Jeremiah 6:21-28
Jeremiah 6:21-30 The Message (MSG)
So listen to this. Here’s GOD’s verdict on your way of life: “Watch out! I’m putting roadblocks and barriers on the road you’re taking. They’ll send you sprawling, parents and children, neighbors and friends— and that will be the end of the lot of you.” And listen to this verdict from GOD: “Look out! An invasion from the north, a mighty power on the move from a faraway place: Armed to the teeth, vicious and pitiless, Booming like sea storm and thunder—tramp, tramp, tramp— riding hard on war horses, In battle formation against you, dear Daughter Zion!” We’ve heard the news, and we’re as limp as wet dishrags. We’re paralyzed with fear. Terror has a death grip on our throats. Don’t dare go outdoors! Don’t leave the house! Death is on the prowl. Danger everywhere! “Dear Daughter Zion: Dress in black. Blacken your face with ashes. Weep most bitterly, as for an only child. The countdown has begun . . . six, five, four, three . . . The Terror is on us!” * * * GOD gave me this task
Jeremiah 6:21-28 King James Version (KJV)
Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion. We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail. Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side. O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way. They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.
Jeremiah 6:21-28 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Therefore, thus says the LORD, “Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people. And they will stumble against them, Fathers and sons together; Neighbor and friend will perish.” Thus says the LORD, “Behold, a people is coming from the north land, And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth. They seize bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea, And they ride on horses, Arrayed as a man for the battle Against you, O daughter of Zion!” We have heard the report of it; Our hands are limp. Anguish has seized us, Pain as of a woman in childbirth. Do not go out into the field And do not walk on the road, For the enemy has a sword, Terror is on every side. O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth And roll in ashes; Mourn as for an only son, A lamentation most bitter. For suddenly the destroyer Will come upon us. “I have made you an assayer and a tester among My people, That you may know and assay their way.” All of them are stubbornly rebellious, Going about as a talebearer. They are bronze and iron; They, all of them, are corrupt.
Jeremiah 6:21-28 New Century Version (NCV)
So this is what the LORD says: “I will put problems in front of Judah. Fathers and sons will stumble over them together. Neighbors and friends will die.” This is what the LORD says: “Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is coming from the far sides of the earth. The soldiers carry bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring ocean when they ride their horses. That army is coming lined up for battle, ready to attack you, Jerusalem.” We have heard the news about that army and are helpless from fear. We are gripped by our pain, like a woman having a baby. Don’t go out into the fields or walk down the roads, because the enemy has swords. There is terror on every side. My people, put on rough cloth and roll in the ashes to show how sad you are. Cry loudly for those who are dead, as if your only son were dead, because the destroyer will soon come against us. “Jeremiah, I have made you like a worker who tests metal, and my people are like the ore. You must observe their ways and test them. All my people have turned against me and are stubborn. They go around telling lies about others. They are like bronze and iron that became covered with rust. They all act dishonestly.
Jeremiah 6:21-28 American Standard Version (ASV)
Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people; and the fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them; the neighbor and his friend shall perish. Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, a people cometh from the north country; and a great nation shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses, every one set in array, as a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Zion. We have heard the report thereof; our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pangs as of a woman in travail. Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy, and terror, are on every side. O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us. I have made thee a trier and a fortress among my people; that thou mayest know and try their way. They are all grievous revolters, going about with slanders; they are brass and iron: they all of them deal corruptly.
Jeremiah 6:21-28 New International Version (NIV)
Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I will put obstacles before this people. Parents and children alike will stumble over them; neighbors and friends will perish.” This is what the LORD says: “Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter Zion.” We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor. Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side. Put on sackcloth, my people, and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. “I have made you a tester of metals and my people the ore, that you may observe and test their ways. They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they all act corruptly.
Jeremiah 6:21-28 New King James Version (NKJV)
Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish.” Thus says the LORD: “Behold, a people comes from the north country, And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth. They will lay hold on bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.” We have heard the report of it; Our hands grow feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, Pain as of a woman in labor. Do not go out into the field, Nor walk by the way. Because of the sword of the enemy, Fear is on every side. O daughter of my people, Dress in sackcloth And roll about in ashes! Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us. “I have set you as an assayer and a fortress among My people, That you may know and test their way. They are all stubborn rebels, walking as slanderers. They are bronze and iron, They are all corrupters
Jeremiah 6:21-28 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Therefore, thus says the LORD, “Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people. The fathers and the sons together Will stumble against them; The neighbor and his friend will perish.” Thus says the LORD, “Behold, a people is coming from the north country, And a great nation shall be stirred up and put into action from the remote parts of the earth. They seize bow and spear; They are cruel and inhuman and have no mercy. Their voice sounds like the roaring sea; They ride [in formation] on horses, Arrayed as a man for battle Against you, O Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem)!” We have heard the report of it; Our hands become limp and helpless. Anguish has gripped us, Pain like that of a woman in childbirth. Do not go out into the field Nor walk on the road, For the enemy is armed with the sword; Terror is on every side. O daughter of my people [says Jeremiah], Clothe yourself in sackcloth and wallow in ashes; Mourn [aloud] as for an only son, A most bitter cry [of sorrow and regret], For suddenly the destroyer will come upon us [on both prophet and people]. “I [the LORD] have set you as an assayer [O Jeremiah] and as a tester [of the ore] of My people, That you may know and analyze their acts.” They are all the worst [kind] of [stiff-necked, godless] rebels, Going around spreading slander. They are [not gold and silver ore, but] bronze and iron; They are all corrupt.
Jeremiah 6:21-28 New Living Translation (NLT)
Therefore, this is what the LORD says: “I will put obstacles in my people’s path. Fathers and sons will both fall over them. Neighbors and friends will die together.” This is what the LORD says: “Look! A great army coming from the north! A great nation is rising against you from far-off lands. They are armed with bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like a roaring sea as they ride forward on horses. They are coming in battle formation, planning to destroy you, beautiful Jerusalem.” We have heard reports about the enemy, and we wring our hands in fright. Pangs of anguish have gripped us, like those of a woman in labor. Don’t go out to the fields! Don’t travel on the roads! The enemy’s sword is everywhere and terrorizes us at every turn! Oh, my people, dress yourselves in burlap and sit among the ashes. Mourn and weep bitterly, as for the loss of an only son. For suddenly the destroying armies will be upon you! “Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of metals, that you may determine the quality of my people. They are the worst kind of rebel, full of slander. They are as hard as bronze and iron, and they lead others into corruption.
Jeremiah 6:21-28 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will lay before this people stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble; fathers and sons together, neighbor and friend shall perish.’” Thus says the LORD: “Behold, a people is coming from the north country, a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and javelin; they are cruel and have no mercy; the sound of them is like the roaring sea; they ride on horses, set in array as a man for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion!” We have heard the report of it; our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor. Go not out into the field, nor walk on the road, for the enemy has a sword; terror is on every side. O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth, and roll in ashes; make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. “I have made you a tester of metals among my people, that you may know and test their ways. They are all stubbornly rebellious, going about with slanders; they are bronze and iron; all of them act corruptly.