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Jeremiah 4
Legacy Standard Bible
Jeremiah 4
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Calls Israel to Return to Him
4 “If you will (A)return, O Israel,” declares Yahweh,
“Then you should return to Me.
And (B)if you will put away your detested things from My presence
And will not waver
2 And you will (C)swear, ‘As Yahweh lives,’
(D)In truth, in justice, and in righteousness;
Then the (E)nations will [a]be blessed in Him,
And (F)in Him they will boast.”
3 For thus says Yahweh to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,
“[b](G)Break up your fallow ground,
And (H)do not sow among thorns.
4 (I)Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh
And remove the foreskins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My (J)wrath go forth like fire
And burn with (K)none to quench it
Because of the evil of your deeds.”
Evil from the North
5 Declare in Judah and make it heard in Jerusalem and say,
“(L)Blow the trumpet in the land;
Call out, make your voice full, and say,
‘(M)Gather yourselves, and let us go
Into the fortified cities.’
6 Lift up a (N)standard toward Zion!
Seek safety, do not stand still,
For I am bringing (O)evil from the north,
And great destruction.
7 A (P)lion has gone up from his thicket,
And a (Q)destroyer of nations has set out;
He has gone out from his place
To (R)make your land a desolation.
Your cities will be turned into ruins
Without inhabitant.
8 For this, (S)I gird myself with sackcloth,
Lament and wail;
For the (T)burning anger of Yahweh
Has not turned back from us.”
9 “It will be in that day,” declares Yahweh, “that the (U)heart of the king and the heart of the princes will perish; and the priests will be appalled, and the (V)prophets will be astonished.”
10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Surely You have utterly (W)deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘(X)You will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the [c]throat.”
11 In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A [d](Y)scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness along the way of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12 a wind too full for these things—will come [e]for My purpose; now I will also speak judgments against them.
13 Behold, he (Z)goes up like clouds,
And his (AA)chariots like the whirlwind;
His horses are (AB)swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for (AC)we are devastated!”
14 Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem,
That you may be saved.
How long will your (AD)wicked thoughts
Lodge within you?
15 For a voice declares from (AE)Dan,
And makes wickedness heard from Mount Ephraim.
16 “Make mention of it to the nations, saying, ‘Behold!’
Make it heard over Jerusalem,
‘Besiegers come from a (AF)far country,
And (AG)give forth their voices against the cities of Judah.
17 Like watchmen of a field they are (AH)against her round about
Because she has (AI)rebelled against Me,’ declares Yahweh.
18 Your (AJ)ways and your deeds
Have done these things to you.
This is your evil. How (AK)bitter!
How it has touched your heart!”
Anguish over Judah’s Desolation
19 (AL)My [f]soul, my [g]soul! I am in anguish! [h]Oh, my heart!
My (AM)heart is pounding in me;
I cannot be silent
Because [i]you have heard, O my soul,
The (AN)sound of the trumpet,
The shout of war.
20 (AO)Destruction upon destruction is called out,
For the (AP)whole land is devastated;
Suddenly my (AQ)tents are devastated,
My curtains in an instant.
21 How long must I see the standard
And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “(AR)For My people are ignorant fools,
They know Me not;
They are simpleminded children
And have no understanding.
They are wise to (AS)do evil,
But to do good they do not know.”
23 I saw on the earth, and behold, it was [j](AT)formless and void;
And to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I saw on the mountains, and behold, they were (AU)quaking,
And all the hills [k]moved to and fro.
25 I saw, and behold, there was no man,
And all the (AV)birds of the sky had fled.
26 I saw, and behold, [l]the (AW)fruitful orchard was a wilderness,
And all its cities were torn down
Before Yahweh, before His burning anger.
27 For thus says Yahweh,
“The (AX)whole land shall be a desolation,
Yet I will (AY)not execute a complete destruction.
28 For this the (AZ)earth shall mourn
And the (BA)heavens above be dark
Because I have (BB)spoken; I have purposed,
And I will not [m]relent, nor will I turn from it.”
29 At the sound of the horseman and bowman (BC)every city flees;
They (BD)go into the thickets and climb up among the rocks;
(BE)Every city is forsaken,
And no man inhabits them.
30 And you, O devastated one, (BF)what will you do?
Although you dress in scarlet,
Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,
Although you (BG)enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you make yourself beautiful.
Your [n](BH)lovers despise you;
They seek your life.
