Aug 17 - Jeremiah 4-6
Jeremiah
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 shaken2And 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 him3For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and of Jerusalem: "Break new ground, and do not choose to sow upon thorns4Be 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 thoughts5Declare 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!6Lift up a standard in Zion. Be strengthened! Do not choose to stand still. For I am bringing an evil from the north, with great destruction7The 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 inhabitant8Concerning this, wrap yourselves in haircloth, mourn and wail: ‘For the wrath of the fury of the Lord has not been turned away from us.9And 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.10And 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"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.12A full spirit from these places will come to me. And now I will speak my judgments over them13Behold, 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!14Wash your heart from malice, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will harmful thoughts abide in you15For there is a voice, of someone announcing from Dan, and he is making known the idol from mount Ephraim16Say 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.17They have been stationed over her, like the guardians of fields, all around. For she has provoked me to wrath, says the Lord18Your ways and your thoughts have brought these things upon you. This is your own wickedness. And it is bitter, because it has touched your heart19I 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 battle20Destruction upon destruction has been called forth. And the entire earth has been devastated. My tabernacles have been destroyed suddenly, and my tents in an instant21How long shall I watch those who are fleeing, and listen to the voice of the trumpet22For 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 good23I 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 them24I watched the mountains, and behold, they trembled, and all the hills were shaken25I looked, and there was no man. And all the flying things of the air had gone away26I 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.27For thus says the Lord: "All the earth will be desolate, but I will not yet bring about its consummation28The 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 it29Before 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 them30So 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 life31For 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!’
1"Travel the streets of Jerusalem; and gaze, and consider, and seek, in its wide streets. If you can find a man exercising judgment and seeking faith, then I will be forgiving to them2For even though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in this, too, they swear falsely.3O Lord, your eyes look with favor upon faith. You have struck them, and they have not grieved. You have bruised them, and they have refused to accept discipline. They have hardened their faces more than rock, and they are not willing to return4But I said: Perhaps these are the poor and the senseless, who are ignorant of the way of the Lord, of the judgment of their God5Therefore, I will go to great men, and I will speak with them. For they have known the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God. And behold, these ones have broken the yoke all the more; they have torn apart the bonds6For this reason, a lion from the forest has struck them down, a wolf toward evening has laid waste to them, a leopard lies in wait over their cities. All who go out from there will be taken. For their transgressions have been multiplied; their rebellions have been strengthened7"Over which things am I able to be merciful to you? Your sons have forsaken me, and they swear by those who are not gods. I gave them everything, and they committed adultery, and they indulged themselves in the house of the harlot8They have become like wild horses in heat; each one was neighing after his neighbor’s wife9Shall I not visit against these things, says the Lord? And shall my soul not take vengeance on a nation such as this10Scale its walls and tear them down. But do not be willing to bring about its very end. Take away its plantings, for they are not the Lord’s11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have greatly transgressed against me, says the Lord12They have denied the Lord, and they have said, ‘It is not him,’ and, ‘Evil will not overwhelm us. We will not see famine and the sword.13The prophets have spoken into the wind, and there was no answer with them. Therefore, these things will happen to them.14Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: "Since you have spoken this word, behold, I will make my words in your mouth like fire and this people like wood, and it will devour them15Behold, O house of Israel, I will lead over you a far away nation, says the Lord, a robust nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you will not know, nor will you understand what they are saying16Their quiver is like an open sepulcher. They are all strong17And they will consume your grain fields and your bread. They will devour your sons and your daughters. They will consume your flocks and your herds. They will consume your vineyards and your figs. And with the sword, they will crush your fortified cities, in which you have placed your trust18Yet truly, in those days, says the Lord, I will not bring the consummation over you19And if they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ You shall say to them: ‘Just as you have abandoned me and have served a strange god in your own land, so will you serve strangers in a land not your own.20Announce this to the house of Jacob, and make it known in Judah, saying21Listen, O foolish people who have no heart! You have eyes, but you do not see, and ears, but you do not hear22So then, will you not fear me, says the Lord. And will you not have sorrow before my face? I have placed the shore as a limit for the sea, as an everlasting precept that it will not transgress. And its waves will crash, but they will not prevail; and its waves will swell, but they will not go across23But the heart of this people has become incredulous and provocative; they have turned away and departed24And they have not said in their heart: ‘Let us dread the Lord our God, who gives us the timely and the late rains, in their proper time, who guards the full measure of the yearly harvest for us.25Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have held back good things from you26For the impious are found among my people; they lie in ambush like fowlers setting snares, for they set traps to catch men27Just as a snare is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit. As a result, they have become exalted and enriched28They have grown stout and fat. And they have transgressed my words most wickedly. They have not judged the case of the widow; they have not given guidance to the case of the orphan; and they have not judged a judgment for the poor29Shall I not visit against these things, says the Lord? Or shall my soul not take vengeance on a nation of this kind30Astonishing and wondrous things have been done upon the earth31The prophets have prophesied lies, and the priests have applauded with their hands, and my people have loved these things. So then, what shall be done at the very end?
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 destruction2I have compared the daughter of Zion to a beautiful and delicate woman3The 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 hand4‘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‘Rise up, and let us ascend in the night, and let us destroy her houses.’ 6For 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 midst7Just 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 me8O Jerusalem, accept instruction, lest perhaps my soul may withdraw from you; lest perhaps I may set you in a desert, in an uninhabitable land.9Thus 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 basket10To 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 it11For 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 days12And 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 Lord13Certainly, 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 deceit14And they healed the destruction of the daughter of my people with disgrace, by saying: ‘Peace, peace.’ And there was no peace15They 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.16Thus 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.17And I appointed watchers over you, saying: ‘Listen for the sound of the trumpet.’ And they said: ‘We will not listen.18For this reason, hear, O Gentiles, and know, O congregation, how much I will do to them19Hear, 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 law20For 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.21Therefore, 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.22Thus 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 earth23They 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 Zion24‘We have heard of their fame. Our hands have become weakened. Tribulation has overtaken us, like the pains of a woman giving birth.25Do 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 side26Wrap 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.27I have presented you as a strong tester among my people. And you will test and know their way28All these leaders who are turning away and walking deceitfully, they are brass and iron; they have all been corrupted29The bellows has failed; the lead has been consumed by fire; the molten metal was melted to no purpose. For their wickedness has not been consumed30Call them: ‘Rejected silver.’ For the Lord has cast them aside.