Jeremiah 4

KING JAMES BIBLE	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
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.	1 If you wish to return, O Israel, says the LORD, return to me. If you put your detestable things out of my sight, and do not stray,
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.	2 Then you can swear, "As the LORD lives," in truth, in judgment, and in justice; Then shall the nations use his name in blessing, and glory in him.
3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.	3 For to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, thus says the LORD: Till your untilled ground, 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.	4 For the sake of the LORD, be circumcised, remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem; Lest my anger break out like fire, and burn till none can quench it, because of your evil deeds.
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.	5 Proclaim it in Judah, make it heard in Jerusalem; Blow the trumpet through the land, summon the recruits! Say, "Fall in, let us march to the fortified cities."
6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.	6 Bear the standard to Zion, seek refuge without delay! Evil I bring from the north, and 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.	7 Up comes the lion from his lair, the destroyer of nations has set out, has left his place, To turn your land into desolation, till your cities lie waste and empty.
8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.	8 So gird yourselves with sackcloth, mourn and wail: "The blazing wrath of the LORD is not turned away 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.	9 In that day, says the LORD, The king will lose heart, and the princes; the priests will be amazed, and the prophets stunned.
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.	10 "Alas! Lord GOD," they will say, "You only deceived us When you said: Peace shall be yours; for the sword touches our very 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,	11 At that time it will be said of this people and of Jerusalem, "From the glaring heights through the desert a wind comes toward the daughter of my people." Not to winnow, not to cleanse,
12 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.	12 does this wind from the heights come at my bidding; And I myself now pronounce sentence upon 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.	13 See! like storm clouds he advances, like a hurricane his chariots; Swifter than eagles are his steeds: "Woe to us! we are ruined."
14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?	14 Cleanse your heart of evil, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long must your pernicious thoughts lodge within you?
15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.	15 Listen! They proclaim it from Dan, from Mount Ephraim they announce destruction:
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.	16 "Make this known to the nations, announce it to Jerusalem: The besiegers are coming from the distant land, shouting their war cry 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.	17 Like watchmen of the fields they surround her, for she has rebelled against me, says 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.	18 Your conduct, your misdeeds, have done this to you; how bitter is this disaster of yours, how it reaches to your very 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.	19 My breast! my breast! how I suffer! The walls of my heart! My heart beats wildly, I cannot be still; For I have heard 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.	20 Ruin after ruin is reported; the whole earth is laid waste. In an instant my tents are ravaged; in a flash, my shelters.
21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?	21 How long must I see that signal, hear that trumpet sound!
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.	22 Fools my people are, they know me not; Senseless children they are, having no understanding; They are wise in evil, but know not how to do good.
23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.	23 I looked at the earth, and it was waste and void; at the heavens, and their light had gone out!
24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.	24 I looked at the mountains, and they were trembling, and all the hills were crumbling!
25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.	25 I looked and behold, there was no man; even the birds of the air had flown away!
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.	26 I looked and behold, the garden land was a desert, with all its cities destroyed before the LORD, before his blazing wrath.
27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.	27 For thus says the LORD: Waste shall the whole land be; I will (not) wholly destroy it.
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.	28 Because of this the earth shall mourn, the heavens above shall darken; I have spoken, I will not repent, I have resolved, I will not turn back.
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.	29 At the shout of horseman and bowman each city takes to flight; They shrink into the thickets, they scale the rocks: All the cities are abandoned, and no one dwells in them.
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.	30 You now who are doomed, what do you mean by putting on purple, bedecking yourself with gold, Shading your eyes with cosmetics, beautifying yourself in vain? Your lovers spurn you, they seek your 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.	31 Yes, I hear the moaning, as of a woman in travail, like the anguish of a mother with her first child- The cry of daughter Zion gasping, as she stretches forth her hands: "Ah, woe is me! I sink exhausted before the slayers!"