Jeremiah

4 If thou wilt return O Israel Declareth Yahweh, Unto me mayst thou return,—And if thou wilt remove thine abominations from before me Then shalt thou not become a wanderer.

2 If thou wilt swear, By the life of Yahweh! in faithfulness, in justice and in righteousness Then shall the nations bless themselves in him And in him shall they glory.

3 For thus saith Yahweh Unto the men of Judah and unto Jerusalem, Till ye the untilled ground,—And do not sow among thorns.

4 Circumcise yourselves unto Yahweh So shall ye remove the impurity of your heart, ye men of Judah and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem,—Lest mine indignation go forth as fire and burn and there be none to quench it, Because of the wickedness of your doings.

5 Declare ye in Judah And in Jerusalem let it be heard, And say, Blow ye a horn in the land,—Cry with full voice And say, Gather yourselves together And let us enter the defenced cities.

6 Lift up an ensign—Zion-ward, Bring into safety, do not tarry,—For calamity am I bringing in from the North, Even a great destruction:

7 There hath come up a lion out of his thicket, Yea a destroyer of nations—hath set forward, hath come forth out of his place,—To make thy land a desolation, Thy cities shall fall in ruins so as to have no inhabitant.

8 On this account gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl,—Because the glow of the anger of Yahweh hath not turned from us.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, Declareth Yahweh, That the courage of the king shall fail And the courage of the princes,—And the priests shall be astonished, And the prophets shall be amazed.

10 Then said I,—Ah! My Lord Yahweh! Surely thou hast suffered this people and Jerusalem to be beguiled saying, Peace shall ye have,—whereas the sword shall reach unto the soul.

11 At that time shall it be said of this people and of Jerusalem,—The sharp wind of the bare heights in the desert cometh towards the daughter of my people,—not to winnow nor to cleanse.

12 A wind too strong for these cometh in for me. Now will I also pronounce sentences upon them:

13 Lo! like clouds shall he come up, Even as a storm-wind his chariots, Swifter than eagles his horses,—Woe to us for we are laid waste!

14 Wash from wickedness thy heart, O Jerusalem, That thou mayest be saved,—How long shall lodge within thee thy wicked devices?

15 For a voice declareth from Dan,—And publisheth trouble from the hill country of Ephraim.

16 Put ye in mind the nations, Lo! publish ye against Jerusalem, Blockaders are coming in from a land afar off,—And have uttered against the cities of Judah their voice:

17 As the keepers of a field have they come against her round about,—For against me hath she rebelled, Declareth Yahweh.

18 Thine own way And thine own doings Have done these things unto thee,—This thy wickedness Surely it is bitter, Surely it hath reached unto thy heart.

19 My bowels! My bowels! I am pained in the walls of my heart, My heart beateth aloud to me, I cannot be still! For the sound of a horn hast thou heard, O my soul, The loud shout of war!

20 Breach upon breach they cry, For ruined is all the land,—Suddenly are ruined my tents, In a moment my curtains!

21 How long shall I keep on seeing a standard,—continue to hear the sound of a horn?

22 Surely perverse is my people, Me have they not known, Foolish sons they are, Yea without understanding they are: Wise they are to commit wickedness, But how to do well they know not!

23 I beheld The earth, and lo! it was waste and wild,—The heavens also and their light was not:

24 I beheld The mountains, and lo! they were trembling,—And all the hills had been violently moved:

25 I beheld And lo! there was no human being,—Yea all the birds of the heavens had fled:

26 I beheld And lo! the garden-land was a desert,—And all its cities had been broken down, Because of Yahweh, Because of the glow of his anger!

27 For thus saith Yahweh, A desolation shall all the land become,—Nevertheless a full end will I not make.

28 For this cause shall the land mourn, and the heavens above be overcast: Because I have spoken, have purposed, and have not repented nor will I turn back therefrom.

29 At the noise of horseman and archer The whole city is in flight, They have entered dark thickets, Yea unto the crags have they gone up,—Every city is forsaken, There remaineth not in them a man!

30 And when thou art laid waste what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself with crimson, Though thou deck thyself with ornaments of gold, Though thou enlarge with antimony thine eyes In vain shalt thou make thyself fair,—Paramours have rejected thee, Thy life will they seek!

31 For a voice as of a woman in pangs have I heard, Anguish as of her that is bearing her firstborn. The voice of the daughter of Zion! She gaspeth for breath, She spreadeth forth her palms,—Surely woe to me! For my soul fainteth before murderers.