Jeremiah 6
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Disciplines Israel
6 “Flee for safety, O sons of (A)Benjamin,
From the midst of Jerusalem!
Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa
And raise a signal over [a](B)Beth-haccerem,
For evil looks down from the (C)north,
As well as great destruction.
2 The comely and (D)delicate one, (E)the daughter of Zion, I will ruin.
3 (F)Shepherds and their flocks will come to her;
They will (G)pitch their tents [b]around her;
They will pasture each in his [c]place.
4 (H)Set yourselves apart for war against her;
Arise, and let us go up at (I)noon.
Woe to us, for the day declines,
For the shadows of the evening stretch out!
5 Arise, and let us go up by night
And [d](J)destroy her [e]palaces!”
6 For thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“(K)Cut down her trees
And cast up a (L)siege against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
In whose midst there is only (M)oppression.
7 (N)Like a well [f]keeps its waters fresh,
So she [g]keeps fresh her evil.
(O)Violence and devastation are heard in her;
(P)Sickness and wounds are continually before Me.
8 (Q)Heed discipline, O Jerusalem,
Lest (R)My soul become disgusted at you,
Lest I make you a desolation,
A land not inhabited.”
9 Thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“They will (S)thoroughly glean as the vine the (T)remnant of Israel;
Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer
Over the branches.”
10 To whom shall I speak and give warning
That they may hear?
Behold, their (U)ears are uncircumcised,
And they cannot give heed.
Behold, (V)the word of Yahweh has become a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.
11 But I am (W)full of the wrath of Yahweh;
I am (X)weary of holding it in.
“(Y)Pour it out on the infants in the street
And on the [h]gathering of choice men together;
For both husband and wife shall be captured,
The aged with the one full of days.
12 Their (Z)houses shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together,
For I will (AA)stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares Yahweh.
13 “For (AB)from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is (AC)greedy for gain,
And from the prophet even to the priest
Everyone practices lying.
14 They have (AD)healed the brokenness of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
15 Were they (AE)ashamed because of the abomination they have done?
They were not even ashamed at all;
They did not even know how to feel dishonor.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them,
They shall be cast down,” says Yahweh.
16 Thus says Yahweh,
“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the (AF)ancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
And (AG)you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 And I set (AH)watchmen over you, saying,
‘Give heed to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not give heed.’
18 Therefore hear, O nations,
And know, O congregation, what is among them.
19 (AI)Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing evil on this people,
The (AJ)fruit of their [i]plans,
Because they have not given heed to My words,
And as for My law, they have (AK)rejected it also.
20 (AL)For what purpose does (AM)frankincense come to Me from Sheba
And the [j](AN)sweet cane from a distant land?
(AO)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”
21 Therefore, thus says Yahweh,
“Behold, (AP)I am [k]laying stumbling blocks before this people.
And they will stumble against them,
(AQ)Fathers and sons together;
Neighbor and [l]friend will perish.”
Mourn the Coming Destroyer
22 Thus says Yahweh,
“Behold, (AR)a people is coming from the land of the north,
And a great nation will be aroused from the (AS)remote parts of the earth.
23 They take hold of (AT)bow and spear;
They are (AU)cruel and have no compassion;
Their voice (AV)roars like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Arranged as a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24 We have (AW)heard the report of it;
Our hands are limp.
(AX)Distress has taken hold of us,
Pain as of a woman in childbirth.
25 (AY)Do not go out into the field
And (AZ)do not walk on the road,
For the enemy has a sword;
(BA)Terror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, (BB)gird yourself with sackcloth
And (BC)roll in ashes;
[m](BD)Mourn as for an only son,
A lamentation most bitter.
For suddenly the destroyer
Will come upon us.
27 “I have (BE)made you a tester of metals and [n]an assayer among My people,
That you may know and test their way.”
28 All of them are rebelliously stubborn,
(BF)Going about as a slanderer.
They are (BG)bronze and iron;
They, all of them, are corrupt.
29 The bellows blow fiercely;
The lead [o]is consumed by the fire;
In vain the refining goes on,
But the (BH)evil ones are not [p]separated.
30 (BI)They call them rejected silver
Because (BJ)Yahweh has rejected them.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 6:1 Lit house of the vineyard
- Jeremiah 6:3 Lit against her round about
- Jeremiah 6:3 Lit hand
- Jeremiah 6:5 Or bring to corruption, cf. 6:28
- Jeremiah 6:5 Or fortified towers
- Jeremiah 6:7 Lit keeps cold
- Jeremiah 6:7 Lit keeps cold
- Jeremiah 6:11 Lit council
- Jeremiah 6:19 Or devices
- Jeremiah 6:20 Lit good
- Jeremiah 6:21 Lit giving
- Jeremiah 6:21 Lit his friend
- Jeremiah 6:26 Lit Make for yourself mourning
- Jeremiah 6:27 Or a fortification
- Jeremiah 6:29 Lit comes to an end
- Jeremiah 6:29 Or drawn off
Jeremiah 6
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Siege Is Coming
The Lord[a]
6 Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!
