Jeremiah

¹ “If you will return, O Israel,” declares Yahweh, “Then you should return to Me. And if you will put away your detested things from My presence And will not waver

² In truth, in justice, and in righteousness; Then the nations will be blessed in Him, And in Him they will boast.”

³ And do not sow among thorns.

⁴ And remove the foreskins of your heart, 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.”

⁵ Declare in Judah and make it heard in Jerusalem and say, “Blow the trumpet in the land; Call out, make your voice full, and say, ‘Gather yourselves, and let us go Into the fortified cities.’

⁶ Seek safety, do not stand still, For I am bringing evil from the north, And great destruction.

⁷ And a destroyer of nations has set out; He has gone out from his place To make your land a desolation. Your cities will be turned into ruins Without inhabitant.

⁸ Lament and wail; For the burning anger of Yahweh Has not turned back from us.”

⁹ “It will be in that day,” declares Yahweh, “that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will perish; and the priests will be appalled, and the prophets will be astonished.”

¹⁰ Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the throat.”

¹¹ In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness along the way of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse,

¹² a wind too full for these things—will come for My purpose; now I will also speak judgments against them.

¹³ And his chariots like the whirlwind; His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are devastated!”

¹⁴ That you may be saved. How long will your wicked thoughts Lodge within you?

¹⁵ And makes wickedness heard from Mount Ephraim.

¹⁶ Make it heard over Jerusalem, ‘Besiegers come from a far country, And give forth their voices against the cities of Judah.

¹⁷ Because she has rebelled against Me,’ declares Yahweh.

¹⁸ Have done these things to you. This is your evil. How bitter! How it has touched your heart!”

¹⁹ My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart! My heart is pounding in me; I cannot be silent Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The shout of war.

²⁰ For the whole land is devastated; Suddenly my tents are devastated, My curtains in an instant.

²¹ And hear the sound of the trumpet?

²² They know Me not; They are simpleminded children And have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they do not know.”

²³ And to the heavens, and they had no light.

²⁴ And all the hills moved to and fro.

²⁵ And all the birds of the sky had fled.

²⁶ And all its cities were torn down Before Yahweh, before His burning anger.

²⁷ Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.

²⁸ And the heavens above be dark Because I have spoken; I have purposed, And I will not relent, nor will I turn from it.”

²⁹ They go into the thickets and climb up among the rocks; Every city is forsaken, And no man inhabits them.

³⁰ Although you dress in scarlet, Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold, Although you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you make yourself beautiful. Your lovers despise you; They seek your life.

³¹ The distress as of one giving birth to her first child, The sound of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, Stretching out her hands, saying, “Ah, woe is me, for my soul faints before murderers.”