Beginning
Instructions for True Repentance
4 “Israel, if you return to me,”
declares the Lord,
“Return to me,
remove your detestable idols from my presence,
and don’t waver.
2 If you swear, ‘as surely as the Lord lives,’
in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then nations will be blessed[a] by him,
and in him they will boast.”
3 For this is what the Lord says
to the men[b] of Judah and Jerusalem,
“Break up your unplowed ground,
and don’t sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord
and remove the foreskin of your heart,
you men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem,
or else my wrath will break out like fire
and burn with no one to put it out,
because of your evil deeds.”
Warning of the Coming Disaster
5 Declare in Judah, make known in Jerusalem, by saying,
“Blow the trumpet in the land, cry out, and say,
‘Gather together
and let’s go to the fortified cities!’
6 Raise a standard in the direction of Zion.
Flee! Don’t stand around!
For I’m bringing calamity from the north,
along with great destruction.
7 A lion has gone up from his thicket,
and a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his place
to make your land a waste.
Your cities will be ruined,
and without inhabitants.
8 So, put on sackcloth,
mourn and wail,
because the burning anger of the Lord
has not turned away from us.”
9 “On that day,” declares the Lord,
“the courage of the king and the leaders will fail.
The priests will be appalled
and the prophets astounded.”
10 Then I replied, “Ah, Lord God, you have completely deceived this people and Jerusalem when you said, ‘You will have peace,’ while the sword is at their[c] throat!”
The Scorching Wind of Judgment
11 At that time, it will be told this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert is coming[d] toward my people, and it’s not for winnowing or cleansing. 12 A wind too strong for that is coming at my bidding.[e] Now I’m judging them as I speak.”
The People’s Response to Judgment
13 Look, he comes up like clouds,
and his chariots are like a whirlwind.
His horses are as swift as eagles.
Woe to us—we’re destroyed!
14 Jerusalem, wash your evil from your heart
so that you may be delivered.
How long will you harbor
evil schemes within you?
15 For a voice announces from Dan
and declares disaster from Mount Ephraim.
The Lord Speaks
16 “Tell the nations, ‘Here they come!’[f]
Proclaim to Jerusalem,
‘The besieging forces are coming from a distant land.
They cry out[g] against the cities of Judah.
17 They have surrounded her like those guarding a field
because they have rebelled against me,’”
declares the Lord.
18 “Your lifestyles and your actions
have brought these things on you.
This is your calamity—it is indeed bitter,
for it has reached your heart!”
Jeremiah’s Lament for His People
19 “My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain.
Oh, the aching[h] of my heart!
My heart pounds within me;
I cannot keep silent.
For I hear the sound of the trumpet,[i]
the alarm for war.
20 Disaster upon disaster is proclaimed,
for the entire land is devastated.
Suddenly, my tent is destroyed,
in a moment my curtains.
21 How long will I see the battle standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
The Lord’s Complaint about His People
22 “For my people are foolish,
they don’t know me.
They’re stupid children,
they have no understanding.
They’re skilled at doing evil,
but how to do good, they don’t know.”
A Vision of Chaos
23 I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void,[j]
at the heavens, and there was no light there.
24 I looked at the mountains; they were quaking,
and all the hills moved back and forth.
25 I looked, and no people were there.
All the birds of the sky had gone.
26 I looked, and the fruitful land[k] had become a desert.
All its towns were broken down
because of the Lord,
because of his burning anger.
27 For this is what the Lord says:
“The entire land will be devastated,
but I won’t completely destroy[l] it.
28 Because of this, the land will mourn,
and the heavens above will be dark.
Because I have spoken and decided,
I won’t turn back from doing it.”
A Lament for Zion
29 At the sound of the horseman and the archer
the entire city flees.
Its residents go into the thickets and climb among the rocks.
Every city is abandoned, and no one lives in them.
30 You are ruined! What are you doing
dressing in scarlet,
putting on golden ornaments,
and highlighting your eyes with makeup?
You are making yourself beautiful in vain.
Your lovers reject you—
they’re out to kill you.
31 I heard a cry like that of a woman in labor,
anguish like one giving birth to her firstborn,
the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for air,
stretching out her hand:
“Woe is me! I’m about to faint in front of killers!”