Get out of Jerusalem!
Blow the ram’s horn in Tekoa.[b]
Raise a signal over Beth Hakkerem!
Disaster and great destruction threaten from the north.
2 I will silence the beautiful, pampered daughter of Zion.[c]
3 Shepherds and their flocks will come against her.
They will pitch their tents all around.
Each one will pasture his flock in his own spot.
The Enemy
4 Consecrate yourselves for war against her.
Rise up, we will attack at noon!
The People of Judah
We are doomed! The day is ending.
The evening shadows are getting longer.
The Enemy
5 We should get up and attack at night
and destroy its citadels.
The Lord
6 This is what the Lord of Armies says.
Cut down her trees.
Raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished.
There is nothing but oppression inside her.
7 Just as a well pours out fresh[d] water,
she pours out fresh evil.
Violence and destruction are heard in her.
Sickness and wounds are always before me.
8 Be warned, Jerusalem,
or I will turn away from you.
I will make your land desolate,
so that no one can live there.
9 This is what the Lord of Armies says.
They will glean what remains of Israel
as thoroughly as a vine.
Like someone gathering grapes,
pass your hand over the branches again.
10 Who can I speak to?
Who will listen to my warning?[e]
Look! Their ears are uncircumcised.
They will not be able to hear.
Indeed, to them the word of the Lord is an embarrassment.
They take no pleasure in it.
11 I am full of the Lord’s wrath,[f]
and I cannot hold it in.
Pour it out on the children in the street
and on the young men gathered together.
Both husband and wife will be taken,
the old along with the very old.
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,
together with their fields and their wives,
because I will stretch out my hand against those who live in the land,
declares the Lord.
13 From the least of them to the greatest,
all of them are greedy for gain.
From prophets to priests, they all practice deceit.
14 They have treated the wound of my people as if it were nothing serious.
They say, “Peace, peace,” but there is no peace!
15 Are they ashamed of the detestable things they have done?
No, they are not ashamed at all!
They do not know how to be ashamed.
So they will fall with the fallen.
They will be thrown down when I punish them, says the Lord.
16 This is what the Lord says.
Stand at the crossroads and look.
Ask about the ancient paths.
Ask where the good road is.
Walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, “We will not walk in it.”
17 I set watchmen over you and said,
“Listen to the sound of the ram’s horn!”
But you said, “We will not listen.”
18 Therefore, listen, you nations!
You witnesses, observe what will happen to them.
19 Listen, O earth.
I am bringing disaster on this people,
the fruit of their schemes,
because they have not listened to my words,
and they have rejected my law.
20 What use to me is incense from Sheba
or sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not appealing to me.
Your sacrifices do not please me.
21 Therefore this is what the Lord says.
Look, I am going to place obstacles in front of this people.
Parents and children alike will stumble over them.
Friends and neighbors will perish.
22 This is what the Lord says.
Look, a nation is coming from a land in the north.
A great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
23 Its warriors grip bows and spears.
They are cruel and merciless.
They sound like the roaring sea.
They ride horses, arranged like soldiers ready for battle
against you, O daughter of Zion.
The People of Judah
24 We have heard the news about them,
and our hands hang limp.
Anguish grips us like a woman in labor.
25 Do not go out to the field.
Do not walk on the road,
because the enemy has a sword.
There is terror on every side.
26 Put on sackcloth, daughter of my people.
Roll in ashes.
Mourn as you would for an only son,
because suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
The Lord
27 I have made you like someone who tests metals.
My people are the ore that is being tested.
Observe them,
and examine their ways.
28 They are all stubborn rebels,
walking in slander.
They are as hard as bronze and iron,
and all of them are contaminated.
29 The bellows blows hot to melt away the refining agent[g] with fire.
The refining agent is completely used up, but the evil is not removed.
30 They are classified as rejected silver,
because the Lord has rejected them.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 6:1 On the basis of the context and the gender of the Hebrew pronouns, the captions identify various speakers: the Lord, the enemy, and the people. In some instances these captions and divisions of the text are debatable.
- Jeremiah 6:1 The Hebrew word taka, blow, sounds like the name of the village Tekoa.
- Jeremiah 6:2 The meanings of two Hebrew words in this verse are uncertain.
- Jeremiah 6:7 Literally cool
- Jeremiah 6:10 The translation observes the traditional distinction between who and whom in formal prose but also recognizes the lessening use of this distinction in conversation.
- Jeremiah 6:11 The Lord refers to himself in the third person. This is not unusual in Hebrew poetry.
- Jeremiah 6:29 Literally lead
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