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Jeremiah 4:19-6:15
New Living Translation
Jeremiah 4:19-6:15
New Living Translation
Jeremiah Weeps for His People
19 My heart, my heart—I writhe in pain!
My heart pounds within me! I cannot be still.
For I have heard the blast of enemy trumpets
and the roar of their battle cries.
20 Waves of destruction roll over the land,
until it lies in complete desolation.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed;
in a moment my shelters are crushed.
21 How long must I see the battle flags
and hear the trumpets of war?
22 “My people are foolish
and do not know me,” says the Lord.
“They are stupid children
who have no understanding.
They are clever enough at doing wrong,
but they have no idea how to do right!”
Jeremiah’s Vision of Coming Disaster
23 I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless.
I looked at the heavens, and there was no light.
24 I looked at the mountains and hills,
and they trembled and shook.
25 I looked, and all the people were gone.
All the birds of the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the fertile fields had become a wilderness.
The towns lay in ruins,
crushed by the Lord’s fierce anger.
27 This is what the Lord says:
“The whole land will be ruined,
but I will not destroy it completely.
28 The earth will mourn
and the heavens will be draped in black
because of my decree against my people.
I have made up my mind and will not change it.”
29 At the noise of charioteers and archers,
the people flee in terror.
They hide in the bushes
and run for the mountains.
All the towns have been abandoned—
not a person remains!
30 What are you doing,
you who have been plundered?
Why do you dress up in beautiful clothing
and put on gold jewelry?
Why do you brighten your eyes with mascara?
Your primping will do you no good!
The allies who were your lovers
despise you and seek to kill you.
31 I hear a cry, like that of a woman in labor,
the groans of a woman giving birth to her first child.
It is beautiful Jerusalem[a]
gasping for breath and crying out,
“Help! I’m being murdered!”
The Sins of Judah
5 “Run up and down every street in Jerusalem,” says the Lord.
“Look high and low; search throughout the city!
If you can find even one just and honest person,
I will not destroy the city.
2 But even when they are under oath,
saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
they are still telling lies!”
3 Lord, you are searching for honesty.
You struck your people,
but they paid no attention.
You crushed them,
but they refused to be corrected.
They are determined, with faces set like stone;
they have refused to repent.
4 Then I said, “But what can we expect from the poor?
They are ignorant.
They don’t know the ways of the Lord.
They don’t understand God’s laws.
5 So I will go and speak to their leaders.
Surely they know the ways of the Lord
and understand God’s laws.”
But the leaders, too, as one man,
had thrown off God’s yoke
and broken his chains.
6 So now a lion from the forest will attack them;
a wolf from the desert will pounce on them.
A leopard will lurk near their towns,
tearing apart any who dare to venture out.
For their rebellion is great,
and their sins are many.
7 “How can I pardon you?
For even your children have turned from me.
They have sworn by gods that are not gods at all!
I fed my people until they were full.
But they thanked me by committing adultery
and lining up at the brothels.
8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
each neighing for his neighbor’s wife.
9 Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.
“Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?
10 “Go down the rows of the vineyards and destroy the grapevines,
leaving a scattered few alive.
Strip the branches from the vines,
for these people do not belong to the Lord.
11 The people of Israel and Judah
are full of treachery against me,”
says the Lord.
12 “They have lied about the Lord
and said, ‘He won’t bother us!
No disasters will come upon us.
There will be no war or famine.
13 God’s prophets are all windbags
who don’t really speak for him.
Let their predictions of disaster fall on themselves!’”
14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Because the people are talking like this,
my messages will flame out of your mouth
and burn the people like kindling wood.
15 O Israel, I will bring a distant nation against you,”
says the Lord.
“It is a mighty nation,
an ancient nation,
a people whose language you do not know,
whose speech you cannot understand.
16 Their weapons are deadly;
their warriors are mighty.
17 They will devour the food of your harvest;
they will devour your sons and daughters.
They will devour your flocks and herds;
they will devour your grapes and figs.
And they will destroy your fortified towns,
which you think are so safe.
18 “Yet even in those days I will not blot you out completely,” says the Lord. 19 “And when your people ask, ‘Why did the Lord our God do all this to us?’ you must reply, ‘You rejected him and gave yourselves to foreign gods in your own land. Now you will serve foreigners in a land that is not your own.’
A Warning for God’s People
20 “Make this announcement to Israel,[b]
and say this to Judah:
21 Listen, you foolish and senseless people,
with eyes that do not see
and ears that do not hear.
22 Have you no respect for me?
Why don’t you tremble in my presence?
I, the Lord, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline
as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross.
The waves may toss and roar,
but they can never pass the boundaries I set.
23 But my people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.
They have turned away and abandoned me.
24 They do not say from the heart,
‘Let us live in awe of the Lord our God,
for he gives us rain each spring and fall,
assuring us of a harvest when the time is right.’
