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Jeremiah 4
EasyEnglish Bible
Jeremiah 4
EasyEnglish Bible
4 The Lord says this:
‘People of Israel, you should return to me.
If you want to do that,
you must throw away your idols.
Remove those disgusting things
and do not turn away from me again.
2 You must be honest and do what is right.
You must do what you promise to do.
You can show that your promise is true
when you add, “As surely as the Lord is alive.”
Then other nations will see that I have blessed you.
They will pray that I will bless them too.
and they will praise me.’
3 The Lord says this to the people of Jerusalem and all Judah:
‘Prepare yourselves, like a farmer who ploughs his fields.
Do not plant your seeds where weeds are growing.
4 Give yourselves to me, the Lord,
and agree to serve me faithfully.
Remove from your lives everything that is not right,
so that you obey my covenant.
If you do not do that,
I will be very angry with you.
I will punish you like a hot fire that destroys things.
Nobody will be able to stop my anger.
People of Judah and Jerusalem,
if you continue to do wicked things,
I will certainly punish you.’
An enemy will attack from the north
5 The Lord said:
‘Shout this message to the people in Jerusalem and in all Judah:
“Make a loud noise with trumpets in all the land!”
Shout loudly, “Come together!
We must all run to the cities with strong walls!”
6 Lift up a flag that shows the way to Zion!
Run quickly to a safe place! Do not wait!
I will soon bring great trouble from the north.
An enemy will destroy your country.
7 Yes, a strong army is coming,
like a lion that has left its cave.[a]
It has come out to destroy many nations.
It will attack your whole land.
Your cities will become heaps of stones,
and nobody will live in them.
8 So wear rough sackcloth!
Weep and cry aloud.
Say, “The Lord is still very angry with us.” ’
9 The Lord says:
‘When this happens, the king and his officers will be afraid.
The priests will shake with fear.
The prophets will be unable to speak.’
10 Then I said, ‘Lord God, that is terrible! You have deceived the people of Judah and Jerusalem. You told them, “You will live in peace.” But now an enemy is ready to attack us!’
11 The Lord will tell the people at that time, ‘A hot wind will blow from the hills in the desert. It will not be a little wind that blows chaff from wheat. It will be a strong storm that blows away the people that I love. 12 I will send a strong wind of punishment on my people.’
13 Look! The enemy army is coming like dark clouds!
Their chariots make the noise of a storm.
Their horses move faster than eagles in the sky.
Terrible trouble has come. We will all die!
14 People of Jerusalem, remove the evil things from your lives.
Then the Lord may save you.
Do not continue to have wicked ideas.
15 People are bringing a message from Dan
and from the hill country of Ephraim.
The message says that great trouble is coming.[b]
16 They say, ‘Warn all the nations that the enemy is coming!’
Shout this message in Jerusalem:
‘An army is coming from a country that is far away.
They will attack the towns in Judah.
17 Their soldiers are all around Jerusalem's walls,
like guards around a farmer's field.’
The Lord says, ‘This will happen because the people of Judah have turned against me. 18 I will punish you very much, because that is what you deserve. You have lived in a wicked way and you have done evil things. My punishment will give you pain that goes all through you.’
Jeremiah is very upset
19 I am so upset!
My body is shaking with pain.
My heart beats hard inside me.
I cannot keep still.
I cannot keep quiet.
I have heard the noise of the enemy's trumpets
and the shouts of their soldiers.
20 They are winning one battle after another!
They are destroying the whole land.
Our homes are becoming heaps of stones.
They quickly knock down our tents.
21 How long will our enemy continue to attack us?
How long will I see their flags and hear their trumpets?
22 The Lord says,
‘My people are fools.
They do not know me.
They are like children who do not know anything.
They understand nothing.
They are very clever at doing evil things.
But they do not know how to do what is good.’
Jeremiah's vision
23 I looked at the earth.
It had no shape and it was empty.
I looked at the sky.
Its light had disappeared.
24 I looked at the mountains.
They were shaking.
All the hills were moving around.
25 When I looked, I saw no people.
All the birds had flown away.
