Jeremiah 4

KING JAMES BIBLE	NEW JERUSALEM
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 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,
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 if you swear, "As Yahweh lives!" truthful y, justly, uprightly, then the nations wil bless themselves by him 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 Yahweh says this to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, "Clear the ground that lies neglected, do notsow 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 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." '
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 Announce it in Judah, proclaim it in Jerusalem, say, 'Sound the trumpet in the countryside, shout themessage aloud: Mobilise! Take to the fortified towns!
6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.	6 Signpost the way to Zion! Run! Do not delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, an immensecalamity.
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 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.
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 wrap yourselves in sackcloth, lament and wail, since Yahweh's burning anger has not turned awayfrom 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 '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.'
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 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!
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 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!
12 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.	12 A gale of wind comes to me from over there. Now I myself shal pass sentence on 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 Look, he is advancing like the clouds, his chariots like a hurricane, his horses swifter than eagles.Disaster for us! We are lost!
14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?	14 Wash your heart clean of wickedness, Jerusalem, and so be saved. How long wil you go onharbouring your pernicious thoughts?
15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.	15 For a voice from Dan shouts the news, proclaims disaster from the highlands of Ephraim.
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 Report it to the nations, proclaim it to Jerusalem, 'Enemies are coming from a distant country, shoutingtheir war cry against the towns 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 they surround her like watchmen round a field because she has rebel ed against me', Yahwehdeclares.
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 own behaviour and actions have brought this on yourself. Your wickedness, how bitter, hasstabbed you to the 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 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.
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 on ruin is the news: the whole land is laid waste, my tents are suddenly destroyed, in one momental that sheltered me.
21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?	21 How long must I see the standard and hear the trumpet cal ?
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 '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.'
23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.	23 I looked to the earth -- it was a formless waste; to the heavens, and their light had gone.
24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.	24 I looked to the mountains -- they were quaking and al the hil s rocking to and fro.
25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.	25 I looked -- there was no one at all, the very birds of heaven had al fled.
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 -- the fruitful land was a desert, all its towns in ruins before Yahweh, before his burning anger.
27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.	27 Yes, Yahweh has said this, 'The whole country wil be laid waste, though I shall not annihilate itcompletely.
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 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.'
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 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.
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 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.
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 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!'