Jer 4 | HCSB | STEP | If you return , Israel – this is the Lord ’s declaration – you will return to Me, if you remove your detestable idols from My presence and do not waver ,

Jeremiah 4

Blessing or Curse

1 If you return, ^{▼▼Or Repent} Israel –
this is the Lord’s declaration –

you will return to Me, ^b
if you remove your detestable idols ^c
from My presence
and do not waver,
2 then you can swear, “As the Lord lives,” ^d
in truth, ^e in justice, and in righteousness, ^f
then the nations will be blessed ^{▼▼Or will bless themselves} by Him ^h
and will pride themselves in Him. ⁱ

3 For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

Break up the unplowed ground; ^j
do not sow among the thorns. ^k
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;
remove the foreskin of your hearts, ^l
men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.
Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire
and burn with no one to extinguish it ^m
because of your evil deeds.

Judgment from the North

5 Declare in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:

Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land. ⁿ
Cry out loudly and say:
Assemble yourselves,
and let’s flee to the fortified cities.
6 Lift up a signal flag toward ^{▼▼Zion: Originally a term for the fortified section of Jerusalem and then, by extension, used for the temple and the city of Jerusalem both in the present time and in the future}Zion. ^p
Run for cover! Don’t stand still!
For I am bringing disaster from the north –
a great destruction. ^q
7 A lion has gone up from his thicket; ^r
a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his lair
to make your land a waste.
Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins. ^s
8 Because of this, put on ^{▼▼sackcloth: Garment made of poor quality material and worn as a sign of grief and mourning}sackcloth;
mourn and wail, ^u
for the Lord’s burning anger ^v
has not turned away from us.

9 “On that day” – this is the Lord’s declaration – “the king and the officials will lose their courage. The priests will tremble in fear, and the prophets will be scared speechless.”

10 I said, “Oh no, Lord God, You have certainly deceived ^w this people and Jerusalem, by announcing, ‘You will have peace,’ ^x while a sword is at ^{▼▼Lit sword touches} our throats.”

11 “At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, ‘A searing wind ^z blows from the barren heights in the wilderness on the way to My dear ^{▼▼Lit to the daughter of My} people. It comes not to winnow or to sift; 12 a wind too strong for this comes at My call. ^{▼▼Lit comes for Me} Now I will also pronounce judgments against them.’” ^ac

13 Look, he advances like clouds; ^ad
his chariots are like a storm. ^ae
His horses are swifter than eagles. ^af
Woe to us, for we are ruined! ^ag
14 Wash the evil from your heart, ^ah Jerusalem,
so that you will be delivered.
How long will you harbor
malicious thoughts within you? ^ai
15 For a voice announces from Dan,
proclaiming malice from Mount Ephraim.
16 Warn the nations: Look!
Proclaim to Jerusalem:
Those who besiege are coming
from a distant land; ^aj
they raise their voices
against the cities of Judah.
17 They have her surrounded ^ak
like those who guard a field,
because she has rebelled against Me. ^al
This is the Lord’s declaration.

18 Your way of life and your actions
have brought this on you. ^am
This is your punishment. It is very bitter,
because it has reached your heart!

Jeremiah’s Lament

19 My anguish, my anguish! ^{▼▼Lit My inner parts, my inner parts} I writhe in agony!
Oh, the pain in ^{▼▼Lit the walls of} my heart! ^ap
My heart pounds;
I cannot be silent.
For you, my soul,
have heard the sound of the ram’s horn –
the shout of battle.
20 Disaster after disaster ^aq is reported
because the whole land is destroyed.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed,
my tent curtains, in a moment.
21 How long must I see the signal flag
and hear the sound of the ram’s horn?

22 “For My people are fools;
they do not know Me.
They are foolish children,
without understanding. ^ar
They are skilled in doing what is evil,
but they do not know how to do what is good.” ^as

23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty. ^at
I looked to the heavens,
and their light was gone. ^au
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking; ^av
all the hills shook.
25 I looked, and no man was left; ^aw
all the birds of the sky had fled. ^ax
26 I looked, and the fertile field ^ay was a wilderness. ^az
All its cities were torn down
because of the Lord
and His burning anger. ^ba

27 For this is what the Lord says:

The whole land will be a desolation, ^bb
but I will not finish it off. ^bc
28 Because of this, the earth will mourn; ^bd
the skies above will grow dark. ^be
I have spoken; I have planned,
and I will not relent or turn back from it. ^bf

29 Every city flees ^bg
at the sound of the horseman and the archer.
They enter the thickets
and climb among the rocks. ^bh
Every city is abandoned;
no inhabitant is left.
30 And you, devastated one, what are you doing ^bi
that you dress yourself in scarlet,
that you adorn yourself with gold jewelry,
that you enlarge your eyes with paint? ^bj
You beautify yourself for nothing.
Your lovers reject you; ^bk
they want to take your life. ^bl
31 I hear a cry like a woman in labor, ^bm
a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child.
The cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands: ^bn
Woe is me, for my life is weary
because of the murderers!