Jeremiah 6
English Standard Version
Impending Disaster for Jerusalem
6 Flee for safety, (A)O people of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in (B)Tekoa,
and raise a signal on (C)Beth-haccherem,
for disaster looms (D)out of the north,
and great destruction.
2 The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy,
(E)the daughter of Zion.[a]
3 (F)Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her;
(G)they shall pitch their tents around her;
they shall pasture, each in his place.
4 (H)“Prepare war against her;
arise, and let us attack (I)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:
(J)“Cut down her trees;
(K)cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be (L)punished;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
7 (M)As a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her evil;
(N)violence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
(O)lest I turn from you in disgust,
lest I make you (P)a desolation,
an uninhabited land.”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
(Q)“They shall glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches.”
10 (R)To whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
(S)Behold, their ears are uncircumcised,
(T)they cannot listen;
behold, (U)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;
(V)I am weary of holding it in.
(W)“Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
(X)both husband and wife (Y)shall be taken,
the elderly and the very aged.
12 (Z)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 (AA)“For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone (AB)is greedy for unjust gain;
and from (AC)prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, (AD)‘Peace, peace,’
(AE)when there is no peace.
15 (AF)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;
(AG)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 (AH)the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
(AI)and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 (AJ)I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Pay attention to (AK)the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, (AL)‘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,
(AM)the fruit of their devices,
because they have not paid attention to my words;
and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20 (AN)What use to me is (AO)frankincense that comes from (AP)Sheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
(AQ)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(AR)‘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:
(AS)“Behold, a people is coming (AT)from the north country,
a great nation is stirring from (AU)the farthest parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and javelin;
they are (AV)cruel and have no mercy;
(AW)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!”
24 We have heard the report of it;
(AX)our hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
(AY)pain as of a woman in labor.
25 Go not out into the field,
nor walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword;
(AZ)terror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, (BA)put on sackcloth,
and (BB)roll in ashes;
(BC)make mourning as for an only son,
most bitter lamentation,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
27 “I have made you (BD)a tester of metals among my people,
that you may know and (BE)test their ways.
28 (BF)They are all stubbornly rebellious,
(BG)going about with slanders;
they are (BH)bronze and iron;
all of them act corruptly.
29 The (BI)bellows blow fiercely;
the lead is consumed by the fire;
(BJ)in vain the refining goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
30 (BK)Rejected silver they are called,
for the Lord has rejected them.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 6:2 Or I have likened the daughter of Zion to the loveliest pasture
Yirmeyah 6
Orthodox Jewish Bible
6 O ye Bnei Binyamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Yerushalayim, and blow the shofar in Tekoa, and kindle the fire signal on Beit HaKerem; for ra’ah (evil, disaster) appeareth out of the tzafon (north), and shever gadol (great destruction).
2 Bat Tziyon, so beautiful and delicate, I will destroy.
3 The ro’im (shepherds) with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their ohalim against her all around; they shall pasture each his portion.
4 Prepare ye milchamah against her; arise, and let us go up to attack at noon. Oy unto us! For the yom fadeth away, for the shadows of erev are lengthening.
5 Arise, and let us attack ba’lailah, and let us destroy her fortresses.
6 For thus hath Hashem Tzva’os said, Cut ye down trees, and throw up a solelah (siege ramp) against Yerushalayim; this is the Ir that must be visited [for punishment]; oshek (oppression) is rampant within her.
7 As a well casteth afresh her waters, so she [Jerusalem] casteth afresh her rah (wickedness); chamas and shod (destruction) is heard in her; before Me tamid (continually) is sickness and wounds.
8 Be thou warned, O Yerushalayim, lest My nefesh depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, an eretz not inhabited.
9 Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os, They shall thoroughly glean the She’erit Yisroel (the Remnant of Israel) as a gefen (vine); turn back thine yad once again like a grape gatherer over the vine tendrils.
10 To whom can I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? Hinei, their ear is arelah (uncircumcised), and to pay heed is beyond them; hinei, the Devar Hashem is unto them a reproach; they find no pleasure in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the chamat Hashem; I am weary with holding in; I will pour it out upon the olal in the street, and upon the assembly of bocherim together; for even the ish with the isha shall be caught, the zaken, those weighed down with yamim (days).
12 And their batim (houses) shall be turned over unto others, with their sadot and nashim together; for I will stretch out My yad upon the Yoshvei HaAretz (Inhabitants of the Land), saith Hashem.
13 For from the katan of them even unto the gadol of them, every one is given to greediness for unjust gain; and from the navi even unto the kohen, every one doeth sheker (deceit, falsehood).
14 They have provided superficial treatment for Ami, saying, Shalom, shalom; v’ein shalom.
15 Were they ashamed when they had committed to’evah (abomination)? They were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush; therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them [in punishment] they shall be brought down, saith Hashem.
16 Thus saith Hashem, Stand ye in the derakhim (crossroads), and look, and ask for the netivot olam (old paths), where is the derech hatov (good road, way), and walk therein, and ye shall find margo’a (rest) for your nefashot. But they said, We will not walk therein.
17 Also I set tzofim (watchmen) over you, saying, Pay heed to the kol shofar (sound of the shofar). But they said, We will not pay heed.
18 Therefore hear, ye Goyim, and know, O Edah (Congregation), what will happen to them.
19 Hear, HaAretz (O Earth); hinei, I will bring ra’ah (evil, disaster) upon HaAm Hazeh, even the p’ri (fruit) of their machsh’vot (schemes), because they have not paid heed unto My devarim, nor to My torah, but rejected it.
20 To what purpose cometh there to Me frankincense from Sheva [i.e., southwest Arabia], and the sweet cane from a far country? Your olot (burnt offerings) are not acceptable, nor your zevakhim pleasing unto Me.
21 Therefore thus saith Hashem, Hineni, I will lay michsholim (stumblingblocks) before HaAm HaZeh, and the Avot and the Banim together shall stumble upon them; the shakhen (neighbor) and his re’a (neighbor, friend) shall perish.
22 Thus saith Hashem, Hinei, Am (an Army, a people) cometh from the eretz tzafon, and a Goy Gadol is aroused from the ends of the earth.
23 They shall lay hold of keshet (bow) and kidon (spear); they are cruel, and have no mercy; their kol (voice) roareth like the yam; and they ride upon susim, set in array as ish for milchamah against thee, O Bat Tziyon.
24 We have heard the fame thereof; our hands hang limp; tzarah (anguish) hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in labor.
25 Go not forth into the sadeh, nor walk by the derech; for the cherev of the oyev (enemy) and magur (fear, terror) is on every side.
26 O Bat Ami, gird thee with sackcloth, and roll thyself in ashes; make thee evel (mourning), as for a yachid (only son), most bitter lamentation; for the shoded (destroyer) shall suddenly come upon us.
27 I have set thee for a bachon (tester, assayer) of Ami (My People); that thou mayest know and test their derech (way, conduct).
28 They are all maximum rebels, going about as rachil (talebearers, slanderers); they are nechoshet and barzel; they are all corrupt.
29 The bellows blow, the oferet (lead) is consumed by the eish; the smelter’s refining is in vain; for the ra’im are not drawn off.
30 Nimas kesef (reprobate silver, rejected silver) shall men call them, because Hashem hath rejected them.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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