Jer 4, Jer 17 | ESV | STEP | If you return , O Israel , declares the Lord , to me you should return . If you remove your detestable things from my presence , and do not waver ,

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.”
3 For 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

5 Declare 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.
8 For 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.” 10 Then 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.”

11 At 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, 12 a 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!
14 O Jerusalem, ^aawash your heart from evil,
that you may be saved.
How long shall your wicked thoughts
lodge within you?
15 For a voice ^abdeclares from Dan
and proclaims trouble from ^acMount Ephraim.
16 Warn the nations that he is coming;
announce to Jerusalem,
“Besiegers come ^adfrom a distant land;
they shout against the cities of Judah.
17 Like keepers of a field ^aeare they against her all around,
because she has rebelled against me,

declares the Lord.
18 Your 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.
21 How 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.
24 I 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.
26 I looked, and behold, the ^apfruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before ^aqhis fierce anger.
27 For 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.
30 And 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.
31 For 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 17

The Sin of Judah

1 “The sin of Judah is written with ^bba pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on ^bcthe tablet of their heart, and on ^bdthe horns of their altars, 2 while ^betheir children remember their altars and their ^bfAsherim, ^bgbeside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 ^bhon the mountains in the open country. ^biYour wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. 4 You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, ^bjand I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, ^bkfor in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”

5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man ^blwho trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength, ^{▼▼Hebrew arm}
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 ^bnHe is like a shrub in the desert,
^boand shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in ^bpan uninhabited salt land.
7 ^bq“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
^brwhose trust is the Lord.
8 ^bsHe is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 ^bt“I the Lord search the heart
^buand test the mind, ^{▼▼Hebrew kidneys}
^bwto give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
11 Like the ^bxpartridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,
so is ^byhe who gets riches but not by justice;
^bzin the midst of his days they will leave him,
^caand at his end he will be a fool.
12 A glorious throne set on high from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, ^cbthe hope of Israel,
^ccall who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you ^{▼▼Hebrew me} ^ceshall be written in the earth,
for ^cfthey have forsaken ^cgthe Lord, the fountain of living water.

Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance

14 ^chHeal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for ^ciyou are my praise.
15 ^cjBehold, they say to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come!”
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd,
nor have I desired the day of sickness.
^ckYou know ^clwhat came out of my lips;
it was before your face.
17 Be not a terror to me;
^cmyou are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18 ^cnLet those be put to shame who persecute me,
but let me not be put to shame;
^colet them be dismayed,
but let me not be dismayed;
^cpbring upon them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction!

Keep the Sabbath Holy

19 Thus said the Lord to me: “Go and stand in the People’s Gate, by which ^cqthe kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, ^cryou kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and ^csdo not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath ^ctor do any work, but ^cukeep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 Yet ^cvthey did not listen or incline their ear, ^cwbut stiffened their neck, that they ^cxmight not hear and receive instruction.

24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and ^cybring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but ^czkeep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then ^dathere shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 And people shall come from ^dbthe cities of Judah ^dcand the places around Jerusalem, ^ddfrom the land of Benjamin, ^defrom the Shephelah, from the hill country, ^dfand from ^dgthe Negeb, bringing ^dhburnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and ^dibringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to ^djkeep the Sabbath day holy, ^dkand not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will ^dlkindle a fire in its gates, and it shall ^dmdevour the palaces of Jerusalem and ^dnshall not be quenched.’”