Jeremiah 6

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Flee, sons of Benjamin, out of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, raise a signal over Beth-haccherem; For evil threatens from the north, and mighty destruction.	1 “O sons of Benjamin, be strengthened in the midst of Jerusalem, and sound the trumpet in Tekoa, and lift up a banner over the house of Haccherem. For an evil has been seen from the north, with great destruction.
2 O lovely and delicate daughter Zion, you are ruined!	2 I have compared the daughter of Zion to a beautiful and delicate woman.
3 Against her, shepherds come with their flocks; all around, they pitch their tents, each one grazes his portion.	3 The pastors will come to her with their flocks. They have pitched their tents against her all around. Each one will feed those who are under his hand.
4 "Prepare for war against her, Up! let us rush upon her at midday! Alas! the day is waning, evening shadows lengthen;	4 ‘Sanctify a war against her! Rise up together, and let us ascend at midday.’ ‘Woe to us! For the day has declined; for the shadows of the evening have grown longer.’
5 Up! let us rush upon her by night, destroy her palaces!"	5 ‘Rise up, and let us ascend in the night, and let us destroy her houses.’ ”
6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: Hew down her trees, throw up a siege mound against Jerusalem. Woe to the city marked for punishment; nought but oppression within her!	6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “Cut down her trees, and build a rampart around Jerusalem. This is the city of visitation! Every kind of false claim is in her midst.
7 As the well gushes out its waters, so she gushes out her wickedness. Violence and destruction resound in her; ever before me are wounds and blows.	7 Just as a cistern makes its water cold, so has she made her wickedness cold. Iniquity and devastation will be heard in her; sickness and wounds will be ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem, lest I be estranged from you; Lest I turn you into a desert, a land where no man dwells.	8 O Jerusalem, accept instruction, lest perhaps my soul may withdraw from you; lest perhaps I may set you in a desert, in an uninhabitable land.”
9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Glean, glean like a vine the remnant of Israel; Pass your hand, like a vintager, repeatedly over the tendrils.	9 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “They will gather the remnant of Israel, even as a single cluster of grapes is gathered from a vine. Direct your hand, as a grape-gatherer directs his hand to the basket.
10 To whom shall I speak? whom shall I warn, and be heard? See! their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot give heed; See, the word of the LORD has become for them an object of scorn, which they will not have.	10 To whom should I speak, and to whom should I testify, so as to be heard? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and so they are unable to hear. Behold, for them, the word of the Lord has become a disgrace. And so they will not accept it.
11 Therefore my wrath brims up within me, I am weary of holding it in; I will pour it out upon the child in the street, upon the young men gathered together. Yes, all will be taken, husband and wife, graybeard with ancient.	11 For this reason, I have been filled with the fury of the Lord. I labor to bear it. Let it be poured out upon the child outside, or upon a group of young men meeting together. For a man will be taken captive with a woman, an elder will be taken captive with one who is full of days.
12 Their houses will fall to strangers, their fields and their wives as well; For I will stretch forth my hand against those who dwell in this land, says the LORD.	12 And their houses will be given over to others, with both their lands and their wives. For I will extend my hand over the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord.
13 Small and great alike, all are greedy for gain; prophet and priest, all practice fraud.	13 Certainly, from the least of them even to the greatest, all of them practice greed. And from the prophet even to the priest, all of them act with deceit.
14 They would repair, as though it were nought, the injury to my people: "Peace, peace!" they say, though there is no peace.	14 And they healed the destruction of the daughter of my people with disgrace, by saying: ‘Peace, peace.’ And there was no peace.
15 They are odious; they have done abominable things, yet they are not at all ashamed, they know not how to blush. Hence they shall be among those who fall; in their time of punishment they shall go down, says the LORD.	15 They were confounded, because they committed an abomination. Or rather, they were not confounded with shame, because they did not know how to blush. For this reason, they will fall among those who are being destroyed. In the time of their visitation, they will fall, says the Lord.”
16 Thus says the LORD: Stand beside the earliest roads, ask the pathways of old Which is the way to good, and walk it; thus you will find rest for your souls. But they said, "We will not walk it."	16 Thus says the Lord: “Stand above the ways, and see and ask, about the ancient paths, as to which is the good way, and then walk in it. And you will find refreshment for your souls. But they said: ‘We will not walk.’
17 When I raised up watchmen for them: "Hearken to the sound of the trumpet!" they said, "We will not hearken."	17 And I appointed watchers over you, saying: ‘Listen for the sound of the trumpet.’ And they said: ‘We will not listen.’
18 Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O earth, what I will do with them:	18 For this reason, hear, O Gentiles, and know, O congregation, how much I will do to them.
19 See, I bring evil upon this people, the fruit of their own schemes, Because they heeded not my words, because they despised my law.	19 Hear, O earth! Behold, I will lead evils over this people, as the fruits of their own thoughts. For they have not listened to my words, and they have cast aside my law.
20 Of what use to me incense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from far-off lands? Your holocausts find no favor with me, your sacrifices please me not.	20 For what reason are you bringing me frankincense from Sheba, and sweet smelling reeds from a far away land? Your holocausts are not acceptable, and your sacrifices are not pleasing to me.”
21 Therefore, thus says the LORD: See, I will place before this people obstacles to bring them down; Fathers and sons alike, neighbors and friends shall perish.	21 Therefore, thus says the Lord: “Behold I will bring this people to utter ruin, and they will fall, with their fathers and sons; neighbor and relative will perish together.”
22 Thus says the LORD: See, a people comes from the land of the north, a great nation, roused from the ends of the earth.	22 Thus says the Lord: “Behold, a people is coming from the land of the north, and a great nation will rise up from the ends of the earth.
23 Bow and javelin they wield; cruel and pitiless are they. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride forth on steeds, Each in his place, for battle against you, daughter Zion.	23 They will take hold of arrow and shield. They are cruel, and they will not take pity. Their voice will roar like the ocean. And they will climb upon horses, for they have been prepared like men for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion.
24 We hear the report of them; helpless fall our hands, Anguish takes hold of us, throes like a mother's in childbirth.	24 ‘We have heard of their fame. Our hands have become weakened. Tribulation has overtaken us, like the pains of a woman giving birth.’
25 Go not forth into the field, step not into the street, Beware of the enemy's sword; terror on every side!	25 Do not choose to go out into the fields, and you should not walk along the roadway. For the sword and the terror of the enemy is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, roll in the ashes. Mourn as for an only child with bitter wailing, For sudden upon us comes the destroyer.	26 Wrap yourself in haircloth, O daughter of my people. And sprinkle yourself with ashes. Make a mourning for yourself, as for an only son, a bitter lamentation: ‘for the destroyer will overwhelm us suddenly.’
27 A tester among my people I have appointed you, to search and test their way.	27 I have presented you as a strong tester among my people. And you will test and know their way.
28 Arch-rebels are they all, dealers in slander, all of them corrupt.	28 All these leaders who are turning away and walking deceitfully, they are brass and iron; they have all been corrupted.
29 The bellows roars, the lead is consumed by the fire; In vain has the smelter refined, the wicked are not drawn off.	29 The bellows has failed; the lead has been consumed by fire; the molten metal was melted to no purpose. For their wickedness has not been consumed.
30 "Silver rejected" they shall be called, for the LORD has rejected them.	30 Call them: ‘Rejected silver.’ For the Lord has cast them aside.”