Jeremiah 4
Contemporary English Version
How Israel Can Return to the Lord
4 The Lord said:
Israel, if you really want
to come back to me, get rid
of those disgusting idols.
2 Make promises only in my name,
and do what you promise!
Then all nations will praise me,
and I will bless them.
3 (A) People of Jerusalem and Judah,
don't be so stubborn!
Your hearts have become hard,
like unplowed ground
where thornbushes grow.
4 With all your hearts,
keep the agreement
I made with you.
But if you are stubborn
and keep on sinning,
my anger will burn like a fire
that cannot be put out.
Disaster Is Coming
The Lord said:
* 5 “Sound the trumpets, my people.
Warn the people of Judah,[a]
‘Run for your lives!
6 Head for Jerusalem
or another walled town!’
“Jeremiah, tell them I'm sending
disaster from the north.
7 An army will come out,
like a lion from its den.
It will destroy nations
and leave your towns empty
and in ruins.”
8 Then I told the people
of Israel,
“Put on sackcloth![b]
Mourn and cry out,
‘The Lord is still angry
with us.’ ”
9 The Lord said,
“When all this happens,
the king and his officials,
the prophets and the priests
will be shocked and terrified.”
10 I said, “You are the Lord God. So why have you fooled everyone, especially the people of Jerusalem? Why did you promise peace, when a knife is at our throats?”
The Coming Disaster
11-12 When disaster comes, the Lord will tell you people of Jerusalem,
“I am sending a windstorm
from the desert—
not a welcome breeze.[c]
And it will sweep you away
as punishment for your sins.
13 Look! The enemy army
swoops down like an eagle;
their cavalry and chariots
race faster than storm clouds
blown by the wind.”
Then you will answer,
“We are doomed!”
14 But Jerusalem, there is still time
for you to be saved.
Wash the evil from your hearts
and stop making sinful plans,
15 before a message of disaster
arrives from the hills of Ephraim
and the town of Dan.[d]
16-17 The Lord said,
“Tell the nations that my people
have rebelled against me.
And so an army will come
from far away
to surround Jerusalem
and the towns of Judah.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
18 “People of Judah,
your hearts will be in pain,
but it's your own fault
that you will be punished.”
Jeremiah's Vision of the Coming Punishment
19 I can't stand the pain!
My heart pounds,
as I twist and turn in agony.
I hear the signal trumpet
and the battle cry of the enemy,
and I cannot be silent.
20 I see the enemy defeating us
time after time,
leaving everything in ruins.
Even my own home
is destroyed in a moment.
21 How long will I see enemy flags
and hear their trumpets?
22 I heard the Lord say,
“My people ignore me.
They are foolish children
who do not understand
that they will be punished.
All they know is how to sin.”
23 After this, I looked around.
The earth was barren,
with no form of life.
The sun, moon, and stars
had disappeared.
24 The mountains were shaking;
25 no people could be seen,
and all the birds
had flown away.
26 Farmland had become a desert,
and towns were in ruins.
The Lord's fierce anger
had done all of this.
The Death of Jerusalem
27-28 The Lord said:
I have made my decision,
and I won't change my mind.
This land will be destroyed,
although not completely.
The sky will turn dark,
and the earth will mourn.
29 Enemy cavalry and archers
shout their battle cry.
People run for their lives
and try to find safety
among trees and rocks.
Every town is empty.
30 Jerusalem, your land
has been wiped out.
But you act like a prostitute
and try to win back your lovers,
who now hate you.
You can put on a red dress,
gold jewelry, and eye shadow,
but it's no use—
your lovers are out to kill you!
31 I heard groaning and crying.
Was it a woman giving birth
to her first child?
No, it was Jerusalem,
gasping for breath
and begging for help.
“I'm dying!” she said.
“They have murdered me.”
Footnotes
- 4.5 Judah: Hebrew “Judah and Jerusalem.”
- 4.8 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
- 4.11,12 a welcome breeze: Hebrew “a wind to blow away the husks.” Farmers used a special shovel to pitch grain and husks into the air. Wind would blow away the light husks, and the grain would fall back to the ground, where it could be gathered up.
- 4.15 Ephraim … Dan: The hills of Ephraim were to the north of Jerusalem, and Dan was even farther north. They would be reached by the invading army first.
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
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.