Jeremiah 4

English Standard Version

4 “If you return, O Israel,
declares the Lord,
    ^(A)to me you should return.
If you remove your detestable things from my presence,
    ^(B)and do not waver,
²^(C)and if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’
    in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then ^(D)nations shall bless themselves in him,
    ^(E)and in him shall they glory.”

³For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

^(F)“Break up your fallow ground,
    and ^(G)sow not among thorns.
⁴^(H)Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;
    remove the foreskin of your hearts,
    O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
^(I)lest my wrath go forth like fire,
    and burn with none to quench it,
    ^(J)because of the evil of your deeds.”

Disaster from the North

⁵Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,

^(K)“Blow the trumpet through the land;
    cry aloud and say,
^(L)‘Assemble, and let us go
    into the fortified cities!’
⁶^(M)Raise a standard toward Zion,
    flee for safety, stay not,
for I bring disaster from ^(N)the north,
    ^(O)and great destruction.
⁷^(P)A lion has gone up from his thicket,
    a destroyer of nations has set out;
    he has gone out from his place
to make your land a waste;
    your cities will be ruins
    ^(Q)without inhabitant.
⁸For this ^(R)put on sackcloth,
    lament and wail,
for ^(S)the fierce anger of the Lord
    has not turned back from us.”

⁹“In that day, declares the Lord, ^(T)courage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.” ¹⁰Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, ^(U)surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life.”

¹¹At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from ^(V)the bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse, ¹²a wind too full for this comes for me. Now it is I who ^(W)speak in judgment upon them.”

¹³Behold, he comes up like clouds;
    ^(X)his chariots like the whirlwind;
his horses are ^(Y)swifter than eagles—
    woe to us, ^(Z)for we are ruined!
¹⁴O Jerusalem, ^(AA)wash your heart from evil,
    that you may be saved.
How long shall your wicked thoughts
    lodge within you?
¹⁵For a voice ^(AB)declares from Dan
    and proclaims trouble from ^(AC)Mount Ephraim.
¹⁶Warn the nations that he is coming;
    announce to Jerusalem,
“Besiegers come ^(AD)from a distant land;
    they shout against the cities of Judah.
¹⁷Like keepers of a field ^(AE)are they against her all around,
    because she has rebelled against me,
declares the Lord.
¹⁸Your ways and your deeds
    have brought this upon you.
This is your doom, and ^(AF)it is bitter;
    it has reached your very heart.”

Anguish over Judah's Desolation

¹⁹^(AG)My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!
    Oh the walls of my heart!
My heart is beating wildly;
    I cannot keep silent,
for I hear the sound of the trumpet,
    the alarm of war.
²⁰^(AH)Crash follows hard on crash;
    the whole land is laid waste.
^(AI)Suddenly my tents are laid waste,
    my curtains in a moment.
²¹How long must I see the standard
    and hear the sound of the trumpet?

²²“For ^(AJ)my people are foolish;
    they know me not;
they are stupid children;
    they have no understanding.
^(AK)They are ‘wise’—in doing evil!
    But how to do good they know not.”

²³I looked on the earth, and behold, it was ^(AL)without form and void;
    ^(AM)and to the heavens, and they had no light.
²⁴I looked on ^(AN)the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
    and all the hills moved to and fro.
²⁵^(AO)I looked, and behold, there was no man,
    and all the birds of the air had fled.
²⁶I looked, and behold, the ^(AP)fruitful land was a desert,
    and all its cities were laid in ruins
    before the Lord, before ^(AQ)his fierce anger.

²⁷For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation; ^(AR)yet I will not make a full end.

²⁸^(AS)“For this the earth shall mourn,
^(AT)and the heavens above be dark;
for I have spoken; I have purposed;
^(AU)I have not relented, nor will I turn back.”

²⁹At the noise of horseman and archer
    every city takes to flight;
they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;
    all the cities are forsaken,
    and ^(AV)no man dwells in them.
³⁰And you, O desolate one,
what do you mean that you dress in scarlet,
    ^(AW)that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
    ^(AX)that you enlarge your eyes with paint?
In vain you beautify yourself.
    ^(AY)Your lovers despise you;
    they seek your life.
³¹For I heard ^(AZ)a cry as of a woman in labor,
    anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
    ^(BA)stretching out her hands,
“Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.”