Jeremiah 4

NASB

Jeremiah 4

Judah Threatened with Invasion

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“If you will ^(A)return, O Israel,” declares the Lord,
“Then you should return to Me.
And ^(B)if you will put away your detested things from My presence,
And will not waver,

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And you will ^(C)swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’
^(D)In truth, in justice and in righteousness;
Then the ^(E)nations will bless themselves in Him,
And ^(F)in Him they will glory.”

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3} For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,

“^(a)^(G)Break up your fallow ground,
And ^(H)do not sow among thorns.

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“^(I)Circumcise yourselves to the Lord
And remove the foreskins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Or else My ^(J)wrath will go forth like fire
And burn with ^(K)none to quench it,
Because of the evil of your deeds.”

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Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
“^(L)Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry aloud and say,
‘^(M)Assemble yourselves, and let us go
Into the fortified cities.’

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“Lift up a ^(N)standard toward Zion!
Seek refuge, do not stand still,
For I am bringing ^(O)evil from the north,
And great destruction.

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“A ^(P)lion has gone up from his thicket,
And a ^(Q)destroyer of nations has set out;
He has gone out from his place
To ^(R)make your land a waste.
Your cities will be ruins
Without inhabitant.

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“For this, ^(S)put on sackcloth,
Lament and wail;
For the ^(T)fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.”

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9} “It shall come about in that day,” declares the Lord, “that the ^(U)heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the ^(V)prophets will be astounded.”

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10} Then I said, “Ah, Lord ^(b)God! Surely You have utterly ^(W)deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘^(X)You will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the ^(c)throat.”

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11} In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A ^(Y)scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, ^{Tools
12} a wind too strong for ^(d)this—will come ^(e)at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.

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“Behold, he ^(Z)goes up like clouds,
And his ^(AA)chariots like the whirlwind;
His horses are ^(AB)swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for ^(AC)we are ruined!”

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Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem,
That you may be saved.
How long will your ^(AD)wicked thoughts
Lodge within you?

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For a voice declares from ^(AE)Dan,
And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.

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“Report it to the nations, now!
Proclaim over Jerusalem,
‘Besiegers come from a ^(AF)far country,
And ^(AG)lift their voices against the cities of Judah.

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‘Like watchmen of a field they are ^(AH)against her round about,
Because she has ^(AI)rebelled against Me,’ declares the Lord.

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“Your ^(AJ)ways and your deeds
Have ^(f)brought these things to you.
This is your evil. How ^(AK)bitter!
How it has touched your heart!”

Lament over Judah’s Devastation

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^(AL)My ^(g)soul, my ^(h)soul! I am in anguish! ⁽ⁱ⁾Oh, my heart!
My ^(AM)heart is pounding in me;
I cannot be silent,
Because ^(j)you have heard, O my soul,
The ^(AN)sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.

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^(AO)Disaster on disaster is proclaimed,
For the ^(AP)whole land is devastated;
Suddenly my ^(AQ)tents are devastated,
My curtains in an instant.

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How long must I see the standard
And hear the sound of the trumpet?

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“^(AR)For My people are foolish,
They know Me not;
They are stupid children
And have no understanding.
They are shrewd to ^(AS)do evil,
But to do good they do not know.”

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I looked on the earth, and behold, it was ^(k)^(AT) formless and void;
And to the heavens, and they had no light.

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I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were ^(AU)quaking,
And all the hills ^(l)moved to and fro.

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I looked, and behold, there was no man,
And all the ^(AV)birds of the heavens had fled.

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I looked, and behold, ^(m)the ^(AW)fruitful land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were pulled down
Before the Lord, before His fierce anger.

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For thus says the Lord,
“The ^(AX)whole land shall be a desolation,
Yet I will ^(AY)not execute a complete destruction.

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“For this the ^(AZ)earth shall mourn
And the ^(BA)heavens above be dark,
Because I have ^(BB)spoken, I have purposed,
And I will not ⁽ⁿ⁾change My mind, nor will I turn from it.”

