Jeremiah 4:22-31 - Compare All Versions

Share

“My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.” I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone. I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger. This is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely. Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back.” At the sound of horsemen and archers every town takes to flight. Some go into the thickets; some climb up among the rocks. All the towns are deserted; no one lives in them. What are you doing, you devastated one? Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold? Why highlight your eyes with makeup? You adorn yourself in vain. Your lovers despise you; they want to kill you. I hear a cry as of a woman in labor, a groan as of one bearing her first child— the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands and saying, “Alas! I am fainting; my life is given over to murderers.”

“For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’—in doing evil! But how to do good they know not.” I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger. For thus says the LORD, “The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end. “For this the earth shall mourn, and the heavens above be dark; for I have spoken; I have purposed; I have not relented, nor will I turn back.” At the noise of horseman and archer every city takes to flight; they enter thickets; they climb among rocks; all the cities are forsaken, and no man dwells in them. And you, O desolate one, what do you mean that you dress in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with paint? In vain you beautify yourself. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life. For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands, “Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.”

“My people are foolish and do not know me,” says the LORD. “They are stupid children who have no understanding. They are clever enough at doing wrong, but they have no idea how to do right!” I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless. I looked at the heavens, and there was no light. I looked at the mountains and hills, and they trembled and shook. I looked, and all the people were gone. All the birds of the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fertile fields had become a wilderness. The towns lay in ruins, crushed by the LORD’s fierce anger. This is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely. The earth will mourn and the heavens will be draped in black because of my decree against my people. I have made up my mind and will not change it.” At the noise of charioteers and archers, the people flee in terror. They hide in the bushes and run for the mountains. All the towns have been abandoned— not a person remains! What are you doing, you who have been plundered? Why do you dress up in beautiful clothing and put on gold jewelry? Why do you brighten your eyes with mascara? Your primping will do you no good! The allies who were your lovers despise you and seek to kill you. I hear a cry, like that of a woman in labor, the groans of a woman giving birth to her first child. It is beautiful Jerusalem gasping for breath and crying out, “Help! I’m being murdered!”

“For my people are fools; they do not know me. They are foolish children, without understanding.  They are skilled in doing what is evil, but they do not know how to do what is good.”  I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty.  I looked to the heavens, and their light was gone.  I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking;  all the hills shook. I looked, and there was no human being,  and all the birds of the sky had fled.  I looked, and the fertile field  was a wilderness.  All its cities were torn down because of the  LORD and his burning anger.  For this is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be a desolation,  but I will not finish it off.  Because of this, the earth will mourn;  the skies above will grow dark.  I have spoken; I have planned, and I will not relent or turn back from it.”  Every city flees  at the sound of the horseman and the archer. They enter the thickets and climb among the rocks.  Every city is abandoned; no inhabitant is left. And you, devastated one, what are you doing  that you dress yourself in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, that you enhance your eyes with makeup?  You beautify yourself for nothing. Your lovers reject you;  they intend to take your life.  I hear a cry like a woman in labor,  a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child. The cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands:  “Woe is me, for my life is weary because of the murderers! ”

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. I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. 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. For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. 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. 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. 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. 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.

“For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge.” I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved back and forth. I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled. I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were broken down At the presence of the LORD, By His fierce anger. For thus says the LORD: “The whole land shall be desolate; Yet I will not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, And the heavens above be black, Because I have spoken. I have purposed and will not relent, Nor will I turn back from it. The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen. They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks. Every city shall be forsaken, And not a man shall dwell in it. “And when you are plundered, What will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, Though you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you will make yourself fair; Your lovers will despise you; They will seek your life. “For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child, The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself; She spreads her hands, saying, ‘Woe is me now, for my soul is weary Because of murderers!’