26 The land where crops had grown was now a desert.
All the cities had become heaps of stones.
The Lord had caused this to happen
because he was very angry.
27 The Lord had said,
‘The whole land will become like a desert,
but I will not completely destroy it.
28 So the earth will be sad and weep.
The sky will become dark.[c]
I have said what I will do.
And I will not change my thoughts.
I will do as I have decided.’
29 When the enemy attacks a town,
the people will run away to escape.
The enemy soldiers will ride on horses,
and they will shoot arrows.
When the people hear them,
some of them will hide among trees.
Some of them will climb up among the rocks.
All the towns will become empty.
Nobody will live in them.
30 Yes, Jerusalem, an enemy has destroyed you!
You tried to make friends,
like a woman who wears a beautiful dress.
You wore your gold and your jewels.
You painted around your eyes.
But all that has not helped you.
The nations that you wanted to be your lovers have turned against you.
Now they want to kill you.
31 I can hear people who are calling out.
It sounds like a woman who is giving birth to her first baby.
She is calling out with great pain.
It is Jerusalem who is crying!
She is calling out for help.
She says, ‘Help me! I am very weak.
These murderers have come to kill me!’
Jeremiah 4
New King James Version
Jeremiah 4
New King James Version
Jeremiah Laments over Judah
4 “If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord,
(A)“Return to Me;
And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,
Then you shall not be moved.
2 (B)And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’
(C)In truth, in [a]judgment, and in righteousness;
(D)The nations shall bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they shall (E)glory.”
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
(F)“Break up your [b]fallow ground,
And (G)do not sow among thorns.
4 (H)Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
And take away the foreskins of your hearts,
You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My fury come forth like fire,
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.”
An Imminent Invasion
5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:
(I)“Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry, ‘Gather together,’
And say, (J)‘Assemble yourselves,
And let us go into the fortified cities.’
6 Set up the [c]standard toward Zion.
Take refuge! Do not delay!
For I will bring disaster from the (K)north,
And great destruction.”
7 (L)The lion has come up from his thicket,
And (M)the destroyer of nations is on his way.
He has gone forth from his place
(N)To make your land desolate.
Your cities will be laid waste,
Without inhabitant.
8 For this, (O)clothe yourself with sackcloth,
Lament and wail.
For the fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.
9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord,
“That the heart of the king shall perish,
And the heart of the princes;
The priests shall be astonished,
And the prophets shall wonder.”
10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God!
(P)Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem,
(Q)Saying, ‘You shall have peace,’
Whereas the sword reaches to the [d]heart.”
11 At that time it will be said
To this people and to Jerusalem,
(R)“A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness
Toward the daughter of My people—
Not to fan or to cleanse—
12 A wind too strong for these will come for Me;
Now (S)I will also speak judgment against them.”
13 “Behold, he shall come up like clouds,
And (T)his chariots like a whirlwind.
(U)His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are plundered!”
14 O Jerusalem, (V)wash your heart from wickedness,
That you may be saved.
How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?
15 For a voice declares (W)from Dan
And proclaims [e]affliction from Mount Ephraim:
16 “Make mention to the nations,
Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem,
That watchers come from a (X)far country
And raise their voice against the cities of Judah.
17 (Y)Like keepers of a field they are against her all around,
Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the Lord.
18 “Your(Z) 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
19 O my (AA)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 (AB)Destruction upon destruction is cried,
For the whole land is plundered.
Suddenly (AC)my tents are plundered,
And my curtains in a moment.
21 How long will I see the [f]standard,
And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are [g]silly children,
And they have no understanding.
(AD)They are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”
23 (AE)I beheld the earth, and indeed it was (AF)without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.
24 (AG)I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.
25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And (AH)all the birds of the heavens had fled.
26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a (AI)wilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the Lord,
By His fierce anger.
27 For thus says the Lord:
“The whole land shall be desolate;
(AJ)Yet I will not make a full end.
28 For this (AK)shall the earth mourn,
And (AL)the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have (AM)purposed and (AN)will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.
29 The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen.
They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks.
