Jeremiah 6 (New American Standard)

Destruction of Jerusalem Impending

1 "Flee for safety, O sons of ¹Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem ! Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa And raise a signal over ^a2Beth-haccerem ; For evil looks down from the ³north, And a great destruction. 2 "The comely and ⁴dainty one, ⁵the daughter of Zion, I will cut off. 3 "⁶Shepherds and their flocks will come to her, They will ⁷pitch their tents ^baround her, They will pasture each in his ^cplace. 4 "^d8Prepare war against her; Arise, and let us ^eattack at ⁹noon. Woe to us, for the day declines, For the shadows of the evening lengthen ! 5 "Arise, and let us ^fattack by night And ¹⁰destroy her ^gpalaces !" 6 For thus says the LORD of hosts, "¹¹Cut down her trees And cast up a ¹²siege against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, In whose midst there is only ¹³oppression. 7 "¹⁴As a well ^hkeeps its waters fresh, So she ⁱkeeps fresh her wickedness. ¹⁵Violence and destruction are heard in her; ¹⁶Sickness and wounds are ever before Me. 8 "¹⁷Be warned, O Jerusalem, Or ^j18I shall be alienated from you, And make you a desolation, A land not inhabited." 9 Thus says the LORD of hosts, "They will ¹⁹thoroughly glean as the vine the ²⁰remnant of Israel ; Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer Over the branches." 10 To whom shall I speak and give warning That they may hear ? Behold, their ²¹ears are ^kclosed And they cannot listen. Behold, ²²the word of the LORD has become a reproach to them; They have no delight in it. 11 But I am ²³full of the wrath of the LORD ; I am ²⁴weary with holding it in. "²⁵Pour it out on the children in the street And on the ^lgathering of young men together ; For both husband and wife shall be taken, The aged ^mand the very old . 12 "Their ²⁶houses shall be turned over to others, Their fields and their wives together ; For I will ²⁷stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land," declares the LORD. 13 "For ²⁸from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is ²⁹greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone ⁿdeals falsely. 14 "They have ³⁰healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace. 15 "Were they ³¹ashamed because of the abomination they have done ? They were not even ashamed at all ; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall ; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down," says the LORD. 16 Thus says the LORD, "Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ³²ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And ³³you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' 17 "And I set ³⁴watchmen over you, saying, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet !' But they said, 'We will not listen.' 18 "Therefore hear, O nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them. 19 "³⁵Hear, O earth : behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, The ³⁶fruit of their ^oplans, Because they have not listened to My words, And as for My law, they have ³⁷rejected it also. 20 "³⁸For what purpose does ³⁹frankincense come to Me from Sheba And the ^p40sweet cane from a distant land ? ⁴¹Your burnt offerings are not acceptable And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me." 21 Therefore, thus says the LORD, "Behold, ⁴²I am ^qlaying stumbling blocks before this people. And they will stumble against them, ⁴³Fathers and sons together ; Neighbor and ^rfriend will perish."

The Enemy from the North

22 Thus says the LORD, "Behold, ⁴⁴a people is coming from the north land, And a great nation will be aroused from the ⁴⁵remote parts of the earth. 23 "They seize ⁴⁶bow and spear ; They are ⁴⁷cruel and have no mercy ; Their voice ⁴⁸roars like the sea, And they ride on horses, Arrayed as a man for the battle Against you, O daughter of Zion !" 24 We have ⁴⁹heard the report of it; Our hands are limp. ⁵⁰Anguish has seized us, Pain as of a woman in childbirth. 25 ⁵¹Do not go out into the field And ⁵²do not walk on the road, For the enemy has a sword, ⁵³Terror is on every side. 26 O daughter of my people, ⁵⁴put on sackcloth And ⁵⁵roll in ashes ; ^s56Mourn as for an only son, A lamentation most bitter. For suddenly the destroyer Will come upon us. 27 "I have ⁵⁷made you an assayer and a tester among My people, That you may know and assay their way." 28 All of them are stubbornly rebellious, ⁵⁸Going about as a talebearer. They are ⁵⁹bronze and iron ; They, all of them, are corrupt. 29 The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire ; In vain the refining goes on, But the ⁶⁰wicked are not ^tseparated. 30 ⁶¹They call them rejected silver, Because the ⁶²LORD has rejected them.