4The LORD says, "People of Israel, if you want to turn, then turn back to me. If you are faithful to me and remove the idols I hate,H7725H3478H5002H3068H7725H5493H8251H6440H51102it will be right for you to swear by my name. Then all the nations will ask me to bless them, and they will praise me."H7650H3068H2416H571H4941H6666H1471H1288H19843The LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, "Plow up your unplowed fields; do not plant your seeds among thorns.H559H3068H376H3063H3389H5214H5215H2232H69754Keep your covenant with me, your LORD, and dedicate yourselves to me, you people of Judah and Jerusalem. If you don't, my anger will burn like fire because of the evil things you have done. It will burn, and there will be no one to put it out."H4135H3068H5493H6190H3824H376H3063H3427H3389H2534H3318H784H1197H3518H6440H7455H4611
Judah Is Threatened with Invasion
5Blow the trumpet throughout the land! Shout loud and clear! Tell the people of Judah and Jerusalem to run to the fortified cities.H5046H3063H8085H3389H559H8628H7782H776H7121H4390H559H622H935H4013H58926Point the way to Zion! Run for safety! Don't delay! The LORD is bringing disaster and great destruction from the north.H5375H5251H6726H5756H5975H935H7451H6828H1419H76677Like a lion coming from its hiding place, a destroyer of nations has set out. He is coming to destroy Judah. The cities of Judah will be left in ruins, and no one will live in them.H738H5927H5441H7843H1471H5265H3318H4725H7760H776H8047H5892H5327H34278So put on sackcloth, and weep and wail because the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from Judah.H2296H8242H5594H3213H2740H639H3068H77259The LORD said, "On that day kings and officials will lose their courage; priests will be shocked and prophets will be astonished."H3117H5002H3068H3820H4428H6H3820H8269H3548H8074H5030H853910Then I said, "Sovereign LORD, you have completely deceived the people of Jerusalem! You have said there would be peace, but a sword is at their throats."H559H162H136H3069H403H5377H5377H5971H3389H559H7965H2719H5060H531511The time is coming when the people of Jerusalem will be told that a scorching wind is blowing in from the desert toward them. It will not be a gentle wind that only blows away the chaff -H6256H559H5971H3389H6703H7307H8205H4057H1870H1323H5971H2219H130512the wind that comes at the LORD's command will be much stronger than that! It is the LORD himself who is pronouncing judgment on his people.H4392H7307H935H1696H4941
Judah Is Surrounded by Enemies
13Look, the enemy is coming like clouds. Their war chariots are like a whirlwind, and their horses are faster than eagles. We are lost! We are doomed!H5927H6051H4818H5492H5483H7043H5404H188H770314Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart, so that you may be saved. How long will you go on thinking sinful thoughts?H3389H3526H3820H7451H3467H205H4284H3885H713015Messengers from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim announce the bad news.H6963H5046H1835H8085H205H2022H66916They have come to warn the nations and to tell Jerusalem that enemies are coming from a country far away. These enemies will shout against the cities of JudahH2142H1471H8085H3389H5341H935H4801H776H5414H6963H5892H306317and will surround Jerusalem like men guarding a field, because her people have rebelled against the LORD. The LORD has spoken.H8104H7704H5439H4784H5002H306818Judah, you have brought this on yourself by the way you have lived and by the things you have done. Your sin has caused this suffering; it has stabbed you through the heart.H1870H4611H6213H7451H4751H5060H3820
Jeremiah’s Sorrow for His People
19The pain! I can't bear the pain! My heart! My heart is beating wildly! I can't keep quiet; I hear the trumpets and the shouts of battle.H4578H4578H2342H3176H7023H3820H3820H1993H2790H8085H5315H6963H7782H8643H442120One disaster follows another; the whole country is left in ruins. Suddenly our tents are destroyed; their curtains are torn to pieces.H7667H7667H7121H776H7703H6597H168H7703H3407H728121How long must I see the battle raging and hear the blasts of trumpets?H7200H5251H8085H6963H778222The LORD says, "My people are stupid; they don't know me. They are like foolish children; they have no understanding. They are experts at doing what is evil, but failures at doing what is good."H5971H191H3045H5530H1121H995H2450H7489H3190H3045
Jeremiah’s Vision of the Coming Destruction
23I looked at the earth - it was a barren waste; at the sky - there was no light.H7200H776H8414H922H8064H21624I looked at the mountains - they were shaking, and the hills were rocking back and forth.H7200H2022H7493H1389H704325I saw that there were no people; even the birds had flown away.H7200H120H5775H8064H507426The fertile land had become a desert; its cities were in ruins because of the LORD's fierce anger.H7200H3759H4057H5892H5422H6440H3068H2740H63927(The LORD has said that the whole earth will become a wasteland, but that he will not completely destroy it.)H3068H559H776H8077H6213H361728The earth will mourn; the sky will grow dark. The LORD has spoken and will not change his mind. He has made his decision and will not turn back.H776H56H8064H4605H6937H1696H2161H5162H772529At the noise of the cavalry and archers everyone will run away. Some will run to the forest; others will climb up among the rocks. Every town will be left empty, and no one will live in them again.H5892H1272H6963H6571H7198H7411H935H5645H5927H3710H5892H5800H376H3427H200430Jerusalem, you are doomed! Why do you dress in scarlet? Why do you put on jewelry and paint your eyes? You are making yourself beautiful for nothing! Your lovers have rejected you and want to kill you.H7703H6213H3847H8144H5710H5716H2091H7167H5869H6320H7723H3302H5689H3988H1245H531531I heard a cry, like a woman in labor, a scream like a woman bearing her first child. It was the cry of Jerusalem gasping for breath, stretching out her hand and saying, "I am doomed! They are coming to kill me!"H8085H6963H2470H6869H1069H6963H1323H6726H3306H6566H3709H188H5315H5888H2026