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Jeremiah 4:15-6:23
English Standard Version
Jeremiah 4:15-6:23
English Standard Version
15 For a voice (A)declares from Dan
and proclaims trouble from (B)Mount Ephraim.
16 Warn the nations that he is coming;
announce to Jerusalem,
“Besiegers come (C)from a distant land;
they shout against the cities of Judah.
17 Like keepers of a field (D)are 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 (E)it is bitter;
it has reached your very heart.”
Anguish over Judah's Desolation
19 (F)My 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 (G)Crash follows hard on crash;
the whole land is laid waste.
(H)Suddenly 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 (I)my people are foolish;
they know me not;
they are stupid children;
they have no understanding.
(J)They are ‘wise’—in doing evil!
But how to do good they know not.”
23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was (K)without form and void;
(L)and to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on (M)the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.
25 (N)I looked, and behold, there was no man,
and all the birds of the air had fled.
26 I looked, and behold, the (O)fruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before (P)his fierce anger.
27 For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation; (Q)yet I will not make a full end.
28 (R)“For this the earth shall mourn,
(S)and the heavens above be dark;
for I have spoken; I have purposed;
(T)I 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 (U)no man dwells in them.
30 And you, O desolate one,
what do you mean that you dress in scarlet,
(V)that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
(W)that you enlarge your eyes with paint?
In vain you beautify yourself.
(X)Your lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
31 For I heard (Y)a 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,
(Z)stretching out her hands,
“Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.”
Jerusalem Refused to Repent
5 (AA)Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
look and take note!
Search her squares to see
(AB)if you can find a man,
one who does justice
and seeks truth,
(AC)that I may pardon her.
2 (AD)Though they say, “As the Lord lives,”
(AE)yet they swear falsely.
3 O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?
(AF)You have struck them down,
but they felt no anguish;
you have consumed them,
but they refused to take correction.
(AG)They have made their faces harder than rock;
they have refused to repent.
4 Then I said, “These are only the poor;
they have no sense;
(AH)for they do not know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.
5 I will go to the great
and will speak to them,
for they know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.”
(AI)But they all alike had broken the yoke;
they had burst the bonds.
6 Therefore (AJ)a lion from the forest shall strike them down;
a (AK)wolf from the desert shall devastate them.
(AL)A leopard is watching their cities;
everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,
because their transgressions are many,
their (AM)apostasies are great.
7 (AN)“How can I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me
(AO)and have sworn by those who are no gods.
(AP)When I fed them to the full,
(AQ)they committed adultery
(AR)and trooped to the houses of whores.
8 They were well-fed, lusty stallions,
(AS)each neighing (AT)for his neighbor's wife.
9 (AU)Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the Lord;
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?
10 (AV)“Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
(AW)but make not a full end;
strip away her branches,
for they are not the Lord's.
11 (AX)For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
have been utterly treacherous to me,
declares the Lord.
12 They have spoken falsely of the Lord
and have said, ‘He will do nothing;
(AY)no disaster will come upon us,
(AZ)nor shall we see sword or famine.
13 The prophets will become wind;
the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them!’”
The Lord Proclaims Judgment
14 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts:
“Because you have spoken this word,
behold, (BA)I am making my words in your mouth (BB)a fire,
and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.
15 (BC)Behold, I am bringing against you
a nation from afar, O house of Israel,
declares the Lord.
It is an enduring nation;
it is an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know,
(BD)nor can you understand what they say.
16 (BE)Their quiver is like (BF)an open tomb;
they are all mighty warriors.
17 (BG)They shall eat up your harvest and your food;
they shall eat up your sons and your daughters;
they shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
your (BH)fortified cities in which you trust
they shall beat down with the sword.”
18 “But even in those days, declares the Lord, (BI)I will not make a full end of you. 19 And when your people say, (BJ)‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, (BK)so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’”
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob;
proclaim it in Judah:
21 “Hear this, (BL)O foolish and senseless people,
(BM)who have eyes, but see not,
who have ears, but hear not.
22 (BN)Do you not fear me? declares the Lord.
Do you not tremble before me?
I placed the sand (BO)as the boundary for the sea,
a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
though (BP)they roar, they cannot pass over it.
23 (BQ)But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
they have turned aside and gone away.
24 They do not say in their hearts,
‘Let us fear the Lord our God,
(BR)who gives the rain in its season,
the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us
(BS)the weeks appointed for the harvest.’
25 (BT)Your iniquities have turned these away,
and your sins have kept good from you.
26 For wicked men are found among my people;
(BU)they lurk like fowlers lying in wait.[a]
(BV)They set a trap;
they catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;
therefore they have become great and rich;
28 (BW)they have grown fat and sleek.
They know no bounds in deeds of evil;
(BX)they judge not with justice
the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,
and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
29 (BY)Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?”
30 An appalling and (BZ)horrible thing
has happened in the land:
31 (CA)the prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests rule at their direction;
(CB)my people love to have it so,
but what will you do when the end comes?
