Jeremiah 4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Blessing or Curse
4 If you return,[a] Israel—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
you will return to Me,(A)
if you remove your detestable idols(B)
from My presence
and do not waver,
2 then you can swear, “As the Lord lives,”(C)
in truth,(D) in justice, and in righteousness,(E)
then the nations will be blessed[b] by Him(F)
and will pride themselves in Him.(G)
3 For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
Break up the unplowed ground;(H)
do not sow among the thorns.(I)
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;
remove the foreskin of your hearts,(J)
men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.
Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire
and burn with no one to extinguish it(K)
because of your evil deeds.
Judgment from the North
5 Declare in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:
Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land.(L)
Cry out loudly and say:
Assemble yourselves,
and let’s flee to the fortified cities.
6 Lift up a signal flag toward Zion.(M)
Run for cover! Don’t stand still!
For I am bringing disaster from the north—
a great destruction.(N)
7 A lion has gone up from his thicket;(O)
a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his lair
to make your land a waste.
Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins.(P)
8 Because of this, put on sackcloth;
mourn and wail,(Q)
for the Lord’s burning anger(R)
has not turned away from us.
9 “On that day”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“the king and the officials will lose their courage. The priests will tremble in fear, and the prophets will be scared speechless.”
10 I said, “Oh no, Lord God, You have certainly deceived(S) this people and Jerusalem, by announcing, ‘You will have peace,’(T) while a sword is at[c] our throats.”
11 “At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, ‘A searing wind(U) blows from the barren heights in the wilderness on the way to My dear[d] people. It comes not to winnow or to sift; 12 a wind too strong for this comes at My call.[e] Now I will also pronounce judgments against them.’”(V)
13 Look, he advances like clouds;(W)
his chariots are like a storm.(X)
His horses are swifter than eagles.(Y)
Woe to us, for we are ruined!(Z)
14 Wash the evil from your heart,(AA) Jerusalem,
so that you will be delivered.
How long will you harbor
malicious thoughts within you?(AB)
15 For a voice announces from Dan,
proclaiming malice from Mount Ephraim.
16 Warn the nations: Look!
Proclaim to Jerusalem:
Those who besiege are coming
from a distant land;(AC)
they raise their voices
against the cities of Judah.
17 They have her surrounded(AD)
like those who guard a field,
because she has rebelled against Me.(AE)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
18 Your way of life and your actions
have brought this on you.(AF)
This is your punishment. It is very bitter,
because it has reached your heart!
Jeremiah’s Lament
19 My anguish, my anguish![f] I writhe in agony!
Oh, the pain in[g] my heart!(AG)
My heart pounds;
I cannot be silent.
For you, my soul,
have heard the sound of the ram’s horn—
the shout of battle.
20 Disaster after disaster(AH) is reported
because the whole land is destroyed.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed,
my tent curtains, in a moment.
21 How long must I see the signal flag
and hear the sound of the ram’s horn?
22 “For My people are fools;
they do not know Me.
They are foolish children,
without understanding.(AI)
They are skilled in doing what is evil,
but they do not know how to do what is good.”(AJ)
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty.(AK)
I looked to the heavens,
and their light was gone.(AL)
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;(AM)
all the hills shook.
25 I looked, and no man was left;(AN)
all the birds of the sky had fled.(AO)
26 I looked, and the fertile field(AP) was a wilderness.(AQ)
All its cities were torn down
because of the Lord
and His burning anger.(AR)
27 For this is what the Lord says:
The whole land will be a desolation,(AS)
but I will not finish it off.(AT)
28 Because of this, the earth will mourn;(AU)
the skies above will grow dark.(AV)
I have spoken; I have planned,
and I will not relent or turn back from it.(AW)
29 Every city flees(AX)
at the sound of the horseman and the archer.
They enter the thickets
and climb among the rocks.(AY)
Every city is abandoned;
no inhabitant is left.
30 And you, devastated one, what are you doing(AZ)
that you dress yourself in scarlet,
that you adorn yourself with gold jewelry,
that you enlarge your eyes with paint?(BA)
You beautify yourself for nothing.
Your lovers reject you;(BB)
they want to take your life.(BC)
31 I hear a cry like a woman in labor,(BD)
a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child.
The cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands:(BE)
Woe is me, for my life is weary
because of the murderers!
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 4:1 Or Repent
- Jeremiah 4:2 Or will bless themselves
- Jeremiah 4:10 Lit sword touches
- Jeremiah 4:11 Lit to the daughter of My
- Jeremiah 4:12 Lit comes for Me
- Jeremiah 4:19 Lit My inner parts, my inner parts
- Jeremiah 4:19 Lit the walls of
Jeremiah 4
International Children’s Bible
4 “If you will come back, Israel,
then come back to me,” says the Lord.