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At the sound of the horseman and bowman ^(BC)every city flees;
They ^(BD)go into the thickets and climb among the rocks;
^(BE)Every city is forsaken,
And no man dwells in them.

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And you, O desolate one, ^(BF)what will you do?
Although you dress in scarlet,
Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,
Although you ^(BG)enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you make yourself beautiful.
Your ^(o)^(BH)lovers despise you;
They seek your life.

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For I heard a ^(p)cry as of a woman in labor,
The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
The ^(q)cry of the daughter of Zion ^(BI)gasping for breath,
^(BJ)Stretching out her ^(r)hands, saying,
“Ah, woe is me, for ^(s)I faint before murderers.”

Footnotes:

a. Jeremiah 4:3: ['Lit ', Plow for yourselves plowed ground]

b. Jeremiah 4:10: ['Heb ', YHWH, ', usually rendered ', Lord]

c. Jeremiah 4:10: ['Or ', life]

d. Jeremiah 4:12: ['Lit ', these]

e. Jeremiah 4:12: ['Lit ', for Me]

f. Jeremiah 4:18: ['Lit ', done]

g. Jeremiah 4:19: ['Lit ', inward parts]

h. Jeremiah 4:19: ['Lit ', inward parts]

i. Jeremiah 4:19: ['Lit ', The walls of my heart]

j. Jeremiah 4:19: ['Or ', I, my soul, heard]

k. Jeremiah 4:23: ['Or ', a waste and emptiness]

l. Jeremiah 4:24: ['Lit ', moved lightly]

m. Jeremiah 4:26: ['Or ', Carmel]

n. Jeremiah 4:28: ['Lit ', be sorry]

o. Jeremiah 4:30: ['Lit ', paramours]

p. Jeremiah 4:31: ['Lit ', sound]

q. Jeremiah 4:31: ['Lit ', sound]

r. Jeremiah 4:31: ['Lit ', palms]

s. Jeremiah 4:31: ['Lit ', my soul faints]

Cross references:

A. Jeremiah 4:1: Jeremiah 3:22; Jeremiah 15:19; Joel 2:12

B. Jeremiah 4:1: Jeremiah 7:3; Jeremiah 7:7; Jeremiah 35:15

C. Jeremiah 4:2: Deuteronomy 10:20; Isaiah 45:23; Isaiah 65:16; Jeremiah 12:16

D. Jeremiah 4:2: Isaiah 48:1

E. Jeremiah 4:2: Genesis 22:18; Jeremiah 3:17; Jeremiah 12:15; Jeremiah 12:16; Galatians 3:8

F. Jeremiah 4:2: Isaiah 45:25; Jeremiah 9:24; 1 Corinthians 1:31

G. Jeremiah 4:3: Hosea 10:12

H. Jeremiah 4:3: Matthew 13:7

I. Jeremiah 4:4: Deuteronomy 10:16; Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 9:25; Jeremiah 9:26; Romans 2:28; Romans 2:29; Colossians 2:11