Impending Disaster for Jerusalem
6 Flee for safety, (CC)O people of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in (CD)Tekoa,
and raise a signal on (CE)Beth-haccherem,
for disaster looms (CF)out of the north,
and great destruction.
2 The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy,
(CG)the daughter of Zion.[b]
3 (CH)Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her;
(CI)they shall pitch their tents around her;
they shall pasture, each in his place.
4 (CJ)“Prepare war against her;
arise, and let us attack (CK)at noon!
Woe to us, for the day declines,
for the shadows of evening lengthen!
5 Arise, and let us attack by night
and destroy her palaces!”
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts:
(CL)“Cut down her trees;
(CM)cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be (CN)punished;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
7 (CO)As a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her evil;
(CP)violence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
(CQ)lest I turn from you in disgust,
lest I make you (CR)a desolation,
an uninhabited land.”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
(CS)“They shall glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches.”
10 (CT)To whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
(CU)Behold, their ears are uncircumcised,
(CV)they cannot listen;
behold, (CW)the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;
they take no pleasure in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
(CX)I am weary of holding it in.
(CY)“Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
(CZ)both husband and wife (DA)shall be taken,
the elderly and the very aged.
12 (DB)Their houses shall be turned over to others,
their fields and wives together,
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,”
declares the Lord.
13 (DC)“For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone (DD)is greedy for unjust gain;
and from (DE)prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, (DF)‘Peace, peace,’
(DG)when there is no peace.
15 (DH)Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
(DI)at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”
says the Lord.
16 Thus says the Lord:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for (DJ)the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
(DK)and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 (DL)I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Pay attention to (DM)the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, (DN)‘We will not pay attention.’
18 Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
19 Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people,
(DO)the fruit of their devices,
because they have not paid attention to my words;
and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20 (DP)What use to me is (DQ)frankincense that comes from (DR)Sheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
(DS)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(DT)‘Behold, I will lay before this people
stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;
fathers and sons together,
neighbor and friend shall perish.’”
22 Thus says the Lord:
(DU)“Behold, a people is coming (DV)from the north country,
a great nation is stirring from (DW)the farthest parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and javelin;
they are (DX)cruel and have no mercy;
(DY)the sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
set in array as a man for battle,
against you, O daughter of Zion!”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 5:26 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- Jeremiah 6:2 Or I have likened the daughter of Zion to the loveliest pasture
Jeremiah 4:15-6:23
New International Version
Jeremiah 4:15-6:23
New International Version
15 A voice is announcing from Dan,(A)
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.(B)
16 “Tell this to the nations,
proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,(C)
raising a war cry(D) against the cities of Judah.(E)
17 They surround(F) her like men guarding a field,
because she has rebelled(G) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
18 “Your own conduct and actions(H)
have brought this on you.(I)
This is your punishment.
How bitter(J) it is!
How it pierces to the heart!”
19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!(K)
I writhe in pain.(L)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds(M) within me,
I cannot keep silent.(N)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;(O)
I have heard the battle cry.(P)
20 Disaster follows disaster;(Q)
the whole land lies in ruins.(R)
In an instant my tents(S) are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard(T)
and hear the sound of the trumpet?(U)
22 “My people are fools;(V)
they do not know me.(W)
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.(X)
They are skilled in doing evil;(Y)
they know not how to do good.”(Z)
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;(AA)
and at the heavens,
and their light(AB) was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;(AC)
all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.(AD)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;(AE)
all its towns lay in ruins(AF)
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.(AG)
27 This is what the Lord says:
“The whole land will be ruined,(AH)
though I will not destroy(AI) it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn(AJ)
and the heavens above grow dark,(AK)
because I have spoken and will not relent,(AL)
I have decided and will not turn back.(AM)”
29 At the sound of horsemen and archers(AN)
every town takes to flight.(AO)
Some go into the thickets;
some climb up among the rocks.(AP)
All the towns are deserted;(AQ)
no one lives in them.
30 What are you doing,(AR) you devastated one?
Why dress yourself in scarlet
and put on jewels(AS) of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup?(AT)
You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers(AU) despise you;
they want to kill you.(AV)
31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,(AW)
a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of Daughter Zion(AX) gasping for breath,(AY)
stretching out her hands(AZ) and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting;
my life is given over to murderers.”(BA)
Not One Is Upright
5 “Go up and down(BB) the streets of Jerusalem,
look around and consider,(BC)
search through her squares.
If you can find but one person(BD)
who deals honestly(BE) and seeks the truth,
I will forgive(BF) this city.
2 Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’(BG)
still they are swearing falsely.(BH)”
3 Lord, do not your eyes(BI) look for truth?
You struck(BJ) them, but they felt no pain;
you crushed them, but they refused correction.(BK)
They made their faces harder than stone(BL)
and refused to repent.(BM)
4 I thought, “These are only the poor;
they are foolish,(BN)
for they do not know(BO) the way of the Lord,
the requirements of their God.
5 So I will go to the leaders(BP)
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.(BQ)
6 Therefore a lion from the forest(BR) will attack them,
a wolf from the desert will ravage(BS) them,
a leopard(BT) will lie in wait near their towns
to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
and their backslidings many.(BU)
7 “Why should I forgive you?
