Jeremiah 4

¹If you return , O Israel , declares the Lord, to me you should return . If you remove your detestable things from my presence , and do not waver ,

²and if you swear , As the Lord lives , in truth , in justice , and in righteousness , then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory .

³For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem : Break up your fallow ground , and sow not among thorns .

⁴Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts , O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem ; lest my wrath go forth like fire , and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds .

⁵Declare in Judah , and proclaim in Jerusalem , and say , Blow the trumpet through the land ; cry aloud and say , Assemble , and let us go into the fortified cities !

⁶Raise a standard toward Zion , flee for safety , stay not , for I bring disaster from the north , and great destruction .

⁷A 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 without inhabitant .

⁸For this put on sackcloth , lament and wail , for the fierce anger of the Lord has not turned back from us.

⁹In that day , declares the Lord, courage shall fail both king and officials . The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded .

¹⁰Then I said , Ah , Lord God, 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 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 speak in judgment upon them.

¹³Behold , he comes up like clouds ; his chariots like the whirlwind ; his horses are swifter than eagles — woe to us, for we are ruined !

¹⁴O Jerusalem , wash your heart from evil , that you may be saved . How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?

¹⁵For a voice declares from Dan and proclaims trouble from Mount Ephraim .

¹⁶Warn the nations that he is coming ; announce to Jerusalem , Besiegers come from a distant land ; they shout against the cities of Judah .

¹⁷Like keepers of a field 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 it is bitter ; it has reached your very heart .

¹⁹My 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 .

²⁰Crash follows hard on crash ; the whole land is laid waste . 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 ?

²²For my people are foolish ; they know me not ; they are stupid children ; they have no understanding . They are wise —in doing evil ! But how to do good they know not .

²³I looked on the earth , and behold , it was without form and void ; and to the heavens , and they had no light .

²⁴I looked on the mountains , and behold , they were quaking , and all the hills moved to and fro .

²⁵I looked , and behold , there was no man , and all the birds of the air had fled .

²⁶I looked , and behold , the fruitful land was a desert , and all its cities were laid in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger .

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

²⁸For this the earth shall mourn , and the heavens above be dark ; for I have spoken ; I have purposed ; 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 no man dwells in them .

³⁰And you, O desolate one , what do you mean that you dress in scarlet , that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold , that you enlarge your eyes with paint ? In vain you beautify yourself . Your lovers despise you; they seek your life .

³¹For I heard 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 , stretching out her hands , Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers .