Jeremiah 4

1“If 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:

^f“Break 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,

^k“Blow the trumpet through the land;
cry aloud and say,
^l‘Assemble, 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 ^as“For 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.”

Jeremiah 15

The Lord Will Not Relent

1Then the Lord said to me, ^bb“Though ^bcMoses ^bdand Samuel ^bestood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! 2And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord:

^bf“‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence,
and those who are for the sword, to the sword;
those who are for famine, to famine,
and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’
3 ^bgI will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the Lord: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and ^bhthe birds of the air ^biand the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 ^bjAnd I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what ^bkManasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

5 ^bl“Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,
^bmor who will grieve for you?
Who will turn aside
to ask about your welfare?
6 ^bnYou have rejected me, declares the Lord;
^boyou keep going backward,
so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you—
^bpI am weary of relenting.
7 ^bqI have winnowed them with ^bra winnowing fork
in the gates of the land;
I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people;
^bsthey did not turn from their ways.
8I have made their widows more in number
than ^btthe sand of the seas;
I have brought against the mothers of young men
a destroyer at noonday;
I have made anguish and terror
fall upon them suddenly.
9 ^buShe who bore seven has grown feeble;
^bvshe has fainted away;
^bwher sun went down while it was yet day;
she has been shamed and disgraced.
And the rest of them I will give to the sword
before their enemies,

declares the Lord.”

Jeremiah’s Complaint

10 ^bxWoe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! ^byI have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me. 11The Lord said, “Have I not ▼

▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

set you free for their good? Have I not pleaded for you before the enemy in the time of trouble and in the time of distress? 12Can one break iron, iron ^cafrom the north, and bronze?

13 ^cb“Your wealth and your treasures I will give as ^ccspoil, without price, for all your sins, throughout all your territory. 14I will make you serve your enemies ^cdin a land that you do not know, ^cefor in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”

15 ^cfO Lord, you know;
^cgremember me and visit me,
^ch, ^ciand take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In your forbearance take me not away;
^cjknow that ^ckfor your sake I bear reproach.
16Your words were found, ^cland I ate them,
and ^cmyour words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
^cnfor I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
17 ^coI did not sit in the company of revelers,
nor did I rejoice;
^cpI sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
for you had filled me with indignation.
18Why is my pain unceasing,
^cqmy wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
Will you be to me ^crlike a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail?
19 Therefore thus says the Lord:
^cs“If you return, I will restore you,
and you shall ^ctstand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
but you shall not turn to them.
20 ^cuAnd I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
^cvbut they shall not prevail over you,
^cwfor I am with you
to save you and deliver you,

declares the Lord.
21 ^cxI will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of ^cythe ruthless.”