Jeremiah 6

New American Standard Bible

Destruction of Jerusalem Impending

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,
And a great destruction.
²“The comely and ^(D)dainty one, ^(E)the daughter of Zion, I will cut off.
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“^[d]^(H)Prepare war against her;
Arise, and let us ^[e]attack at ^(I)noon.
Woe to us, for the day declines,
For the shadows of the evening lengthen!
⁵“Arise, and let us ^[f]attack by night
And ^(J)destroy her ^[g]palaces!”

⁶For thus says the Lord 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)As a well ^[h]keeps its waters fresh,
So she ^[i]keeps fresh her wickedness.
^(O)Violence and destruction are heard in her;
^(P)Sickness and wounds are ever before Me.
⁸“^(Q)Be warned, O Jerusalem,
Or ^[j]^(R)I shall be alienated from you,
And make you a desolation,
A land not inhabited.”

⁹Thus says the Lord 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.”
¹⁰To whom shall I speak and give warning
That they may hear?
Behold, their ^(U)ears are ^[k]closed
And they cannot listen.
Behold, ^(V)the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.
¹¹But I am ^(W)full of the wrath of the Lord;
I am ^(X)weary with holding it in.
“^(Y)Pour it out on the children in the street
And on the ^[l]gathering of young men together;
For both husband and wife shall be taken,
The aged ^[m]and the very old.
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 the Lord.
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 ^[n]deals falsely.
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 blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them,
They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.

¹⁶Thus says the Lord,
“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,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
¹⁸“Therefore hear, O nations,
And know, O congregation, what is among them.
¹⁹“^(AI)Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
The ^(AJ)fruit of their ^[o]plans,
Because they have not listened 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 ^[p]^(AN)sweet cane from a distant land?
^(AO)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable
And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”

²¹Therefore, thus says the Lord,

“Behold, ^(AP)I am ^[q]laying stumbling blocks before this people.
And they will stumble against them,
^(AQ)Fathers and sons together;
Neighbor and ^[r]friend will perish.”

The Enemy from the North

²²Thus says the Lord,
“Behold, ^(AR)a people is coming from the north land,
And a great nation will be aroused from the ^(AS)remote parts of the earth.
²³“They seize ^(AT)bow and spear;
They are ^(AU)cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice ^(AV)roars like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Arrayed as a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Zion!”
²⁴We have ^(AW)heard the report of it;
Our hands are limp.
^(AX)Anguish has seized 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.
²⁶O daughter of my people, ^(BB)put on sackcloth
And ^(BC)roll in ashes;
^[s]^(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 an assayer and a tester among My people,
That you may know and assay their way.”
²⁸All of them are stubbornly rebellious,
^(BF)Going about as a talebearer.
They are ^(BG)bronze and iron;
They, all of them, are corrupt.
²⁹The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain the refining goes on,
But the ^(BH)wicked are not ^[t]separated.
³⁰^(BI)They call them rejected silver,
Because the ^(BJ)Lord has rejected them.