“1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me:
and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt
thou not remove. 2 And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in
judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves
in him, and in him shall they glory.”
“3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up
your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. 4 Circumcise yourselves to
the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and
inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn
that none can quench [it], because of the evil of your doings.”
“5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the
trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves,
and let us go into the defenced cities. 6 Set up the standard toward
Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a
great destruction. 7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the
destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place
to make thy land desolate; [and] thy cities shall be laid waste, without
an inhabitant. 8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for
the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. 9 And it shall
come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, [that] the heart of the king
shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be
astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. 10 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD!
surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye
shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. 11 At that
time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the
high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to
fan, nor to cleanse, 12 [Even] a full wind from those [places] shall
come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them. 13 Behold, he
shall come up as clouds, and his chariots [shall be] as a whirlwind: his
horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. 14 O
Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved.
How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? 15 For a voice
declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim. 16
Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem,
[that] watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice
against the cities of Judah. 17 As keepers of a field, are they against
her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the
LORD. 18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these [things] unto thee;
this [is] thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto
thine heart.”
“19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart
maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O
my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. 20 Destruction upon
destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my
tents spoiled, [and] my curtains in a moment. 21 How long shall I see
the standard, [and] hear the sound of the trumpet? 22 For my people [is]
foolish, they have not known me; they [are] sottish children, and they
have none understanding: they [are] wise to do evil, but to do good they
have no knowledge. 23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, [it was] without
form, and void; and the heavens, and they [had] no light. 24 I beheld
the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
25 I beheld, and, lo, [there was] no man, and all the birds of the
heavens were fled. 26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place [was] a
wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence
of the LORD, [and] by his fierce anger. 27 For thus hath the LORD said,
The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. 28 For
this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I
have spoken [it], I have purposed [it], and will not repent, neither
will I turn back from it. 29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of
the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon
the rocks: every city [shall be] forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
30 And [when] thou [art] spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou
clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments
of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou
make thyself fair; [thy] lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy
life. 31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, [and] the
anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the
daughter of Zion, [that] bewaileth herself, [that] spreadeth her hands,
[saying], Woe [is] me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.”
(Jeremiah 4:1-31 AV)