Jeremiah 4:11-28

New King James Version

¹¹At that time it will be said
To this people and to Jerusalem,
^(A)“A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness
Toward the daughter of My people—
Not to fan or to cleanse—
¹²A wind too strong for these will come for Me;
Now ^(B)I will also speak judgment against them.”

¹³“Behold, he shall come up like clouds,
And ^(C)his chariots like a whirlwind.
^(D)His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are plundered!”

¹⁴O Jerusalem, ^(E)wash your heart from wickedness,
That you may be saved.
How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?
¹⁵For a voice declares ^(F)from Dan
And proclaims ^[a]affliction from Mount Ephraim:
¹⁶“Make mention to the nations,
Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem,
That watchers come from a ^(G)far country
And raise their voice against the cities of Judah.
¹⁷^(H)Like keepers of a field they are against her all around,
Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the Lord.
¹⁸“Your^(I) ways and your doings
Have procured these things for you.
This is your wickedness,
Because it is bitter,
Because it reaches to your heart.”

Sorrow for the Doomed Nation

¹⁹O my ^(J)soul, my soul!
I am pained in my very heart!
My heart makes a noise in me;
I cannot hold my peace,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
²⁰^(K)Destruction upon destruction is cried,
For the whole land is plundered.
Suddenly ^(L)my tents are plundered,
And my curtains in a moment.
²¹How long will I see the ^[b]standard,
And hear the sound of the trumpet?

²²“For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are ^[c]silly children,
And they have no understanding.
^(M)They are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”

²³^(N)I beheld the earth, and indeed it was ^(O)without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.
²⁴^(P)I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.
²⁵I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And ^(Q)all the birds of the heavens had fled.
²⁶I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a ^(R)wilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the Lord,
By His fierce anger.

²⁷For thus says the Lord:

“The whole land shall be desolate;
^(S)Yet I will not make a full end.
²⁸For this ^(T)shall the earth mourn,
And ^(U)the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have ^(V)purposed and ^(W)will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.