Every city shall be forsaken,
And not a man shall dwell in it.
30 “And when you are plundered,
What will you do?
Though you clothe yourself with crimson,
Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
(AO)Though you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you will make yourself fair;
(AP)Your lovers will despise you;
They will seek your life.
31 “For I have heard a voice as of a woman in [h]labor,
The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child,
The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself;
She (AQ)spreads her hands, saying,
‘Woe is me now, for my soul is [i]weary
Because of murderers!’
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 4:2 justice
- Jeremiah 4:3 untilled
- Jeremiah 4:6 banner
- Jeremiah 4:10 Lit. soul
- Jeremiah 4:15 Or wickedness
- Jeremiah 4:21 banner
- Jeremiah 4:22 foolish
- Jeremiah 4:31 childbirth
- Jeremiah 4:31 faint
Jeremiah 4
New International Version
Jeremiah 4
New International Version
4 “If you, Israel, will return,(A)
then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols(B) out of my sight
and no longer go astray,
2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear,(C) ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’(D)
then the nations will invoke blessings(E) by him
and in him they will boast.(F)”
3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Break up your unplowed ground(G)
and do not sow among thorns.(H)
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
circumcise your hearts,(I)
you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath(J) will flare up and burn like fire(K)
because of the evil(L) you have done—
burn with no one to quench(M) it.
Disaster From the North
5 “Announce in Judah and proclaim(N) in Jerusalem and say:
‘Sound the trumpet(O) throughout the land!’
Cry aloud and say:
‘Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities!’(P)
6 Raise the signal(Q) to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster(R) from the north,(S)
even terrible destruction.”
7 A lion(T) has come out of his lair;(U)
a destroyer(V) of nations has set out.
He has left his place
to lay waste(W) your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins(X)
without inhabitant.
8 So put on sackcloth,(Y)
lament(Z) and wail,
for the fierce anger(AA) of the Lord
has not turned away from us.
9 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“the king and the officials will lose heart,(AB)
the priests will be horrified,
and the prophets will be appalled.”(AC)
10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived(AD) this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’(AE) when the sword is at our throats!”
11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind(AF) from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind(AG) too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments(AH) against them.”
13 Look! He advances like the clouds,(AI)
his chariots(AJ) come like a whirlwind,(AK)
his horses(AL) are swifter than eagles.(AM)
Woe to us! We are ruined!(AN)
14 Jerusalem, wash(AO) the evil from your heart and be saved.(AP)
How long(AQ) will you harbor wicked thoughts?
15 A voice is announcing from Dan,(AR)
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.(AS)
16 “Tell this to the nations,
proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,(AT)
raising a war cry(AU) against the cities of Judah.(AV)
17 They surround(AW) her like men guarding a field,
because she has rebelled(AX) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
18 “Your own conduct and actions(AY)
have brought this on you.(AZ)
This is your punishment.
How bitter(BA) it is!
How it pierces to the heart!”
19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!(BB)
I writhe in pain.(BC)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds(BD) within me,
I cannot keep silent.(BE)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;(BF)
I have heard the battle cry.(BG)
20 Disaster follows disaster;(BH)
the whole land lies in ruins.(BI)
In an instant my tents(BJ) are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard(BK)
and hear the sound of the trumpet?(BL)
22 “My people are fools;(BM)
they do not know me.(BN)
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.(BO)
They are skilled in doing evil;(BP)
they know not how to do good.”(BQ)
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;(BR)
and at the heavens,
and their light(BS) was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;(BT)
all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.(BU)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;(BV)
all its towns lay in ruins(BW)
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.(BX)
27 This is what the Lord says:
“The whole land will be ruined,(BY)
though I will not destroy(BZ) it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn(CA)
and the heavens above grow dark,(CB)
because I have spoken and will not relent,(CC)
I have decided and will not turn back.(CD)”
29 At the sound of horsemen and archers(CE)
every town takes to flight.(CF)
Some go into the thickets;
some climb up among the rocks.(CG)
All the towns are deserted;(CH)
no one lives in them.
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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