devastated. My tabernacles have been destroyed suddenly, and my tents in an instant.

21 How long shall I keep on seeing a standard, —continue to hear the sound of a horn?

How long shall I watch those who are fleeing, and listen to the voice of the trumpet?

22 Surely, perverse, is my people Me, have they not known, Foolish sons, they are, Yea without understanding, they are: Wise, they are to commit wickedness, But how to do well, they know not!

For my foolish people have not known me. They are foolish and mad sons. They are clever in doing evil, but they do not know how to do good.

23 I beheld, The earth; and lo! it was waste and wild, —The heavens also and their light was not:

I gazed upon the earth, and behold, it was empty and brought to nothing. And I gazed upon the heavens, but there was no light in them.

24 I beheld, The mountains, and lo! they were trembling, —And all the hills, had been violently moved:

I watched the mountains, and behold, they trembled, and all the hills were shaken.

25 I beheld, And lo! there was no human being, —Yea, all the birds of the heavens! had fled:

I looked, and there was no man. And all the flying things of the air had gone away.

26 I beheld, And lo! the garden-land, was a desert, —And, all its cities, had been broken down, Because of Yahweh, Because of the glow of his anger!

I gazed, and behold, Carmel was a desert, and all its cities were destroyed before the face of the Lord, and before the face of the wrath of his fury.”

27 For, thus, saith Yahweh, A desolation, shall all the land become—Nevertheless a full end, will I not make.

For thus says the Lord: “All the earth will be desolate, but I will not yet bring about its consummation.

28 For this cause, shall the land mourn, and the heavens above be overcast: Because I have spoken have purposed, and have not repented nor will I turn back therefrom.

The earth will mourn, and the heavens will lament from above. For I have spoken, I have decided, and I have not regretted. Neither will I be turned away from it.

29 At the noise of horseman and archer, The whole city is in flight, They have entered dark thickets, Yea unto the crags, have they gone up, —Every city, is forsaken, There remaineth not in them a man!

Before the voice of the horsemen and of those who send forth arrows, the entire city has fled. They have entered steep places, and they have ascended the cliffs. All of the cities have been abandoned, and no man lives within them.

30 And when, thou, art laid waste, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself with crimson Though thou deck thyself with ornaments of gold Though thou enlarge with antimony thine eyes, In vain, shalt thou make thyself fair, —Paramours have rejected thee, Thy life, will they seek!

So then, when you have been devastated, what will you do? Though you will clothe yourself with scarlet, though you will adorn yourself with a gold necklace and tint your eyes with cosmetics, you will be dressing yourself up in vain. Your lovers have spurned you; they will be seeking your life.

31 For a voice as of a woman in pangs, have I heard Anguish as of her that is bearing her firstborn. The voice of the daughter of Zion! She gaspeth for breath, She spreadeth forth her palms, —Surely woe to me! For my soul fainteth before murderers.

For I have heard a voice, like that of a woman giving birth, during the difficulties of labor. It is the voice of the daughter of Zion, dying, extending her hands: ‘Woe to me! For my soul is failing because of those who have been slain!’”