Jeremiah 4:1-8 - Compare All Versions

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“If you, Israel, will return, then return to me,” declares the LORD. “If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast.” This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it. “Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say: ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’ Cry aloud and say: ‘Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities!’ Raise the signal to go to Zion! Flee for safety without delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, even terrible destruction.” A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to lay waste your land. Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant. So put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.

“If you return, O Israel, declares the LORD, to me you should return. If you remove your detestable things from my presence, and do not waver, and if you swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.” For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.” Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “Blow the trumpet through the land; cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble, and let us go into the fortified cities!’ Raise a standard toward Zion, flee for safety, stay not, for I bring disaster from the north, and great destruction. A lion has gone up from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his place to make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant. For this put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned back from us.”

“O Israel,” says the LORD, “if you wanted to return to me, you could. You could throw away your detestable idols and stray away no more. Then when you swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ you could do so with truth, justice, and righteousness. Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world, and all people would come and praise my name.” This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns. O people of Judah and Jerusalem, surrender your pride and power. Change your hearts before the LORD, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins. “Shout to Judah, and broadcast to Jerusalem! Tell them to sound the alarm throughout the land: ‘Run for your lives! Flee to the fortified cities!’ Raise a signal flag as a warning for Jerusalem: ‘Flee now! Do not delay!’ For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you from the north.” A lion stalks from its den, a destroyer of nations. It has left its lair and is headed your way. It’s going to devastate your land! Your towns will lie in ruins, with no one living in them anymore. So put on clothes of mourning and weep with broken hearts, for the fierce anger of the LORD is still upon us.

If you return,  Israel — this is the  LORD’s declaration — you will return to me,  if you remove your abhorrent idols  from my presence and do not waver, then you can swear, “As the  LORD  lives,”  in truth,  justice, and righteousness,  and then the nations will be blessed  by him  and will boast in him.  For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up the unplowed ground;  do not sow among the thorns.  Circumcise yourselves to the  LORD; remove the foreskin of your hearts,  men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. Otherwise, my wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it  because of your evil deeds. Declare in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land.  Cry out loudly and say, “Assemble yourselves, and let’s flee to the fortified cities.” Lift up a signal flag toward Zion.  Run for cover! Don’t stand still! For I am bringing disaster from the north — a crushing blow.  A lion has gone up from his thicket;  a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his lair to make your land a waste. Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins.  Because of this, put on sackcloth; mourn and wail,  for the LORD’s burning anger  has not turned away from us.

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. 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. For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. 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. 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. Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. 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. For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.

“If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD, “Return to Me; And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, Then you shall not be moved. And you shall swear, ‘The LORD lives,’ In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory.” For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.” Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: “Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry, ‘Gather together,’ And say, ‘Assemble yourselves, And let us go into the fortified cities.’ Set up the standard toward Zion. Take refuge! Do not delay! For I will bring disaster from the north, And great destruction.” The lion has come up from his thicket, And the destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone forth from his place To make your land desolate. Your cities will be laid waste, Without inhabitant. For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth, Lament and wail. For the fierce anger of the LORD Has not turned back from us.

“If you want to come back, O Israel, you must really come back to me. You must get rid of your stinking sin paraphernalia and not wander away from me anymore. Then you can say words like, ‘As GOD lives . . . ’ and have them mean something true and just and right. And the godless nations will get caught up in the blessing and find something in Israel to write home about.” * * * Here’s another Message from GOD to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Plow your unplowed fields, but then don’t plant weeds in the soil! Yes, circumcise your lives for God’s sake. Plow your unplowed hearts, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem. Prevent fire—the fire of my anger— for once it starts it can’t be put out. Your wicked ways are fuel for the fire. GOD “Sound the alarm in Judah, broadcast the news in Jerusalem. Say, ‘Blow the ram’s horn trumpet through the land!’ Shout out—a bullhorn bellow!— ‘Close ranks! Run for your lives to the shelters!’ Send up a flare warning Zion: ‘Not a minute to lose! Don’t sit on your hands!’ Disaster’s descending from the north. I set it off! When it lands, it will shake the foundations. Invaders have pounced like a lion from its cover, ready to rip nations to shreds, Leaving your land in wrack and ruin, your cities in rubble, abandoned. Dress in funereal black. Weep and wail, For GOD’s sledgehammer anger has slammed into us head-on.

“If you will return, Israel,” declares the LORD, “Then you should return to Me. And if you will put away your detestable things from My presence, And will not waver, And if you will swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’ In truth, in justice, and in righteousness; Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they will boast.” For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: “Break up your uncultivated ground, And do not sow among thorns. “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your hearts, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will spread like fire And burn with no one to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.” ¶Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble, and let’s go Into the fortified cities.’ “Raise a flag toward Zion! Take refuge, do not stand still, For I am bringing evil from the north, And great destruction. “A lion has gone up from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations has set out; He has gone out from his place To make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruins, Without an inhabitant. “For this, put on sackcloth, Mourn and wail; For the fierce anger of the LORD Has not turned away from us.”

“If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD, “If you will return to Me, And if you will put away your detestable things and remove your man-made gods from My sight, And not stray or waver, And if you swear [your oaths], ‘As the LORD lives,’ In truth, in justice, and in righteousness, Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they will glory.” For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, “Plow your uncultivated ground [for a season], And do not sow among thorns. “Circumcise (dedicate, sanctify) yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskin [sins] of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire [consuming all that gets in its way] And burn and there will be no one to quench it, Because of the evil of your acts.” ¶Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble yourselves, and let us go Into the fortified cities.’ “Raise a banner toward Zion [to mark the way for those seeking safety inside Jerusalem’s walls]! Seek refuge, do not stand [immobile], For I am bringing evil from the north (the army of Babylon), And great destruction. “A lion has left his lair, And a destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone out from his place To desolate your land; Your cities will be in ruins Without an inhabitant. “For this reason, put on sackcloth [for mourning], Lament (mourn with expressions of grief for the dead) and wail, For the fierce anger of the LORD Has not turned back from us.”

“If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the LORD, “if you want to come back to me you must get those disgusting idols out of my sight and must no longer go astray. You must be truthful, honest and upright when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’ If you do, the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are and will make him the object of their boasting.” Yes, the LORD has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment, you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the LORD and get rid of everything that hinders your commitment to me, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you do not, my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you that no one will be able to extinguish. That will happen because of the evil you have done.” The LORD said, “Announce this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’ Shout out loudly, ‘Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!’ Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion. Run for safety! Do not delay! For I am about to bring disaster out of the north. It will bring great destruction. Like a lion that has come up from its lair the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base. He is coming out to lay your land waste. Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited. So put on sackcloth! Mourn and wail, saying, ‘The fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us!’”