Jeremiah 4; Jeremiah 5; Jeremiah 6 (New Living Translation)

1 "O Israel, come back to me," says the LORD. "If you will throw away your detestable idols and go astray no more, 2 and if you will swear by my name alone, and begin to live good, honest lives and uphold justice, then you will be a blessing to the nations of the world, and all people will come and praise my name." 3 This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns. 4 Cleanse your minds and hearts before the LORD, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins. 5 "Shout to Jerusalem and to all Judah! Tell them to sound the alarm throughout the land: 'Run for your lives! Flee to the fortified cities!' 6 Send a signal toward Jerusalem : 'Flee now! Do not delay!' For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you from the north." 7 A lion stalks from its den, a destroyer of nations. And it is headed for your land! Your towns will lie in ruins, empty of people. 8 So put on clothes of mourning and weep with broken hearts, for the fierce anger of the LORD is still upon us. 9 "In that day," says the LORD, "the king and the officials will tremble in fear. The priests and the prophets will be struck with horror." 10 Then I said, "O Sovereign LORD, the people have been deceived by what you said, for you promised peace for Jerusalem. Yet the sword is even now poised to strike them dead!" 11 The time is coming when the LORD will say to the people of Jerusalem, "A burning wind is blowing in from the desert. It is not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain. 12 It is a roaring blast sent by me! Now I will pronounce your destruction!" 13 Our enemy rushes down on us like a storm wind! His chariots are like whirlwinds; his horses are swifter than eagles. How terrible it will be! Our destruction is sure! 14 O Jerusalem, cleanse your hearts that you may be saved. How long will you harbor your evil thoughts? 15 From Dan and the hill country of Ephraim, your destruction has been announced. 16 "Warn the surrounding nations and announce to Jerusalem: 'The enemy is coming from a distant land, raising a battle cry against the towns of Judah. 17 They surround Jerusalem like watchmen surrounding a field, for my people have rebelled against me,'" says the LORD. 18 "Your own actions have brought this upon you. This punishment is a bitter dose of your own medicine. It has pierced you to the heart!" 19 My heart, my heart -- I writhe in pain! My heart pounds within me! I cannot be still. For I have heard the blast of enemy trumpets and the roar of their battle cries. 20 Waves of destruction roll over the land, until it lies in complete desolation. Suddenly, every tent is destroyed; in a moment, every shelter is crushed. 21 How long must this go on? How long must I be surrounded by war and death? 22 "My people are foolish and do not know me," says the LORD. "They are senseless children who have no understanding. They are clever enough at doing wrong, but they have no talent at all for doing right!" 23 I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless. I looked at the heavens, and there was no light. 24 I looked at the mountains and hills, and they trembled and shook. 25 I looked, and all the people were gone. All the birds of the sky had flown away. 26 I looked, and the fertile fields had become a wilderness. The cities lay in ruins, crushed by the LORD's fierce anger. 27 This is what the LORD says: "The whole land will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely. 28 The earth will mourn, the heavens will be draped in black, because of my decree against my people. I have made up my mind and will not change it." 29 At the noise of marching armies, the people flee in terror from the cities. They hide in the bushes and run for the mountains. All the cities have been abandoned -- not a person remains! 30 What are you doing, you who have been plundered? Why do you dress up in your most beautiful clothing and jewelry? Why do you brighten your eyes with mascara? It will do you no good! Your allies despise you and will kill you. 31 I hear a great cry, like that of a woman giving birth to her first child. It is the cry of Jerusalem's people gasping for breath, pleading for help, prostrate before their murderers. 1 "Run up and down every street in Jerusalem," says the LORD. "Look high and low; search throughout the city! If you can find even one person who is just and honest, I will not destroy the city. 2 Even when they are under oath, saying, 'As surely as the LORD lives,' they all tell lies!" 3 LORD, you are searching for honesty. You struck your people, but they paid no attention. You crushed them, but they refused to turn from sin. They are determined, with faces set like stone; they have refused to repent. 4 Then I said, "But what can we expect from the poor and ignorant? They don't know the ways of the LORD. They don't understand what God expects of them. 5 I will go and speak to their leaders. Surely they will know the LORD's ways and what God requires of them." But the leaders, too, had utterly rejected their God. 6 So now a lion from the forest will attack them; a wolf from the desert will pounce on them. A leopard will lurk near their towns, tearing apart any who dare to venture out. For their rebellion is great, and their sins are many. 7 "How can I pardon you? For even your children have turned from me. They have sworn by gods that are not gods at all! I fed my people until they were fully satisfied. But they thanked me by committing adultery and lining up at the city's brothels. 8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor's wife. 9 Should I not punish them for this?" asks the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself against a nation such as this? 10 "Go down the rows of the vineyards and destroy them, but leave a scattered few alive. Strip the branches from the vine, for they do not belong to the LORD. 11 The people of Israel and Judah are full of treachery against me," says the LORD. 12 "They have lied about the LORD and have said, 'He won't bother us! No disasters will come upon us! There will be no war or famine! 13 God's prophets are windbags full of words with no divine authority. Their predictions of disaster will fall on themselves!'" 14 Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty says: "Because the people are talking like this, I will give you messages that will burn them up as if they were kindling wood. 15 O Israel, I will bring a distant nation against you," says the LORD. "It is a mighty nation, an ancient nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you cannot understand. 