Your children have forsaken me
and sworn(BV) by gods that are not gods.(BW)
I supplied all their needs,
yet they committed adultery(BX)
and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.(BY)
8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
each neighing for another man’s wife.(BZ)
9 Should I not punish them for this?”(CA)
declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge(CB) myself
on such a nation as this?
10 “Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
but do not destroy them completely.(CC)
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(CD) to me,”
declares the Lord.
12 They have lied(CE) about the Lord;
they said, “He will do nothing!
No harm will come to us;(CF)
we will never see sword or famine.(CG)
13 The prophets(CH) are but wind(CI)
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(CJ) a fire(CK)
and these people the wood it consumes.(CL)
15 People of Israel,” declares the Lord,
“I am bringing a distant nation(CM) against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
a people whose language(CN) you do not know,
whose speech you do not understand.
16 Their quivers(CO) are like an open grave;
all of them are mighty warriors.
17 They will devour(CP) your harvests and food,
devour(CQ) your sons and daughters;
they will devour(CR) your flocks and herds,
devour your vines and fig trees.(CS)
With the sword(CT) they will destroy
the fortified cities(CU) in which you trust.(CV)
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not destroy(CW) you completely. 19 And when the people ask,(CX) ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods(CY) in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners(CZ) in a land not your own.’
20 “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob
and proclaim(DA) it in Judah:
21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,(DB)
who have eyes(DC) but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear:(DD)
22 Should you not fear(DE) me?” declares the Lord.
“Should you not tremble(DF) in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,(DG)
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar,(DH) but they cannot cross it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious(DI) hearts;
they have turned aside(DJ) and gone away.
24 They do not say to themselves,
‘Let us fear(DK) the Lord our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains(DL) in season,
who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’(DM)
25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
your sins have deprived you of good.(DN)
26 “Among my people are the wicked(DO)
who lie in wait(DP) like men who snare birds
and like those who set traps(DQ) to catch people.
27 Like cages full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;(DR)
they have become rich(DS) and powerful
28 and have grown fat(DT) and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
they do not seek justice.
They do not promote the case of the fatherless;(DU)
they do not defend the just cause of the poor.(DV)
29 Should I not punish them for this?”
declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge(DW) myself
on such a nation as this?
30 “A horrible(DX) and shocking thing
has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy lies,(DY)
the priests(DZ) rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?(EA)
Jerusalem Under Siege
6 “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!
Flee from Jerusalem!
Sound the trumpet(EB) in Tekoa!(EC)
Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!(ED)
For disaster looms out of the north,(EE)
even terrible destruction.
2 I will destroy Daughter Zion,(EF)
so beautiful and delicate.(EG)
3 Shepherds(EH) with their flocks will come against her;
they will pitch their tents around(EI) her,
each tending his own portion.”
4 “Prepare for battle against her!
Arise, let us attack at noon!(EJ)
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(EK)
and build siege ramps(EL) against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished;
it is filled with oppression.(EM)
7 As a well pours out its water,
so she pours out her wickedness.
Violence(EN) and destruction(EO) resound in her;
her sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Take warning, Jerusalem,
or I will turn away(EP) 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(EQ) 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(ER) to me?
Their ears are closed[a](ES)
so they cannot hear.(ET)
The word(EU) of the Lord is offensive to them;
they find no pleasure in it.
11 But I am full of the wrath(EV) of the Lord,
and I cannot hold it in.(EW)
“Pour it out on the children in the street
and on the young men(EX) gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
and the old, those weighed down with years.(EY)
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,(EZ)
together with their fields and their wives,(FA)
when I stretch out my hand(FB)
against those who live in the land,”
declares the Lord.
13 “From the least to the greatest,
all(FC) are greedy for gain;(FD)
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.(FE)
14 They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
when there is no peace.(FF)
15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush.(FG)
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when I punish(FH) them,”
says the Lord.
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,(FI)
ask where the good way(FJ) is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest(FK) for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 I appointed watchmen(FL) over you and said,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’(FM)
But you said, ‘We will not listen.’(FN)
18 Therefore hear, you nations;
you who are witnesses,
observe what will happen to them.
19 Hear, you earth:(FO)
I am bringing disaster(FP) on this people,
the fruit of their schemes,(FQ)
because they have not listened to my words(FR)
and have rejected my law.(FS)
20 What do I care about incense from Sheba(FT)
or sweet calamus(FU) from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;(FV)
your sacrifices(FW) do not please me.”(FX)
21 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“I will put obstacles before this people.
Parents and children alike will stumble(FY) over them;
neighbors and friends will perish.”
22 This is what the Lord says:
“Look, an army is coming
from the land of the north;(FZ)
a great nation is being stirred up
from the ends of the earth.(GA)
23 They are armed with bow and spear;
they are cruel and show no mercy.(GB)
They sound like the roaring sea(GC)
as they ride on their horses;(GD)
they come like men in battle formation
to attack you, Daughter Zion.(GE)”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 6:10 Hebrew uncircumcised
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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.