Jeremiah

Jeremiah 4

1Israel is excited to repentance by promises, 3and Judah by threats of hostile invasion and the calamities of war. 19The prophet lamenteth bitterly the afflictions of his country.

1IF thou wilt return, O ^aIsrael, saith the LORD, ^breturn unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine ^cabominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not ^dremove.

a ch. 2.4; 3.12,18,20. b Joel 2.12. Ho. 14.1; 12.6. Is. 31.6. ch. 3.1,4,14,22. c De. 27.15. Eze. 11.18; 20.7,8; 14.3,4; 22.28. d ch. 15.4; 24.9. Is. 6.12; 26.15. 2Ch. 33.8. 1Ki. 14.15.

2And ^ethou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, ^fin truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and ^gthe nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

e De. 10.20. f Is. 48.1. g Ge. 22.18. ch. 3.17; 9.24. Is. 45.25. 1Co. 1.31. 2Co. 10.17. Is. 60.19; 65.16. Ps. 72.17.

3¶For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, ^hBreak up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

h Ho. 10.12. Mat. 13.7,22. Lu. 8.14. Ga. 6.7,8.

4ⁱCircumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: ^jlest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it , because of the evil of your doings.

i ch. 9.24. De. 10.16; 30.6. Ro. 2.28,29. Col. 2.11. Eze. 18.31. j ch. 21.12. Am. 5.6. Zep. 2.2. De. 32.22. Is. 5.24,26. Eze. 20.46,47.

5^kDeclare 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 ^lthe defenced cities.

k Eze. 33.2,3. Ho. 8.1. v.16. ch. 6.1; 8.14; 35.11. l ch. 1.18.

6Set up the ^*standard toward Zion: ¹retire, stay not: for ^mI will bring evil from the north, and a great ²destruction.

m ch. 1.13-15; 6.22; 19.2,15; 25.9; 21.7.

7The ⁿlion 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, ^owithout an inhabitant.

n ch. 2.15; 5.6; 25.9; 50.23; 51.20. Da. 7.4; 4.30. Is. 6.11,12. 2Ki. 24.1; 25.1. o Is. 5.9; 6.11. ch. 26.9; 33.10.

8For this ^p*gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD ^qis not turned back from us.

p ch. 6.26. 2Ki. 6.30. Is. 22.12; 15.3. q Is. 9.12,17,21; 10.4.

9And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that ^rthe heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and ^sthe priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

r Ps. 73.26; 102.4. Is. 19.11,12; 20.3,4; 22.3,5. 2Ki. 24.1,12; 25.4. s ch. 6.13,14; 37.19. v.10. Is. 29.9. Ac. 13.41.

10Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou ^thast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ^uYe shall have peace; whereas the sword ^vreacheth unto the soul.

t Is. 63.17. 1Ki. 22.21-23. Eze. 14.9. ch. 5.12; 14.13. 2Th. 2.11,12. Ps. 81.12. u Is. 37.35. v La. 2.21. v.18. Ex. 9.14. Is. 1.5,6. Eze. 7.4.

11At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, ^wA dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, ^xnot to fan, nor to cleanse,

w Is. 5.26-30; 27.8. ch. 23.19; 30.23,24; 49.36; 51.1. Eze. 17.10; 19.12. Ho. 13.15. Ps. 11.6. x ch. 18.17; 51.2.

12Even ³a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I ⁴give sentence against them.

13Behold, ^yhe shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: ^zhis horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.

y Is. 19.1; 5.28; 65.15. v.7. z De. 28.49. La. 4.19. Da. 7.4. Ho. 8.1. Hab. 1.6,8.

14O Jerusalem, ^awash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

a Is. 1.16. Mat. 23.26. Ja. 4.8. Ac. 8.22. ch. 13.27; 3.12,13; 2.18,36,37.

15For ^ba voice declareth ^cfrom Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.

b ch. 8.16; 6.1. v.6. c ch. 1.13.

16Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that ^dwatchers come from a far country, and ^egive out their voice against the cities of Judah.

d De. 28.49,52. ch. 25.9; 39.1. Is. 39.3. e Eze. 21.22. ch. 2.15.