16 Their weapons are deadly; their warriors are mighty. 17 They will eat your harvests and your children's bread, your flocks of sheep and your herds of cattle. Yes, they will eat your grapes and figs. And they will destroy your fortified cities, which you think are so safe. 18 "Yet even in those days I will not blot you out completely," says the LORD. 19 "And when your people ask, 'Why is the LORD our God doing this to us?' you must reply, 'You rejected him and gave yourselves to foreign gods in your own land. Now you will serve foreigners in a land that is not your own.' 20 "Make this announcement to Israel and to Judah: 21 Listen, you foolish and senseless people -- who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear. 22 Do you have no respect for me? Why do you not tremble in my presence? I, the LORD, am the one who defines the ocean's sandy shoreline, an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the bounds I set. 23 "But my people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned against me and have chosen to practice idolatry. 24 They do not say from the heart, 'Let us live in awe of the LORD our God, for he gives us rain each spring and fall, assuring us of plentiful harvests.' 25 Your wickedness has deprived you of these wonderful blessings. Your sin has robbed you of all these good things. 26 "Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind. They are continually setting traps for other people. 27 Like a cage filled with birds, their homes are filled with evil plots. And the result? Now they are great and rich. 28 They are well fed and well groomed, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. They refuse justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor. 29 Should I not punish them for this?" asks the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself against a nation such as this? 30 "A horrible and shocking thing has happened in this land -- 31 the prophets give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. And worse yet, my people like it that way! But what will you do when the end comes? 1 "Run for your lives, you people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the alarm in Tekoa! Send up a signal at Beth-hakkerem! Warn everyone that a powerful army is coming from the north to destroy this nation. 2 O Jerusalem, you are my beautiful and delicate daughter -- but I will destroy you! 3 Enemy shepherds will surround you. They will set up camp around the city and divide your pastures for their flocks. 4 They shout, 'Prepare for battle and attack at noon! But now the day is fading, and the evening shadows are falling. 5 So let us attack by night and destroy her palaces!'" 6 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Cut down the trees for battering rams. Build ramps against the walls of Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, for she is wicked through and through. 7 She spouts evil like a fountain! Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction. Her sickness and sores are ever before me. 8 This is your last warning, Jerusalem! If you do not listen, I will empty the land." 9 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Disaster will fall upon you. Even the few who remain in Israel will be gleaned again, as when a harvester checks each vine a second time to pick the grapes that were missed." 10 To whom can I give warning? Who will listen when I speak? Their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. They scorn the word of the LORD. They don't want to listen at all. 11 So now I am filled with the LORD's fury. Yes, I am weary of holding it in!"I will pour out my fury over Jerusalem, even on children playing in the streets, on gatherings of young men, and on husbands and wives and grandparents. 12 Their homes will be turned over to their enemies, and so will their fields and their wives. For I will punish the people of this land," says the LORD. 13 "From the least to the greatest, they trick others to get what does not belong to them. Yes, even my prophets and priests are like that! 14 They offer superficial treatments for my people's mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when all is war. 15 Are they ashamed when they do these disgusting things? No, not at all -- they don't even blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be humbled beneath my punishing anger," says the LORD. 16 So now the LORD says, "Stop right where you are! Look for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, 'No, that's not the road we want!' 17 I set watchmen over you who said, 'Listen for the sound of the trumpet!' But you replied, 'No! We won't pay attention!' 18 "Therefore, listen to this, all you nations. Take note of my people's condition. 19 Listen, all the earth! I will bring disaster upon my people. It is the fruit of their own sin because they refuse to listen to me. They have rejected all my instructions. 20 There is no use now in offering me sweet incense from Sheba. Keep your expensive perfumes! I cannot accept your burnt offerings. Your sacrifices have no sweet fragrance for me." 21 Therefore, this is what the LORD says: "I will put obstacles in my people's path. Fathers and sons will both fall over them. Neighbors and friends will collapse together." 22 This is what the LORD says: "See a great army marching from the north! A great nation is rising against you from far-off lands. 23 They are fully armed for slaughter. They are cruel and show no mercy. As they ride forward, the noise of their army is like a roaring sea. They are marching in battle formation to destroy you, Jerusalem. " 24 We have heard reports about the enemy, and we are weak with fright. Fear and pain have gripped us, like that of a woman about to give birth. 25 Don't go out to the fields! Don't travel the roads! The enemy is everywhere, and they are ready to kill. We are terrorized at every turn! 26 Now my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth, and sit among the ashes. Mourn and weep bitterly, as for the loss of an only son. For suddenly, the destroying armies will be upon you! 27 "Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of metals, that you may determine the quality of my people. 28 Are they not the worst of rebels, full of slander? They are as insolent as bronze, as hard and cruel as iron. All of them lead others into corruption. 29 The bellows blow fiercely. The refining fire grows hotter. But it will never purify and cleanse them because there is no purity in them to refine. 30 I will label them 'Rejected Silver' because I, the LORD, am discarding them."