J. Jeremiah 4:4: Isaiah 30:27; Isaiah 30:33; Jeremiah 21:12; Zephaniah 2:2

K. Jeremiah 4:4: Amos 5:6; Mark 9:43; Mark 9:48

L. Jeremiah 4:5: Jeremiah 6:1; Hosea 8:1

M. Jeremiah 4:5: Joshua 10:20; Jeremiah 8:14

N. Jeremiah 4:6: Isaiah 62:10; Jeremiah 4:21; Jeremiah 50:2

O. Jeremiah 4:6: Jeremiah 1:14; Jeremiah 1:15; Jeremiah 6:1; Jeremiah 6:22

P. Jeremiah 4:7: Jeremiah 5:6; Jeremiah 25:38; Jeremiah 50:17

Q. Jeremiah 4:7: Jeremiah 25:9; Ezekiel 26:7-10

R. Jeremiah 4:7: Isaiah 1:7; Isaiah 6:11; Jeremiah 2:15

S. Jeremiah 4:8: Isaiah 22:12; Jeremiah 6:26

T. Jeremiah 4:8: Isaiah 5:25; Isaiah 10:4; Jeremiah 30:24

U. Jeremiah 4:9: Isaiah 22:3-5; Jeremiah 48:41

V. Jeremiah 4:9: Isaiah 29:9; Isaiah 29:10; Ezekiel 13:9-16

W. Jeremiah 4:10: Ezekiel 14:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:11

X. Jeremiah 4:10: Jeremiah 5:12; Jeremiah 14:13

Y. Jeremiah 4:11: Jeremiah 13:24; Jeremiah 51:1; Ezekiel 17:10; Hosea 13:15

Z. Jeremiah 4:13: Isaiah 19:1; Nahum 1:3

AA. Jeremiah 4:13: Isaiah 5:28; Isaiah 66:15

AB. Jeremiah 4:13: Lamentations 4:19; Habakkuk 1:8

AC. Jeremiah 4:13: Isaiah 3:8

AD. Jeremiah 4:14: Proverbs 1:22; Jeremiah 6:19; Jeremiah 13:27; James 4:8

AE. Jeremiah 4:15: Jeremiah 8:16

AF. Jeremiah 4:16: Isaiah 39:3; Jeremiah 5:15

AG. Jeremiah 4:16: Ezekiel 21:22

AI. Jeremiah 4:17: Isaiah 1:20; Isaiah 1:23; Jeremiah 5:23

AJ. Jeremiah 4:18: Psalm 107:17; Isaiah 50:1; Jeremiah 2:17; Jeremiah 2:19

AK. Jeremiah 4:18: Jeremiah 2:19

AL. Jeremiah 4:19: Isaiah 15:5; Isaiah 16:11; Isaiah 21:3; Isaiah 22:4; Jeremiah 9:1; Jeremiah 9:10; Jeremiah 20:9

AM. Jeremiah 4:19: Habakkuk 3:16

AN. Jeremiah 4:19: Numbers 10:9

AO. Jeremiah 4:20: Psalm 42:7; Ezekiel 7:26

AP. Jeremiah 4:20: Jeremiah 4:27

AQ. Jeremiah 4:20: Jeremiah 10:20

AR. Jeremiah 4:22: Jeremiah 5:4; Jeremiah 5:21; Jeremiah 10:8; Romans 1:22

AS. Jeremiah 4:22: Jeremiah 9:3; Jeremiah 13:23; Romans 16:19; 1 Corinthians 14:20

AT. Jeremiah 4:23: Genesis 1:2; Isaiah 24:19

AU. Jeremiah 4:24: Isaiah 5:25; Jeremiah 10:10; Ezekiel 38:20

AV. Jeremiah 4:25: Jeremiah 9:10; Jeremiah 12:4; Zephaniah 1:3

AW. Jeremiah 4:26: Jeremiah 9:10

AX. Jeremiah 4:27: Jeremiah 12:11; Jeremiah 12:12; Jeremiah 25:11

AY. Jeremiah 4:27: Jeremiah 5:10; Jeremiah 5:18; Jeremiah 30:11; Jeremiah 46:28

AZ. Jeremiah 4:28: Jeremiah 12:4; Jeremiah 12:11; Jeremiah 14:2; Hosea 4:3

BA. Jeremiah 4:28: Isaiah 5:30; Isaiah 50:3; Joel 2:30; Joel 2:31

BB. Jeremiah 4:28: Numbers 23:19; Jeremiah 23:20; Jeremiah 30:24

BD. Jeremiah 4:29: Isaiah 2:19-21; Jeremiah 16:16

BE. Jeremiah 4:29: Jeremiah 4:7

BF. Jeremiah 4:30: Isaiah 10:3; Isaiah 20:6; Jeremiah 13:21

BG. Jeremiah 4:30: Ezekiel 23:40

BH. Jeremiah 4:30: Jeremiah 22:20; Jeremiah 22:22; Lamentations 1:2; Lamentations 1:19; Ezekiel 23:9; Ezekiel 23:10; Ezekiel 23:22

BI. Jeremiah 4:31: Isaiah 42:14

BJ. Jeremiah 4:31: Isaiah 1:15; Lamentations 1:17