Jeremiah 4:11-31

New King James Version

¹¹At that time it will be said
To this people and to Jerusalem,
^(A)“A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness
Toward the daughter of My people—
Not to fan or to cleanse—
¹²A wind too strong for these will come for Me;
Now ^(B)I will also speak judgment against them.”

¹³“Behold, he shall come up like clouds,
And ^(C)his chariots like a whirlwind.
^(D)His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are plundered!”

¹⁴O Jerusalem, ^(E)wash your heart from wickedness,
That you may be saved.
How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?
¹⁵For a voice declares ^(F)from Dan
And proclaims ^[a]affliction from Mount Ephraim:
¹⁶“Make mention to the nations,
Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem,
That watchers come from a ^(G)far country
And raise their voice against the cities of Judah.
¹⁷^(H)Like keepers of a field they are against her all around,
Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the Lord.
¹⁸“Your^(I) ways and your doings
Have procured these things for you.
This is your wickedness,
Because it is bitter,
Because it reaches to your heart.”

Sorrow for the Doomed Nation

¹⁹O my ^(J)soul, my soul!
I am pained in my very heart!
My heart makes a noise in me;
I cannot hold my peace,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
²⁰^(K)Destruction upon destruction is cried,
For the whole land is plundered.
Suddenly ^(L)my tents are plundered,
And my curtains in a moment.
²¹How long will I see the ^[b]standard,
And hear the sound of the trumpet?

²²“For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are ^[c]silly children,
And they have no understanding.
^(M)They are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”

²³^(N)I beheld the earth, and indeed it was ^(O)without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.
²⁴^(P)I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.
²⁵I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And ^(Q)all the birds of the heavens had fled.
²⁶I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a ^(R)wilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the Lord,
By His fierce anger.

²⁷For thus says the Lord:

“The whole land shall be desolate;
^(S)Yet I will not make a full end.
²⁸For this ^(T)shall the earth mourn,
And ^(U)the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have ^(V)purposed and ^(W)will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.
²⁹The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen.
They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks.
Every city shall be forsaken,
And not a man shall dwell in it.

³⁰“And when you are plundered,
What will you do?
Though you clothe yourself with crimson,
Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
^(X)Though you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you will make yourself fair;
^(Y)Your lovers will despise you;
They will seek your life.

³¹“For I have heard a voice as of a woman in ^[d]labor,
The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child,
The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself;
She ^(Z)spreads her hands, saying,
‘Woe is me now, for my soul is ^[e]weary
Because of murderers!’