Parallel Bible results for "jeremiah 6"

Jeremiah 6

New Century Version NCV

1 "Run for your lives, people of Benjamin! Run away from Jerusalem! Disaster is coming from the north; terrible destruction is coming to you.

2 Jerusalem, I will destroy you, you who are fragile and gentle.

3 Shepherds with their flocks will come against Jerusalem. They will set up their tents all around her, each shepherd taking care of his own section."

4 They say, "Get ready to fight against Jerusalem! But it is already getting late; the evening shadows are growing long.

5 So get up! We will attack at night.

6 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "Cut down the trees around Jerusalem, and build an attack ramp to the top of its walls. This city must be punished. Inside it is nothing but slavery.

7 Jerusalem pours out her evil as a well pours out its water. The sounds of violence and destruction are heard within her. I can see the sickness and hurts of Jerusalem.

8 Listen to this warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn my back on you and make your land an empty desert where no one can live."

9 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "Gather the few people of Israel who are left alive, as you would gather the last grapes on a grapevine. Check each vine again, like someone who gathers grapes."

10 To whom can I speak? Whom can I warn? Who will listen to me? The people of Israel have closed ears, so they cannot hear my warnings. They don't like the word of the Lord; they don't want to listen to it!

11 But I am full of the anger of the Lord, and I am tired of holding it in. "Pour out my anger on the children who play in the street and on the young men gathered together. A husband and his wife will both be caught in his anger, as will the very old.

12 Their houses will be turned over to others, along with their fields and wives, because I will raise my hand and punish the people of Judah," says the Lord.

13 "Everyone, from the least important to the greatest, is greedy for money. Even the prophets and priests all tell lies.

14 They tried to heal my people's serious injuries as if they were small wounds. They said, 'It's all right, it's all right.' But really, it is not all right.

15 They should be ashamed of the terrible way they act, but they are not ashamed at all. They don't even know how to blush about their sins. So they will fall, along with everyone else. They will be thrown to the ground when I punish them," says the Lord.

16 This is what the Lord says: "Stand where the roads cross and look. Ask where the old way is, where the good way is, and walk on it. If you do, you will find rest for yourselves. But they have said, 'We will not walk on the good way.'

17 I set watchmen over you and told you, 'Listen for the sound of the war trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not listen.'

18 So listen, all you nations, and pay attention, you witnesses. Watch what I will do to the people of Judah.

19 Hear this, people of the earth: I am going to bring disaster to the people of Judah because of the evil they plan. They have not listened to my messages and have rejected my teachings.

20 Why do you bring me offerings of incense from the land of Sheba? Why do you bring me sweet-smelling cane from a faraway land? Your burnt offerings will not be accepted; your sacrifices do not please me."

21 So this is what the Lord says: "I will put problems in front of Judah. Fathers and sons will stumble over them together. Neighbors and friends will die."

22 This is what the Lord says: "Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is coming from the far sides of the earth.

23 The soldiers carry bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring ocean when they ride their horses. That army is coming lined up for battle, ready to attack you, Jerusalem."

24 We have heard the news about that army and are helpless from fear. We are gripped by our pain, like a woman having a baby.

25 Don't go out into the fields or walk down the roads, because the enemy has swords. There is terror on every side.

26 My people, put on rough cloth and roll in the ashes to show how sad you are. Cry loudly for those who are dead, as if your only son were dead, because the destroyer will soon come against us.

27 "Jeremiah, I have made you like a worker who tests metal, and my people are like the ore. You must observe their ways and test them.

28 All my people have turned against me and are stubborn. They go around telling lies about others. They are like bronze and iron that became covered with rust. They all act dishonestly.

29 The fire is fanned to make it hotter, but the lead does not melt. The pure metal does not come out; the evil is not removed from my people.

30 My people will be called rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them."

Good News Translation GNT

1 People of Benjamin, run for safety! Escape from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa and build a signal fire in Beth Haccherem. Disaster and destruction are about to come from the north.

2 The city of Zion is beautiful, but it will be destroyed;

3 kings will camp there with their armies. They will pitch their tents around the city, and each of them will camp wherever they want.

4 They will say, "Prepare to attack Jerusalem! Get ready! We'll attack at noon!" But then they will say, "It's too late, the day is almost over, and the evening shadows are growing long.

5 We'll attack by night; we'll destroy the city's fortresses."

6 The Lord Almighty has ordered these kings to cut down trees and build mounds in order to besiege Jerusalem. He has said, "I will punish this city because it is full of oppression.

7 As a well keeps its water fresh, so Jerusalem keeps its evil fresh. I hear violence and destruction in the city; sickness and wounds are all I see.

8 People of Jerusalem, let these troubles be a warning to you, or else I will abandon you; I will turn your city into a desert, a place where no one lives."

9 The Lord Almighty said to me, "Israel will be stripped clean like a vineyard from which every grape has been picked. So you must rescue everyone you can while there is still time."

10 I answered, "Who would listen to me if I spoke to them and warned them? They are stubborn and refuse to listen to your message; they laugh at what you tell me to say.

11 Your anger against them burns in me too, Lord, and I can't hold it in any longer." Then the Lord said to me, "Pour out my anger on the children in the streets and on the gatherings of the young people. Husbands and wives will be taken away, and even the very old will not be spared.

12 Their houses will be given to others, and so will their fields and their wives. I am going to punish the people of this land.

13 Everyone, great and small, tries to make money dishonestly; even prophets and priests cheat the people.

14 They act as if my people's wounds were only scratches. "All is well,' they say, when all is not well.

15 Were they ashamed because they did these disgusting things? No, they were not at all ashamed; they don't even know how to blush. And so they will fall as others have fallen; when I punish them, that will be the end of them. I, the Lord, have spoken."

16 The Lord said to his people, "Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths and where the best road is. Walk in it, and you will live in peace." But they said, "No, we will not!"

17 Then the Lord appointed sentries to listen for the trumpet's warning. But they said, "We will not listen."

18 So the Lord said, "Listen, you nations, and learn what is going to happen to my people.

19 Listen, earth! As punishment for all their schemes I am bringing ruin on these people, because they have rejected my teaching and have not obeyed my words.

20 What do I care about the incense they bring me from Sheba, or the spices from a distant land? I will not accept their offerings or be pleased with their sacrifices.

21 And so I will make these people stumble and fall. Parents and children will die, and so will friends and neighbors."

22 The Lord says, "People are coming from a country in the north; a mighty nation far away is preparing for war.

23 They have taken up their bows and swords; they are cruel and merciless. They sound like the roaring sea, as they ride their horses. They are ready for battle against Jerusalem."

24 "We have heard the news," say the people of Jerusalem, "and our hands hang limp; we are seized by anguish and pain like a woman in labor.

25 We don't dare go to the countryside or walk on the roads, because our enemies are armed and terror is all around us."

26 The Lord says to his people, "Put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter tears as you would for an only child, because the one who comes to destroy you will suddenly attack.

27 Jeremiah, test my people, as you would test metal, and find out what they are like.

28 They are all stubborn rebels, hard as bronze and iron. They are all corrupt, going around and spreading gossip.

29 The furnace burns fiercely, but the waste metals do not melt and run off. It is useless to go on refining my people, because those who are evil are not taken away.

30 They will be called worthless dross, because I, the Lord, have rejected them."