Jeremiah 4

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 'If you come back, Israel, Yahweh declares, if you come back to me, if you take your Horrors out of mysight, if you go roving no more,	1 “O Israel, if you would return, says the Lord, then be converted to me. If you remove your offense from before my face, then you will not be shaken.
2 if you swear, "As Yahweh lives!" truthful y, justly, uprightly, then the nations wil bless themselves by him and glory in him.	2 And you will swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth and in judgment and in justice.” And the Gentiles will bless him, and they will praise him.
3 'For Yahweh says this to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, "Clear the ground that lies neglected, do notsow among thorns.	3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and of Jerusalem: “Break new ground, and do not choose to sow upon thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves for Yahweh, apply circumcision to your hearts, men of Judah and inhabitants ofJerusalem, or my wrath wil leap out like a fire and burn with no one to quench it, in return for the wickedness ofyour deeds." '	4 Be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins from your hearts, O men of Judah, O inhabitants of Jerusalem. Otherwise my indignation may burst forth and flare up like a fire. And then there will be no one who can extinguish it, because of the wickedness of your thoughts.
5 Announce it in Judah, proclaim it in Jerusalem, say, 'Sound the trumpet in the countryside, shout themessage aloud: Mobilise! Take to the fortified towns!	5 Declare it in Judah, and make it known in Jerusalem! Speak out and sound the trumpet in the land! Cry out strongly and say: ‘Gather yourselves! And let us go forth to fortified cities!’
6 Signpost the way to Zion! Run! Do not delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, an immensecalamity.	6 Lift up a standard in Zion. Be strengthened! Do not choose to stand still. For I am bringing an evil from the north, with great destruction.
7 The lion is up from his thicket, the destroyer of nations is on his way, he has come from his home toreduce your land to a desert; your towns wil be in ruins, uninhabited.	7 The lion has ascended from his den, and the pillager of the nations has lifted himself up. He has gone forth from his place, so that he may set your land in desolation. Your cities will be laid waste, remaining without an inhabitant.
8 So wrap yourselves in sackcloth, lament and wail, since Yahweh's burning anger has not turned awayfrom us.	8 Concerning this, wrap yourselves in haircloth, mourn and wail: ‘For the wrath of the fury of the Lord has not been turned away from us.’
9 'That day,' Yahweh declares, 'the king's heart will fail him, the princes' hearts wil fail them too, thepriests wil stand aghast, the prophets stupefied.'	9 And this shall be in that day, says the Lord: The heart of the king will perish, with the heart of the princes. And the priests will be stupefied, and the prophets will be in consternation.”
10 Then I said, 'Ah, Lord Yahweh, how sadly you deceived this people and Jerusalem when you used tosay, "You wil have peace," whereas the sword is now at our throats!	10 And I said: “Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God! Could it be that you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: ‘Peace shall be yours,’ while, behold, the sword reaches even to the soul?”
11 When that time comes, this wil be said to this people and to Jerusalem: The scorching wind from thedesert heights comes towards the daughter of my people -and not to winnow or to cleanse!	11 “In that time, it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: ‘A burning wind is in the ways that are in the desert, along the way of the daughter of my people, but not to winnow and not to cleanse.’
12 A gale of wind comes to me from over there. Now I myself shal pass sentence on them!'	12 A full spirit from these places will come to me. And now I will speak my judgments over them.
13 Look, he is advancing like the clouds, his chariots like a hurricane, his horses swifter than eagles.Disaster for us! We are lost!	13 Behold, he will ascend like a cloud, and his chariot will ascend like a tempest. His horses are swifter than eagles. ‘Woe to us! For we are being devastated!’
14 Wash your heart clean of wickedness, Jerusalem, and so be saved. How long wil you go onharbouring your pernicious thoughts?	14 Wash your heart from malice, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will harmful thoughts abide in you?
15 For a voice from Dan shouts the news, proclaims disaster from the highlands of Ephraim.	15 For there is a voice, of someone announcing from Dan, and he is making known the idol from mount Ephraim.
