Jeremiah 4

1If you return, O Israel,

declares the Lord,
ato me you should return.
If you remove your detestable things from my presence,
band do not waver,
2 cand if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’
in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then dnations shall bless themselves in him,
eand in him shall they glory.”
3For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

fBreak up your fallow ground,
and gsow not among thorns.
4 hCircumcise yourselves to the Lord;
remove the foreskin of your hearts,
O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
ilest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
jbecause of the evil of your deeds.”

Disaster from the North

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

kBlow the trumpet through the land;
cry aloud and say,
lAssemble, and let us go
into the fortified cities!’
6 mRaise a standard toward Zion,
flee for safety, stay not,
for I bring disaster from nthe north,
oand great destruction.
7 pA lion has gone up from his thicket,
a destroyer of nations has set out;
he has gone out from his place
to make your land a waste;
your cities will be ruins
qwithout inhabitant.
8For this rput on sackcloth,
lament and wail,
for sthe fierce anger of the Lord
has not turned back from us.”
9“In that day, declares the Lord, tcourage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.” 10Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, usurely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life.”

11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from vthe bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse, 12a wind too full for this comes for me. Now it is I who wspeak in judgment upon them.”

13 Behold, he comes up like clouds;
xhis chariots like the whirlwind;
his horses are yswifter than eagles
woe to us, zfor we are ruined!
14O Jerusalem, aawash your heart from evil,
that you may be saved.
How long shall your wicked thoughts
lodge within you?
15For a voice abdeclares from Dan
and proclaims trouble from acMount Ephraim.
16Warn the nations that he is coming;
announce to Jerusalem,
Besiegers come adfrom a distant land;
they shout against the cities of Judah.
17Like keepers of a field aeare they against her all around,
because she has rebelled against me,

declares the Lord.
18Your ways and your deeds
have brought this upon you.
This is your doom, and afit is bitter;
it has reached your very heart.”

Anguish over Judah’s Desolation

19 agMy anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!
Oh the walls of my heart!
My heart is beating wildly;
I cannot keep silent,
for I hear the sound of the trumpet,
the alarm of war.
20 ahCrash follows hard on crash;
the whole land is laid waste.
aiSuddenly my tents are laid waste,
my curtains in a moment.
21How long must I see the standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 For ajmy people are foolish;
they know me not;
they are stupid children;
they have no understanding.
akThey are ‘wise’—in doing evil!
But how to do good they know not.”
23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was alwithout form and void;
amand to the heavens, and they had no light.
24I looked on anthe mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.
25 aoI looked, and behold, there was no man,
and all the birds of the air had fled.
26I looked, and behold, the apfruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before aqhis fierce anger.
27For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation; aryet I will not make a full end.

28 asFor this the earth shall mourn,
atand the heavens above be dark;
for I have spoken; I have purposed;
auI have not relented, nor will I turn back.”
29 At the noise of horseman and archer
every city takes to flight;
they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;
all the cities are forsaken,
and avno man dwells in them.
30And you, O desolate one,
what do you mean that you dress in scarlet,
awthat you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
axthat you enlarge your eyes with paint?
In vain you beautify yourself.
ayYour lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
31For I heard aza cry as of a woman in labor,
anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
bastretching out her hands,
Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.”
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