A Dialogue about Righteousness: The Lord Speaks
5 “Wander through the streets of Jerusalem.
Look and investigate;[m]
search through her squares
and see whether you find anyone—
even one person there—doing justice and seeking truth.
Then I’ll forgive them.[n]
2 Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
still they are swearing falsely.”[o]
The Prophet Speaks
3 Lord, don’t your eyes look for truth?
You struck[p] them, but they didn’t flinch.[q]
You brought them to an end,
but they refused to receive discipline.
They made their faces harder than stone,
and they refused to repent.
4 Then I said, “These are only the poor,
they’re foolish,
for they don’t know the Lord’s way,
the requirement[r] of their God.
5 Let me go to the leaders[s] and speak to them.
For they know the Lord’s way,
the requirement[t] of their God.”
The Lord Answers
“But they, all together, have broken the yoke
and torn off the restraints.[u]
6 Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them,
a wolf from the desert will devastate them.
A leopard is watching their towns,
and everyone who goes out of them
will be torn to pieces.
For their transgressions are many,
and their apostasies numerous.
7 Why should I forgive you?
Your sons have forsaken me,
and you have sworn by those
who aren’t gods.
When I gave them enough food to satisfy them,
they committed adultery
and marched to the prostitute’s house.
8 They were well-fed, lusty stallions,
each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.
9 “Should I not punish them for these things?”
asks the Lord,
“And on a nation like this,
should I not seek retribution?”
The People Reject God’s Warning
10 “Go through her rows of vines and destroy them,
but don’t completely destroy them.
Strip away her branches,
because they aren’t the Lord’s.
11 For both the house of Israel and the house of Judah
have been utterly unfaithful to me,”
declares the Lord.
12 “They have lied about the Lord
by saying, ‘He wouldn’t do that![v]
Disaster won’t come on us.
We won’t see sword and famine.
13 The prophets are nothing but[w] wind,
and the word is not in them.
So may the disaster happen to them!’”[x]
14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Because you people[y] have said this,
my words in your[z] mouth will become a fire
and these people the wood.
The fire[aa] will destroy them.
15 People of Israel, I’m now bringing
a nation from far away to attack you,”
declares the Lord.
“It is an enduring nation,
an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you don’t know.
And you won’t understand what they say.
16 Their quiver is like an open grave,
and all of them are powerful warriors.
17 “They’ll devour your harvest and your food.
They’ll devour your sons and your daughters.
They’ll devour your vines and your fig trees.
With their swords they’ll batter down
your fortified cities in which you trust.
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I won’t destroy you completely. 19 When the people[ab] ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you are to say to them, ‘Just as you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’”
The Lord Warns a Stubborn People
20 “Declare this to the descendants[ac] of Jacob,
and proclaim it in Judah:
21 ‘Hear this, you foolish and stupid people:
They have eyes, but don’t see;
they have ears, but don’t hear.
22 ‘You don’t fear me, do you?’ declares the Lord.
‘You don’t tremble before me, do you?
I’m the one who put the sand as a boundary for the sea,
a perpetual barrier that it cannot cross.[ad]
Though the waves toss, they cannot prevail against it,
though they roar, they cannot cross it.’
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.
They have turned aside and have gone away.
24 They don’t say to themselves,
‘Let’s fear the Lord our God,
who gives rain in its season,
both the autumn and the spring rain.
He sets aside for us the weeks appointed
for the harvest.’
25 Your iniquities have turned these things away,
and your sins have held back from you what is good.
26 “Evil men are found among my people.
They lie in wait like someone who traps birds.
They set a trap,
but they do so to catch people.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
so their houses are filled with treachery.
This is how they have become prominent and rich,
28 and have grown fat and sleek.
There is no limit[ae] to their evil deeds.
They don’t argue the case of the orphan to secure[af] justice.
They don’t defend the rights of[ag] the poor.
29 ‘Should I not punish them for this?’[ah]
asks the Lord.
‘Should I not avenge myself
on a nation like this?’
30 “An appalling and horrible thing
has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
the priests rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?”
The Enemy Besieges Jerusalem
6 “Flee to safety, you people of Benjamin,
leave Jerusalem.