25 Your wickedness has deprived you of these wonderful blessings.
Your sin has robbed you of all these good things.
26 “Among my people are wicked men
who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind.
They continually set traps
to catch people.
27 Like a cage filled with birds,
their homes are filled with evil plots.
And now they are great and rich.
28 They are fat and sleek,
and there is no limit to their wicked deeds.
They refuse to provide justice to orphans
and deny the rights of the poor.
29 Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.
“Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?
30 A horrible and shocking thing
has happened in this land—
31 the prophets give false prophecies,
and the priests rule with an iron hand.
Worse yet, my people like it that way!
But what will you do when the end comes?
Jerusalem’s Last Warning
6 “Run for your lives, you people of Benjamin!
Get out of Jerusalem!
Sound the alarm in Tekoa!
Send up a signal at Beth-hakkerem!
A powerful army is coming from the north,
coming with disaster and destruction.
2 O Jerusalem,[c] you are my beautiful and delicate daughter—
but I will destroy you!
3 Enemies will surround you, like shepherds camped around the city.
Each chooses a place for his troops to devour.
4 They shout, ‘Prepare for battle!
Attack at noon!’
‘No, it’s too late; the day is fading,
and the evening shadows are falling.’
5 ‘Well then, let’s attack at night
and destroy her palaces!’”
6 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Cut down the trees for battering rams.
Build siege ramps against the walls of Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
for she is wicked through and through.
7 She spouts evil like a fountain.
Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction.
I always see her sickness and sores.
8 Listen to this warning, Jerusalem,
or I will turn from you in disgust.
Listen, or I will turn you into a heap of ruins,
a land where no one lives.”
9 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Even the few who remain in Israel
will be picked over again,
as when a harvester checks each vine a second time
to pick the grapes that were missed.”
Judah’s Constant Rebellion
10 To whom can I give warning?
Who will listen when I speak?
Their ears are closed,
and they cannot hear.
They scorn the word of the Lord.
They don’t want to listen at all.
11 So now I am filled with the Lord’s fury.
Yes, I am tired of holding it in!
“I will pour out my fury on children playing in the streets
and on gatherings of young men,
on husbands and wives
and on those who are old and gray.
12 Their homes will be turned over to their enemies,
as will their fields and their wives.
For I will raise my powerful fist
against the people of this land,”
says the Lord.
13 “From the least to the greatest,
their lives are ruled by greed.
From prophets to priests,
they are all frauds.
14 They offer superficial treatments
for my people’s mortal wound.
They give assurances of peace
when there is no peace.
15 Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions?
Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush!
Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered.
They will be brought down when I punish them,”
says the Lord.
Jeremiah 4:19-6:15
New International Version
Jeremiah 4:19-6:15
New International Version
19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!(A)
I writhe in pain.(B)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds(C) within me,
I cannot keep silent.(D)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;(E)
I have heard the battle cry.(F)
20 Disaster follows disaster;(G)
the whole land lies in ruins.(H)
In an instant my tents(I) are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard(J)
and hear the sound of the trumpet?(K)
22 “My people are fools;(L)
they do not know me.(M)
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.(N)
They are skilled in doing evil;(O)
they know not how to do good.”(P)
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;(Q)
and at the heavens,
and their light(R) was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;(S)
all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.(T)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;(U)
all its towns lay in ruins(V)
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.(W)
27 This is what the Lord says:
“The whole land will be ruined,(X)
though I will not destroy(Y) it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn(Z)
and the heavens above grow dark,(AA)
because I have spoken and will not relent,(AB)
I have decided and will not turn back.(AC)”
29 At the sound of horsemen and archers(AD)
every town takes to flight.(AE)
Some go into the thickets;
some climb up among the rocks.(AF)
All the towns are deserted;(AG)
no one lives in them.
30 What are you doing,(AH) you devastated one?
Why dress yourself in scarlet
and put on jewels(AI) of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup?(AJ)
You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers(AK) despise you;
they want to kill you.(AL)
31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,(AM)
a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of Daughter Zion(AN) gasping for breath,(AO)
stretching out her hands(AP) and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting;
my life is given over to murderers.”(AQ)
Not One Is Upright
5 “Go up and down(AR) the streets of Jerusalem,
look around and consider,(AS)
search through her squares.
If you can find but one person(AT)
who deals honestly(AU) and seeks the truth,
I will forgive(AV) this city.
2 Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’(AW)
still they are swearing falsely.(AX)”
3 Lord, do not your eyes(AY) look for truth?
You struck(AZ) them, but they felt no pain;
you crushed them, but they refused correction.(BA)
They made their faces harder than stone(BB)
and refused to repent.(BC)
4 I thought, “These are only the poor;
they are foolish,(BD)
for they do not know(BE) the way of the Lord,
the requirements of their God.
5 So I will go to the leaders(BF)
and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the Lord,
the requirements of their God.”