“Throw away your idols that I hate.
Don’t wander away from me.
2 Then you may say when you make a promise,
‘As surely as the Lord lives.’
And you can say it in a truthful, honest and right way.
Then the nations will be blessed by the Lord.
And they will praise the Lord for what he has done.”
3 This is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Plow your unplowed fields.
Don’t plant seeds among the thorns.
4 Give yourselves to the service of the Lord.
Decide to obey him.
Do this, men of Judah and people of Jerusalem.
If you don’t, my anger will spread among you like a fire.
No one will be able to put it out
because of the evil you have done.
Trouble from the North
5 “Announce this message to Judah and say it in Jerusalem:
‘Blow the trumpet throughout the country!’
Shout out loud and say,
‘Come together!
Let’s all escape to the strong, walled cities!’
6 Raise the signal flag toward Jerusalem!
Run for your lives! And don’t wait!
Do this because I am bringing disaster from the north.
It will be terrible destruction.”
7 A lion has come out of his den.
A destroyer of nations has begun to march.
He has left his home
to destroy your land.
Your towns will be destroyed.
There will be no people left to live in them.
8 So put on rough cloth,
show how sad you are and cry loudly.
The terrible anger of the Lord
has not turned away from us.
9 “When this happens,” says the Lord,
“the king and officers will lose their courage.
The priests will be terribly afraid.
And the prophets will be shocked!”
10 Then I, Jeremiah, said, “Lord God, you have tricked the people of Judah and Jerusalem. You said, ‘You will have peace.’ But now the sword is pointing at our throats!”
11 At that time this message will be given to Judah and Jerusalem: “A hot wind blows from the bare hilltops. It comes out of the desert toward the Lord’s people. It is not like the gentle wind farmers use to separate grain from chaff. 12 It’s a stronger wind than that. And it comes from the Lord. Now he will announce his judgment against the people of Judah.”
13 Look! The enemy rises up like a cloud.
His chariots come like a windstorm.
His horses are faster than eagles.
How terrible it will be for us! We are ruined!
14 People of Jerusalem, clean the evil from your hearts and be saved.
Don’t continue making evil plans.
15 A voice from Dan makes an announcement.
From the mountains of Ephraim someone brings bad news.
16 “Report this to the nations.
Spread this news in Jerusalem:
‘Enemies are coming from a faraway country.
They are shouting words of war against the cities of Judah.
17 The enemy has surrounded Jerusalem as men guard a field.
This is because Judah turned against me,’” says the Lord.
18 “The way you have lived and acted
has brought this trouble to you.
This is your punishment.
How terrible it is!
The pain stabs your heart!”
Jeremiah’s Cry
19 Oh, how I hurt! How I hurt!
I am bent over in pain.
Oh, the torture in my heart!
My heart is pounding inside me.
I cannot keep quiet.
This is because I have heard the sound of the trumpet.
I have heard the words of war.
20 Disaster follows disaster.
The whole country has been destroyed.
My tents are destroyed in only a moment.
My curtains are torn down quickly.
21 How long must I look at the war flag?
How long must I listen to the war trumpets?
22 The Lord says, “My people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are stupid children.
They don’t understand.
They are skillful at doing evil.
They don’t know how to do good.”
Disaster Is Coming
23 I looked at the earth.
It was empty and had no shape!
I looked at the sky.
And its light was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were shaking!
All the hills were trembling.
25 I looked, and there were no people!
Every bird in the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the good, rich land had become a desert!
All its towns had been destroyed.
The Lord and his great anger has caused this.
27 This is what the Lord says:
“All the land will be ruined.
But I will not completely destroy it.
28 So the people in the land will cry loudly.
And the sky will grow dark.
This is because I have spoken and will not change my mind.
I have made a decision, and I will not change it.”
29 The towns will hear the sound of the horsemen and soldiers with bows.
All the people will run away.
Some of them will hide in the thick bushes.
Some will climb up into the rocks.
All of the cities of Judah are empty.
No one lives in them.
30 Judah, you destroyed nation, what are you doing?
Why do you put on your finest dress?
Why do you put on your gold jewelry?
Why do you put on your eye shadow?
You make yourself beautiful, but it is all useless.
Your lovers hate you.
They want to kill you.
31 I hear a cry like a woman having a baby.
It is a cry like a woman having her first child.
It is the voice of Jerusalem gasping for breath.
She lifts her hands in prayer and says,
“Oh! I am about to faint.
They are about to murder me!”
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The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