31 For I heard a sound as of a woman in labor pains,
The distress as of one giving birth to her first child,
The sound of the daughter of Zion (BI)gasping for breath,
(BJ)Stretching out her [o]hands, saying,
“Ah, woe is me, for my soul faints before murderers.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 4:2 Or experience blessing repeatedly, bless themselves
- Jeremiah 4:3 Lit Plow for yourselves plowed ground
- Jeremiah 4:10 Or life
- Jeremiah 4:11 Lit shimmering
- Jeremiah 4:12 Lit for Me
- Jeremiah 4:19 Lit inward parts
- Jeremiah 4:19 Lit inward parts
- Jeremiah 4:19 Lit The walls of my heart
- Jeremiah 4:19 Or I, my soul, heard
- Jeremiah 4:23 Or a waste and emptiness
- Jeremiah 4:24 Lit moved lightly
- Jeremiah 4:26 Or Carmel
- Jeremiah 4:28 Or regret, cf. 1 Sam 15:11, 29, 3
- Jeremiah 4:30 Lit paramours
- Jeremiah 4:31 Lit palms
Jeremiah 4
New International Version
Jeremiah 4
New International Version
4 “If you, Israel, will return,(A)
then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols(B) out of my sight
and no longer go astray,
2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear,(C) ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’(D)
then the nations will invoke blessings(E) by him
and in him they will boast.(F)”
3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Break up your unplowed ground(G)
and do not sow among thorns.(H)
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
circumcise your hearts,(I)
you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath(J) will flare up and burn like fire(K)
because of the evil(L) you have done—
burn with no one to quench(M) it.
Disaster From the North
5 “Announce in Judah and proclaim(N) in Jerusalem and say:
‘Sound the trumpet(O) throughout the land!’
Cry aloud and say:
‘Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities!’(P)
6 Raise the signal(Q) to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster(R) from the north,(S)
even terrible destruction.”
7 A lion(T) has come out of his lair;(U)
a destroyer(V) of nations has set out.
He has left his place
to lay waste(W) your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins(X)
without inhabitant.
8 So put on sackcloth,(Y)
lament(Z) and wail,
for the fierce anger(AA) of the Lord
has not turned away from us.
9 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“the king and the officials will lose heart,(AB)
the priests will be horrified,
and the prophets will be appalled.”(AC)
10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived(AD) this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’(AE) when the sword is at our throats!”
11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind(AF) from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind(AG) too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments(AH) against them.”
13 Look! He advances like the clouds,(AI)
his chariots(AJ) come like a whirlwind,(AK)
his horses(AL) are swifter than eagles.(AM)
Woe to us! We are ruined!(AN)
14 Jerusalem, wash(AO) the evil from your heart and be saved.(AP)
How long(AQ) will you harbor wicked thoughts?
15 A voice is announcing from Dan,(AR)
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.(AS)
16 “Tell this to the nations,
proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,(AT)
raising a war cry(AU) against the cities of Judah.(AV)
17 They surround(AW) her like men guarding a field,
because she has rebelled(AX) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
18 “Your own conduct and actions(AY)
have brought this on you.(AZ)
This is your punishment.
How bitter(BA) it is!
How it pierces to the heart!”
19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!(BB)
I writhe in pain.(BC)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds(BD) within me,
I cannot keep silent.(BE)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;(BF)
I have heard the battle cry.(BG)
20 Disaster follows disaster;(BH)
the whole land lies in ruins.(BI)
In an instant my tents(BJ) are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard(BK)
and hear the sound of the trumpet?(BL)
22 “My people are fools;(BM)
they do not know me.(BN)
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.(BO)
They are skilled in doing evil;(BP)
they know not how to do good.”(BQ)
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;(BR)
and at the heavens,
and their light(BS) was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;(BT)
all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.(BU)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;(BV)
all its towns lay in ruins(BW)
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.(BX)
27 This is what the Lord says:
“The whole land will be ruined,(BY)
though I will not destroy(BZ) it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn(CA)
and the heavens above grow dark,(CB)
because I have spoken and will not relent,(CC)
I have decided and will not turn back.(CD)”
29 At the sound of horsemen and archers(CE)
every town takes to flight.(CF)
Some go into the thickets;
some climb up among the rocks.(CG)
All the towns are deserted;(CH)
no one lives in them.
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