But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
and torn off the bonds.(BG)
6 Therefore a lion from the forest(BH) will attack them,
a wolf from the desert will ravage(BI) them,
a leopard(BJ) will lie in wait near their towns
to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
and their backslidings many.(BK)
7 “Why should I forgive you?
Your children have forsaken me
and sworn(BL) by gods that are not gods.(BM)
I supplied all their needs,
yet they committed adultery(BN)
and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.(BO)
8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
each neighing for another man’s wife.(BP)
9 Should I not punish them for this?”(BQ)
declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge(BR) myself
on such a nation as this?
10 “Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
but do not destroy them completely.(BS)
Strip off her branches,
for these people do not belong to the Lord.
11 The people of Israel and the people of Judah
have been utterly unfaithful(BT) to me,”
declares the Lord.
12 They have lied(BU) about the Lord;
they said, “He will do nothing!
No harm will come to us;(BV)
we will never see sword or famine.(BW)
13 The prophets(BX) are but wind(BY)
and the word is not in them;
so let what they say be done to them.”
14 Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says:
“Because the people have spoken these words,
I will make my words in your mouth(BZ) a fire(CA)
and these people the wood it consumes.(CB)
15 People of Israel,” declares the Lord,
“I am bringing a distant nation(CC) against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
a people whose language(CD) you do not know,
whose speech you do not understand.
16 Their quivers(CE) are like an open grave;
all of them are mighty warriors.
17 They will devour(CF) your harvests and food,
devour(CG) your sons and daughters;
they will devour(CH) your flocks and herds,
devour your vines and fig trees.(CI)
With the sword(CJ) they will destroy
the fortified cities(CK) in which you trust.(CL)
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not destroy(CM) you completely. 19 And when the people ask,(CN) ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods(CO) in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners(CP) in a land not your own.’
20 “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob
and proclaim(CQ) it in Judah:
21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,(CR)
who have eyes(CS) but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear:(CT)
22 Should you not fear(CU) me?” declares the Lord.
“Should you not tremble(CV) in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,(CW)
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar,(CX) but they cannot cross it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious(CY) hearts;
they have turned aside(CZ) and gone away.
24 They do not say to themselves,
‘Let us fear(DA) the Lord our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains(DB) in season,
who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’(DC)
25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
your sins have deprived you of good.(DD)
26 “Among my people are the wicked(DE)
who lie in wait(DF) like men who snare birds
and like those who set traps(DG) to catch people.
27 Like cages full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;(DH)
they have become rich(DI) and powerful
28 and have grown fat(DJ) and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
they do not seek justice.
They do not promote the case of the fatherless;(DK)
they do not defend the just cause of the poor.(DL)
29 Should I not punish them for this?”
declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge(DM) myself
on such a nation as this?
30 “A horrible(DN) and shocking thing
has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy lies,(DO)
the priests(DP) rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?(DQ)
Jerusalem Under Siege
6 “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!
Flee from Jerusalem!
Sound the trumpet(DR) in Tekoa!(DS)
Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!(DT)
For disaster looms out of the north,(DU)
even terrible destruction.
2 I will destroy Daughter Zion,(DV)
so beautiful and delicate.(DW)
3 Shepherds(DX) with their flocks will come against her;
they will pitch their tents around(DY) her,
each tending his own portion.”
4 “Prepare for battle against her!
Arise, let us attack at noon!(DZ)
But, alas, the daylight is fading,
and the shadows of evening grow long.
5 So arise, let us attack at night
and destroy her fortresses!”
6 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Cut down the trees(EA)
and build siege ramps(EB) against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished;
it is filled with oppression.(EC)
7 As a well pours out its water,
so she pours out her wickedness.
Violence(ED) and destruction(EE) resound in her;
her sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Take warning, Jerusalem,
or I will turn away(EF) from you
and make your land desolate
so no one can live in it.”
9 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Let them glean the remnant(EG) of Israel
as thoroughly as a vine;
pass your hand over the branches again,
like one gathering grapes.”
10 To whom can I speak and give warning?
Who will listen(EH) to me?
Their ears are closed[a](EI)
so they cannot hear.(EJ)
The word(EK) of the Lord is offensive to them;
they find no pleasure in it.
11 But I am full of the wrath(EL) of the Lord,
and I cannot hold it in.(EM)
“Pour it out on the children in the street
and on the young men(EN) gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
and the old, those weighed down with years.(EO)
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,(EP)
together with their fields and their wives,(EQ)
when I stretch out my hand(ER)
against those who live in the land,”
declares the Lord.
13 “From the least to the greatest,
all(ES) are greedy for gain;(ET)
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.(EU)
14 They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
when there is no peace.(EV)
15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush.(EW)
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when I punish(EX) them,”
says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 6:10 Hebrew uncircumcised
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.