Jeremiah 4

1The LORD says: Israel, if you will come back, come back to Me. If you remove your hated idols from My sight, you will not be driven away.

2You will swear: As the LORD lives. You will say it with truth, fairness and what is right. Then the nations will be blessed through Him. They will praise Him.

3The LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up your hard ground. Do not plant seeds among thorns.

4Belong fully to the LORD. Cut away the hardness from your hearts, people of Judah and Jerusalem. If you do not, My anger will burn like a fire. No one will be able to put it out, because of your evil deeds.

5Announce this in Judah and Jerusalem: Blow the trumpet in the land. Shout: Gather together. Let us run into the strong cities.

6Raise a signal flag toward Zion. Run for safety. Do not stand still. I am bringing terrible trouble from the north. It will be a great destruction.

7A lion has come out of its hiding place. The destroyer of nations has set out. The destroyer has left his home to make your land empty. Your cities will be ruined, and no one will live in them.

8So put on rough sackcloth. Cry and wail. The fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.

9The LORD says: On that day the king and the leaders will lose heart. The priests will be shocked. The prophets will be amazed.

10Then Jeremiah said: Lord GOD, You have truly deceived this people and Jerusalem. You said: You will have peace. But now the sword is at our throats.

11At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told: A hot wind from the bare hills in the desert is blowing toward My people. It is not a wind to blow the grain clean.

12A wind too strong for that comes from those places at My command. Now I will pass judgment on them.

13Look, the enemy comes up like clouds. The enemy's chariots are like a whirlwind. His horses are faster than eagles. How terrible for us. We are ruined.

14Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart so that you can be saved. How long will you hold on to your evil thoughts?

15Listen, a voice is calling from Dan. A voice from the hills of Ephraim announces trouble.

16Tell the nations. Announce this against Jerusalem: Armies are coming from a faraway land. They shout against the cities of Judah.

17They surround Jerusalem like people guarding a field, because Jerusalem has rebelled against Me, says the LORD.

18Your own ways and deeds have brought this on you. This is the result of your evil. It is bitter, and it pierces your heart.

19Jeremiah says: My stomach, my stomach hurts. I am in pain deep in my heart. My heart pounds inside me. I cannot keep quiet. I have heard the sound of the trumpet and the cry of war.

20Destruction after destruction is announced, because the whole land is ruined. Suddenly my tents are destroyed. My curtains are gone in a moment.

21How long must I see the signal flag and hear the sound of the trumpet?

22The LORD says: My people are foolish. They do not know Me. They are children without sense. They have no understanding. They are clever at doing evil. They do not know how to do good.

23Jeremiah says: I looked at the earth, and it was empty and without shape. I looked at the sky, and it had no light.

24I looked at the mountains, and they were shaking. All the hills moved back and forth.

25I looked, and there were no people. All the birds of the sky had flown away.

26I looked, and the fruitful land had become a desert. All its cities were torn down. This was because of the LORD and His fierce anger.

27The LORD says: The whole land will be empty and ruined. But I will not completely destroy it.

28Because of this, the earth will mourn. The sky above will turn dark. I have spoken, and I have decided. I will not change My mind. I will not turn back.

29The people of every city will run away from the noise of horsemen and archers. They will hide in thickets and climb up on rocks. Every city will be empty. No one will live there.

30Jerusalem, you will be destroyed. What will you do then? You dress in red clothes. You put on gold jewelry. You paint your eyes. But you make yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers hate you. They want to kill you.

31Jeremiah says: I hear a cry like a woman giving birth. It sounds like the pain of a woman having her first child. It is the cry of Jerusalem, the daughter of Zion. She gasps for breath and holds out her hands. She says: How terrible for me. I am fainting before the killers.