16 Report it to the nations, proclaim it to Jerusalem, 'Enemies are coming from a distant country, shoutingtheir war cry against the towns of Judah;	16 Say to the nations: ‘Behold, it has been heard in Jerusalem! Guardians are coming from a far away land, to utter their voice against the cities of Judah.’
17 they surround her like watchmen round a field because she has rebel ed against me', Yahwehdeclares.	17 They have been stationed over her, like the guardians of fields, all around. For she has provoked me to wrath, says the Lord.
18 'Your own behaviour and actions have brought this on yourself. Your wickedness, how bitter, hasstabbed you to the heart!'	18 Your ways and your thoughts have brought these things upon you. This is your own wickedness. And it is bitter, because it has touched your heart.
19 In the pit of my stomach how great my agony! Walls of my heart! My heart is throbbing! I cannot keepquiet, for I have heard the trumpet call, the battle cry.	19 I am afflicted in my heart, in my heart. The senses of my heart have been stirred up within me. I will not remain silent. For my soul has heard the voice of the trumpet, the clamor of the battle.
20 Ruin on ruin is the news: the whole land is laid waste, my tents are suddenly destroyed, in one momental that sheltered me.	20 Destruction upon destruction has been called forth. And the entire earth has been devastated. My tabernacles have been destroyed suddenly, and my tents in an instant.
21 How long must I see the standard and hear the trumpet cal ?	21 How long shall I watch those who are fleeing, and listen to the voice of the trumpet?
22 'This is because my people are stupid, they do not know me, they are slow-witted children, they haveno understanding, they are clever enough at doing wrong, but do not know how to do right.'	22 For my foolish people have not known me. They are foolish and mad sons. They are clever in doing evil, but they do not know how to do good.
23 I looked to the earth -- it was a formless waste; to the heavens, and their light had gone.	23 I gazed upon the earth, and behold, it was empty and brought to nothing. And I gazed upon the heavens, but there was no light in them.
24 I looked to the mountains -- they were quaking and al the hil s rocking to and fro.	24 I watched the mountains, and behold, they trembled, and all the hills were shaken.
25 I looked -- there was no one at all, the very birds of heaven had al fled.	25 I looked, and there was no man. And all the flying things of the air had gone away.
26 I looked -- the fruitful land was a desert, all its towns in ruins before Yahweh, before his burning anger.	26 I gazed, and behold, Carmel was a desert, and all its cities were destroyed before the face of the Lord, and before the face of the wrath of his fury.”
27 Yes, Yahweh has said this, 'The whole country wil be laid waste, though I shall not annihilate itcompletely.	27 For thus says the Lord: “All the earth will be desolate, but I will not yet bring about its consummation.
28 For this, the earth wil go into mourning and the heavens above grow dark. For I have spoken, I havedecided, I shal not change my mind or go back on it.'	28 The earth will mourn, and the heavens will lament from above. For I have spoken, I have decided, and I have not regretted. Neither will I be turned away from it.
29 At the din of horseman and archer the entire city takes to flight: some plunge into the thickets, othersscale the rocks; every town is abandoned, not a single person is left there.	29 Before the voice of the horsemen and of those who send forth arrows, the entire city has fled. They have entered steep places, and they have ascended the cliffs. All of the cities have been abandoned, and no man lives within them.
30 And, once despoiled, what are you going to do? You may dress yourself in scarlet, put on ornaments ofgold, enlarge your eyes with paint but you make yourself pretty in vain. Your former lovers disdain you, your lifeis what they are seeking.	30 So then, when you have been devastated, what will you do? Though you will clothe yourself with scarlet, though you will adorn yourself with a gold necklace and tint your eyes with cosmetics, you will be dressing yourself up in vain. Your lovers have spurned you; they will be seeking your life.
31 Yes, I hear screams like those of a woman in labour, anguish like that of a woman giving birth to herfirst child; they are the screams of the daughter of Zion, gasping, hands outstretched, 'Unhappy me! I am dying,the murderers have kil ed me!'	31 For I have heard a voice, like that of a woman giving birth, during the difficulties of labor. It is the voice of the daughter of Zion, dying, extending her hands: ‘Woe to me! For my soul is failing because of those who have been slain!’ ”