Jeremiah 4

Revised Geneva Translation

4 “O Israel, if you return, return to Me,” says the LORD, “and if you put away your abominations out of My sight, then you shall not waver.

² “And you shall swear, ‘The LORD lives in truth, in judgment and in righteousness. And the nations shall be blessed in Him and shall glory in Him.’”

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

⁴ “Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among the thorns. Be circumcised to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, you men of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest My wrath come forth like fire, and burn, so that no one can quench it, because of the wickedness of your inventions.

⁵ “Declare in Judah, and show forth in Jerusalem, and say, ‘Blow the trumpet in the land!’ Cry and gather together, and say, ‘Assemble yourselves, and let us go into strong cities!’

⁶ “Set up the standard in Zion. Prepare to flee. Do not stay. For I will bring a plague from the North, and a great destruction.”

⁷ The lion has come up from his den, and the destroyer of the Gentiles has departed, gone forth from his place to lay your land waste. Your cities shall be destroyed, without an inhabitant.

⁸ Therefore, gird yourself with sackcloth. Lament and howl. For the fierce wrath of the LORD has not turned back from us.

⁹ “And on that day,” says the LORD, “the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes and the priests shall be astonished, and the Prophets shall wonder.”

¹⁰ Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have deceived this people, and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You shall have peace,’ and the sword pierces to the heart.”

¹¹ At that time, it shall be said to this people, and to Jerusalem, “A dry wind in the high places of the wilderness comes toward the daughter of My people, neither to fan nor to cleanse.

¹² “A mighty wind shall come to Me from those places. And now I will also give sentence upon them.”

¹³ “Behold, he shall come up as the clouds, and his chariots as a tempest. His horses are lighter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are destroyed!”

¹⁴ O, Jerusalem! Wash your heart from wickedness, so that you may be saved. How long shall your wicked thoughts remain within you?

¹⁵ For a voice declares from Dan and publishes affliction from Mount Ephraim.

¹⁶ “Make mention of the heathen. Publish in Jerusalem. Behold, the scouts come from a far country and cry out against the cities of Judah.

¹⁷ “They have surrounded her as the watchmen of the field, because she has provoked Me to wrath,” says the LORD.

¹⁸ “Your ways and your inventions have procured these things for yourself. Such is your wickedness. Therefore, it shall be bitter. Therefore, it shall pierce to your heart.”

¹⁹ My belly! My belly! I am pained, even at the very heart! My heart is troubled within me. I cannot be still! For my soul has heard the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of the battle.

²⁰ Destruction upon destruction is cried, for the whole land is wasted. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, and my curtains, in a moment.

²¹ How long shall I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?

²² “For my people are foolish. They have not known Me. They are foolish children and have no understanding. They are wise in doing evil, but in doing well they have no knowledge.”

²³ I have looked upon the Earth. And lo, it was without form and void. And the heavens had no light.

²⁴ I beheld the mountains. And lo, they trembled. And all the hills shook.

²⁵ I beheld, and lo, there was no man. And all the birds of the heaven had departed.

²⁶ I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness. And all its cities were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by His fierce wrath.

²⁷ For thus has the LORD said: “The whole land shall be desolate. Yet I will not make a full end.

²⁸ “Therefore, the Earth shall mourn. And the heavens above shall be darkened because I have pronounced it. I have thought it, and will not relent, nor will I turn back from it.

²⁹ “The whole city shall flee because of the noise of the horsemen and bowmen. They shall go into thickets and climb up upon the rocks. Every city shall be forsaken, no one dwelling in them.

³⁰ “And when you shall be destroyed, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with scarlet, though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, though you paint your face with colors, yet shall you trim yourself in vain. Your lovers will abhor you and seek your life.

³¹ “For I have heard a noise as of a woman in labor, or as one bringing forth her first child, the voice of the daughter Zion that sighs and stretches out her hands, saying, ‘Woe is me now! For my soul faints because of the murderers!’”