17As ^fkeepers of a field, are they against her round about; because ^gshe hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.

f Is. 1.8; 22.7. 2Ki. 25.1-4. ch. 6.3; 39.1. g Ne. 9.26,30. La. 1.8. Da. 9.7. Is. 1.2-8; 24.5,6. ch. 6.7; 7.13. Zep. 3.1-3. ch. 2.19.

18^hThy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.

h Ps. 107.17; 11.6. Is. 50.1; 3.11. ch. 2.17,19; 5.19; 6.19; 7.17-20. Ro. 2.8,9.

19¶My ^i*bowels, my bowels! I am pained at ⁵my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because ^jthou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

i Is. 16.11; 22.4; 21.3,4; 15.5. ch. 9.1. Job 30.27. La. 1.20; 2.11. j v.5,6,15,16. Hab. 3.16.

20^kDestruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my ^ltents spoiled, and ^mmy curtains in a moment.

k Ps. 42.7. Eze. 7.26. v.23-26. l ch. 10.20. Is. 33.20; 54.2; 38.12; 1.8. 2Ki. 25.4,9. m ch. 49.29.

21ⁿHow long shall I see the ^*standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

n 2Ki. 23.29; 24; 25. v.5,6,15,16. ch. 6.1.

22For ^omy people is foolish, they have not known me; they are ^*sottish children, and they have none understanding: ^pthey are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

o Ro. 1.22. ch. 9.5; 5.4,5. Is. 1.3; 27.11. Ho. 4.1,6. De. 32.28. p Mi. 2.1. Lu. 16.8. 1Co. 14.20. 2Sa. 13.3. Ro. 8.6,7; 16.19. ch. 9.5,8. Am. 3.10. 2Ti. 3.

23I ^qbeheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

q Is. 24.1-12,17-23; 5.30; 13.10. Eze. 32.7. Joel 2.10; 3.15. Am. 8.9. Ge. 1.2.

24I ^rbeheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.

r Is. 5.25. Lu. 21.25,26. ch. 9.10. Eze. 38.20. Hab. 3.6.

25I beheld, and, lo, there was ^sno man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

s Is. 6.11,12; 1.28; 2.10-22; 3.25,26. Zep. 1.3.

26I beheld, and, lo, ^tthe fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at ^uthe presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.

t ch. 7.20; 9.10; 12.4; 14.2. Ho. 4.3. Is. 5.9,24,25. u Na. 1.5. La. 2.1-22. Ps. 76.7.

27For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; ^vyet will I not make a full end.

v ch. 5.10,18; 30.11; 46.28. Is. 1.9; 24.13. Le. 26.44. Eze. 11.13. Hab. 3.2.

28For ^wthis shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because ^xI have spoken it , I have purposed it , and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

w Ho. 4.3. Is. 5.30; 8.22; 13.10; 33.9; 34.4; 50.3. v.23-26. x Nu. 23.19. Is. 14.24,27; 46.10. ch. 15.1-9. Eze. 14.13-21. ch. 7.16; 14.11,12; 25.9-11.

29The ^ywhole 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.

y ch. 6.1. 2Ki. 25.4. Am. 9.2,3. 2Ch. 36.16,17; 33.11. ch. 25.9-11. La. 1-3.

30And when thou art spoiled, ^zwhat wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou ^adeckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy ⁶face with painting, ^bin vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy ^clovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

z Is. 10.3; 33.14; 20.6. a Is. 61.10. b ch. 2.13,18,25,36; 17.5; 22.20-22. La. 1.2,19; 4.17. Eze. 16.36,37; 23.9,10,22-49. Ho. 12.1. c Eze. 23.5.

31For I have heard a voice ^das of a woman in ^*travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of ^ethe daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that ^fspreadeth her hands, saying , Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied ^gbecause of murderers.

d Is. 13.8; 21.3; 26.17. ch. 6.24; 13.21; 30.6; 48.41; 49.22,24,30. e ch. 6.2,23. La. 1.6; 2.1; 5.18. Is. 1.8. f La. 1.17. Is. 1.15. g 2Ch. 36.16,17. ch. 19.7; 18.21; 21.5-10; 51.34,35. La. 4.9,10; 2.20,21. Eze. 23.46,47.