Jeremiah 4:1-18

New King James Version

Jeremiah Laments over Judah

4 “If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord,
^(A)“Return to Me;
And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,
Then you shall not be moved.
²^(B)And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’
^(C)In truth, in ^[a]judgment, and in righteousness;
^(D)The nations shall bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they shall ^(E)glory.”

³For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

^(F)“Break up your ^[b]fallow ground,
And ^(G)do not sow among thorns.
⁴^(H)Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
And take away the foreskins of your hearts,
You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My fury come forth like fire,
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.”

An Imminent Invasion

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

^(I)“Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry, ‘Gather together,’
And say, ^(J)‘Assemble yourselves,
And let us go into the fortified cities.’
⁶Set up the ^[c]standard toward Zion.
Take refuge! Do not delay!
For I will bring disaster from the ^(K)north,
And great destruction.”

⁷^(L)The lion has come up from his thicket,
And ^(M)the destroyer of nations is on his way.
He has gone forth from his place
^(N)To make your land desolate.
Your cities will be laid waste,
Without inhabitant.
⁸For this, ^(O)clothe yourself with sackcloth,
Lament and wail.
For the fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.

⁹“And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord,
“That the heart of the king shall perish,
And the heart of the princes;
The priests shall be astonished,
And the prophets shall wonder.”

¹⁰Then I said, “Ah, Lord God!
^(P)Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem,
^(Q)Saying, ‘You shall have peace,’
Whereas the sword reaches to the ^[d]heart.”

¹¹At that time it will be said
To this people and to Jerusalem,
^(R)“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 ^(S)I will also speak judgment against them.”

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

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