Jeremiah

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 want to come back, Israel, then come all the way back to me," says the LORD. "Get rid of the disgusting idols I have to look at, and stop wandering away."

2And 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 can honestly say, 'As surely as the LORD lives,' and live truthfully, fairly, and rightly, then other nations will be blessed through him. They will be proud of him too."

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

3This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: "Break up the hard ground you never plowed. Do not plant seed among thorns.

4Circumcise 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.

4Set your hearts apart for the LORD. Cut away the covering over your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. If you do not, my anger will break out like fire. It will burn, and no one will put it out, because of the evil things you have done."

Note"Circumcise your hearts" uses a picture from a physical sign that marked Israel as God's people. Here it means cutting away whatever is stubborn inside, so the heart truly belongs to God.

5Declare 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.

5Announce this in Judah. Shout it in Jerusalem. Say, "Blow the horn all across the land!" Call out loudly, "Gather together! Let us run to the cities with strong walls!"

6Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

6Raise a flag pointing toward Zion. Run for safety! Do not wait! I am bringing disaster from the north, and terrible ruin.

7The 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.

7A lion has come out of his hiding place. A destroyer of nations is on the move. He has left his home to wreck your land. Your cities will be ruined and empty.

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

8So put on rough cloth, and cry and wail. The burning anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.

NoteSackcloth was rough, scratchy cloth. People wore it to show deep sadness or sorrow.

9And 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"On that day," says the LORD, "the king and his officials will lose their courage. The priests will be shocked, and the prophets will be stunned."

10Then 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.

10Then I said, "Oh, Lord GOD! You have completely fooled this people and Jerusalem. They were told, 'You will have peace,' and now a sword is at our throats."

11At 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,

11At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, "A burning wind is blowing from the bare hills of the desert toward my dear people. It does not come to clean the grain.

NoteFarmers threw grain into the wind so the light husks blew away and the good grain fell back down. This wind is not a helpful farming wind. It is a hot desert wind that only destroys.

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

12A wind much stronger than that comes from me. Now I will also speak my judgment against them."

13Behold, 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.

13Look, the enemy rises like storm clouds. His chariots come like a whirlwind. His horses are faster than eagles. It is terrible for us! We are ruined!

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

14Jerusalem, wash the evil out of your heart, so you can be saved. How long will you keep wicked thoughts inside you?

15For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.

15A voice is shouting from Dan. It brings bad news from the hills of Ephraim.

16Make 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.

16Warn the nations now. Tell Jerusalem this: an army is coming from a faraway land to surround the city. They are shouting against the cities of Judah.

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

17"They circle the city like men guarding a field, because she has turned against me," says the LORD.

18Thy 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"The way you lived and the things you did brought this on you. This is your punishment. It is bitter, and it cuts to the heart."

19My 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.

19Oh, the pain, the pain! I twist in agony! My chest hurts! My heart pounds inside me. I cannot keep quiet. I have heard the horn and the alarm for war.

NoteThe KJV says "my bowels, my bowels." In 1611 that meant the deep inner feelings, the way we say "my heart aches" today.

20Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.

20One disaster is announced after another. The whole land is wrecked. My tents are destroyed in an instant, my curtains in a moment.

21How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

21How long must I look at the battle flag and listen to the sound of the horn?

22For 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"My people are fools. They do not know me. They are silly children with no sense. They are experts at doing evil, but they do not know how to do good."

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

23I looked at the earth, and it was empty and shapeless. I looked at the heavens, and their light was gone.

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

24I looked at the mountains, and they were shaking. All the hills were swaying back and forth.

25I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

25I looked, and there was not a single person left. Every bird in the sky had flown away.

26I 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.

26I looked, and the rich farmland had become a desert. All its cities were torn down before the LORD, before his burning anger.

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

27This is what the LORD says: "The whole land will be a wasteland, but I will not destroy it completely.

28For 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.

28So the earth will mourn and the sky above will turn dark. I have said it and I have planned it. I will not change my mind or turn back."

29The 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.

29Everyone in the city runs at the sound of horsemen and archers. They hide in the bushes and climb up among the rocks. Every city is left empty, with no one living there.

30And 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.

30You who are ruined, what will you do now? You may dress in bright red. You may put on gold jewelry. You may paint your eyes to make them look large. You make yourself pretty for nothing. The men who loved you now hate you. They want to kill you.

31For 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.

31I hear a cry like a woman in labor, gasping like a mother having her first child. It is the cry of the daughter of Zion, reaching out her hands and saying, "I am in trouble! I am worn out, and killers are coming!"