Jeremiah 6

1People of Benjamin, gather together and run away from Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in the town of Tekoa. Light a fire signal over the town of Beth Haccerem. Trouble is coming from the north. Great destruction is coming.

2I, the LORD, have compared Jerusalem, the daughter of Zion, to a beautiful and delicate woman.

3Enemy kings will come against Jerusalem with their armies. They will be like shepherds coming with their flocks. The enemy kings will set up their tents all around the city. Like sheep eating grass, each king will eat up his part of the land.

4The enemy kings say: Get ready for war against Jerusalem! Get up, and let us attack at noon! Then they say: Too bad for us! The day is ending, and the evening shadows are getting long.

5The enemy kings say: Get up! Let us attack at night and destroy the strong palaces of Jerusalem.

6The LORD of all armies says: Cut down trees, and build a dirt ramp against the walls of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the city that must be punished. The city is full of people who hurt and cheat others.

7A well keeps its water flowing. In the same way, Jerusalem keeps its evil flowing. In Jerusalem I hear violence and destruction. I always see sick and wounded people there.

8People of Jerusalem, listen to my warning! If you do not listen, I will turn away from you. I will make Jerusalem empty, a land where nobody lives.

9The LORD of all armies says: The enemy will pick Israel clean, like the last grapes on a vine. Like a grape picker, go back over the branches again.

10Jeremiah says: Who can I speak to? Who can I warn so that the people will listen? Look, the people have made up their minds not to listen. They refuse to pay attention. They make fun of the word of the LORD. They do not enjoy it.

11Jeremiah says: So I am full of the anger of the LORD. I am tired of holding it in. The LORD says to Jeremiah: Pour out my anger on the children in the street. Pour it out on the groups of young men too. Husbands and wives will be taken away. Old people and very old people will be taken away.

12The LORD says: The people's houses will be given to other people. Their fields and their wives will be given to others too. I will use my power to punish the people who live in this land.

13Everyone is greedy for money that is not theirs. This is true from the least important person to the most important. Even the prophets and the priests all lie and cheat.

14My people have a deep wound. But the prophets and priests treat it like a small cut. They say: Peace, peace! But there is no peace.

15Were the people ashamed when they did the things God hates? No, they were not ashamed at all. They did not even know how to blush. So they will fall with the others who fall. When I punish them, they will be thrown down, says the LORD.

16The LORD says: Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask where the old paths are. Ask where the good way is, and walk in it. Then you will find rest for your souls. But the people said: We will not walk in it.

17The LORD says: I put watchmen over you to warn you of danger. I said: Watch and listen for the trumpet warning! But the people said: We will not listen.

18So listen, you nations! All you people gathered together, learn what will happen to my people.

19Listen, earth! I will bring trouble on these people. The trouble is the result of their own evil plans. They did not listen to my words, and they rejected my law.

20Why do you bring me incense from the land of Sheba? Why do you bring me sweet-smelling cane from a faraway country? I do not accept your burnt offerings. Your sacrifices do not please me.

21So the LORD says: Look, I will put things in the way of these people. These things will make them trip and fall. Fathers and sons will fall together. Neighbors and friends will die.

22The LORD says: Look, an army is coming from the land in the north. A great nation is being stirred up from the far parts of the earth.

23The enemy soldiers carry bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. Their army is loud and powerful, like the crashing waves of the sea. They ride on horses and line up ready for war against you, Jerusalem.

24The people of Jerusalem say: We have heard the news about that army. We have lost all our strength. Trouble has taken hold of us, and pain like a woman giving birth.

25Do not go out into the fields! Do not walk on the roads! The enemy has swords, and there is terror everywhere.

26My people, put on rough sackcloth to show your sorrow, and roll in the ashes! Cry loudly and bitterly, like parents crying for their only son. The destroyer will come against us suddenly.

27The LORD says to Jeremiah: Among my people, I have made you like a tester of metal. I have also made you like a strong fortress. You will watch how my people live, and you will test their ways.

28My people are all very stubborn rebels. They go around telling lies about others. They are hard like bronze and iron, and they all do evil things.

29The metal worker blows air into the fire as hard as he can. The fire burns up the lead. But the metal worker works for nothing. The evil people are still not separated out.

30People will call them worthless silver, because the LORD has thrown them away.