“What fools my people are! They have no idea who I am. A company of half-wits, dopes and donkeys all! Experts at evil but klutzes at good.” I looked at the earth— it was back to pre-Genesis chaos and emptiness. I looked at the skies, and not a star to be seen. I looked at the mountains— they were trembling like aspen leaves, And all the hills rocking back and forth in the wind. I looked—what’s this! Not a man or woman in sight, and not a bird to be seen in the skies. I looked—this can’t be! Every garden and orchard shriveled up. All the towns were ghost towns. And all this because of GOD, because of the blazing anger of GOD. Yes, this is GOD’s Word on the matter: “The whole country will be laid waste— still it won’t be the end of the world. The earth will mourn and the skies lament Because I’ve given my word and won’t take it back. I’ve decided and won’t change my mind.” Someone shouts, “Horsemen and archers!” and everybody runs for cover. They hide in ditches, they climb into caves. The cities are emptied, not a person left anywhere. And you, what do you think you’re up to? Dressing up in party clothes, Decking yourselves out in jewelry, putting on lipstick and rouge and mascara! Your primping goes for nothing. You’re not going to seduce anyone. They’re out to kill you! And what’s that I hear? The cry of a woman in labor, the screams of a mother giving birth to her firstborn. It’s the cry of Daughter Zion, gasping for breath, reaching out for help: “Help, oh help me! I’m dying! The killers are on me!”

“For My people are foolish, They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are skillful at doing evil, But they do not know how to do good.” ¶I looked at the earth, and behold, it was a formless and desolate emptiness; And to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills jolted back and forth. I looked, and behold, there was no human, And all the birds of the sky had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the LORD, before His fierce anger. ¶For this is what the LORD says: “The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will not execute a complete destruction. “For this the earth will mourn, And the heavens above will become dark, Because I have spoken, I have purposed, And I have not changed My mind, nor will I turn from it.” At the sound of the horseman and archer every city flees; They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; Every city is abandoned, And no one lives in them. And you, desolate one, what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, Although you adorn yourself with jewelry of gold, Although you enlarge your eyes with makeup, In vain you make yourself beautiful. Your lovers despise you; They seek your life. For I heard a voice cry as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child. The voice of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, Stretching out her hands, saying, “Ah, woe to me, for I faint before murderers.”

“For My people are stupid and foolish,” [says the LORD to Jeremiah]; “They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are shrewd [enough] to do evil, But they do not know [how] to do good.” ¶I looked at the earth [in my vision], and behold, it was [as at the time of creation] formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were trembling, And all the hills moved back and forth. I looked, and behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the air had fled. I looked, and behold, the fertile land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the [presence of the] LORD, before His fierce anger. ¶Therefore says the LORD, “The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will not cause total destruction. [Jer 5:10, 18; 30:11; 46:28] “For this reason the earth shall mourn And the heavens above shall become dark, Because I have spoken, I have decided, And I will not change my mind (relent), nor will I turn back from it.” Every city runs away at the sound of the horsemen and archers. They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; Every city is deserted, And no man lives in them. And you, O desolate one, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself in scarlet, Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, Though you enlarge your eyes with paint, You make yourself beautiful in vain. Your lovers (allies) despise you; They seek your life. For I heard a cry like a woman in labor, The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, The cry of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem), who gasps for breath, Who stretches out her hands, saying, “Woe is me [my judgment comes]! I faint [in fear] before the murderers.”

The LORD answered, “This will happen because my people are foolish. They do not know me. They are like children who have no sense. They have no understanding. They are skilled at doing evil. They do not know how to do good.” “I looked at the land and saw that it was an empty wasteland. I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished. I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking. All the hills were swaying back and forth! I looked and saw that there were no more people, and that all the birds in the sky had flown away. I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins. The LORD had brought this all about because of his blazing anger. All this will happen because the LORD said, “The whole land will be desolate; however, I will not completely destroy it. Because of this the land will mourn and the sky above will grow black. For I have made my purpose known and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out.” At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers the people of every town will flee. Some of them will hide in the thickets. Others will climb up among the rocks. All the cities will be deserted. No one will remain in them. And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, you accomplish nothing by wearing a beautiful dress, decking yourself out in jewels of gold, and putting on eye shadow! You are making yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers spurn you. They want to kill you. In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying, “I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”