Sound the trumpet in Tekoa,
and raise a signal over Beth-haccerem!
For calamity and terrible destruction
are turning toward you[ai] from the north.
2 I’ll destroy the lovely and delicate
Daughter of Zion.[aj]
3 Shepherds and their flocks will come against her.
They’ll pitch their tents all around her,
and every one will tend his flock in his own place.
4 Prepare for war against her.
Get ready, let’s attack at noon!
How terrible for us that the day is coming to an end,[ak]
and that the evening shadows are lengthening.
5 Get ready, let’s attack at night,
and destroy her fortresses.”[al]
Instructions for the Attackers
6 For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Cut down trees and
set up siege works against Jerusalem.
It is the city to be judged,
and there is oppression throughout the entire city.[am]
7 As a well keeps its waters fresh,[an]
so the city[ao] keeps her wickedness fresh.[ap]
Violence and destruction are heard in her,
sickness and wounds are always before me.
8 Be warned, Jerusalem,
or I’ll be alienated from you.
I’ll make you desolate,
a land not inhabited.”
9 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Let them glean the remnant of Israel
as thoroughly as they would the vine.
Pass your hand over them like grape gatherers
over the branches.
10 To whom will I speak and give a warning
so they’ll listen?
Look, their ears are closed,[aq]
and they cannot hear.
Look, this message from the Lord is contemptible to them;
they don’t delight in it.
11 I’m full of the wrath of the Lord,
and I’m tired of holding it back.
Pour it out on the children in the street
and on the groups of young men gathered together.
Indeed, both husband and wife will be caught in it,
the old and the very old.
12 Their houses will be turned over to others—
their fields and wives together—
when I stretch out my hand against
those who live in the land,”
declares the Lord.
13 “Indeed, from the least important to the most important,
they’re all greedy for dishonest gain.
From prophet to priest,
they all act deceitfully.
14 They treated my people’s wound superficially, telling them,
‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace.
15 Were they ashamed because they did
what was repugnant to God?[ar]
They were not ashamed at all—
they don’t even know how to blush!
Therefore they’ll fall with those who fall.
When I punish them, they’ll be brought down,”
says the Lord.
Israel Refuses to Repent
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stand beside the roads and watch.
Ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is.
Walk in it and find rest for yourselves.
But they said, ‘We won’t walk in it!’[as]
17 I appointed watchmen over you.
Listen for the sound of the trumpet.
But they said, ‘We won’t listen!’
18 Therefore, hear, nations,
and know, congregation,
what will happen to them.[at]
19 Listen, earth!
I’m about to bring calamity on this people,
on the fruit of their plans,
because they didn’t listen to my words
and they rejected my instruction.[au]
20 What good is frankincense
that comes from Sheba[av] to me,
or sweet cane from a distant country?
Your burnt offerings aren’t acceptable,
nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me.”
21 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
“I’m about to put stumbling blocks in front of this people,
and fathers and sons will stumble over them together.
The neighbor and his friends will perish.”
The Invaders from the North
22 This is what the Lord says:
“Look, people are coming from a northern country.
A great nation is stirring from the ends of the earth.
23 They grab bow and spear;
they’re cruel and show no mercy.
Their sound roars like the sea
as they ride on horses,
deployed like men ready for battle
against you, daughter of Zion.”
24 We have heard the news about it,
and our hands are limp.
Distress has seized us
like a woman in labor.
25 Don’t go out into the field,
and don’t travel on the road,
because the enemy has a sword,
and terror is on every side.
26 Daughter of my people, put on sackcloth
and roll in ashes.
Mourn with bitter wailing,
as one mourns at the death of[aw] an only son.
For the destroyer will come on us suddenly.
People Rejected by the Lord
27 “I’ve made you an assayer[ax] of my people,
as well as[ay] a fortress.
You know how
to test their way.”
28 All of them are very rebellious,
going around as slanderers.
They’re bronze and iron,
and all of them are corrupt.
29 The bellows blow fiercely to consume
the lead with the fire.
The assayer[az] keeps on refining,
but the impurities[ba] aren’t separated out.
30 They’re called reject silver,
because the Lord has rejected them.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.