Jeremiah 4

All 31 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

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1. 1"If you will return, O Israel," says the LORD, "return to me. If you remove your abominations from my sight, then you shall not be moved."
2. 2And you shall swear, 'As the LORD lives,' in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations will bless themselves in him and glory in him.
3. 3The LORD says this to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.
4. 4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your heart, you people of Judah and Jerusalem. Otherwise, my fury will come forth like fire and burn with no one able to quench it, because of the evil of your actions.
5. 5Announce it in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem. Say, "Blow the trumpet in the land!" Cry out, "Gather together!" and say, "Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities!"
6. 6Raise a signal flag toward Zion: retreat, do not delay, for I will bring disaster from the north, and a great destruction.
7. 7The lion has come out of his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way. He has left his place to make your land desolate, and your cities will be laid waste, without an inhabitant.
8. 8So put on sackcloth, weep and wail, because the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.
9. 9"When that day comes," says the LORD, "the heart of the king will fail, and so will the heart of the princes. The priests will be astonished, and the prophets will be amazed."
10. 10Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'You shall have peace,' when the sword reaches to the soul."
11. 11At that time, it will be said to the people and to Jerusalem: A dry wind from the high places in the wilderness is coming toward my people, not to fan or to cleanse,
12. 12but a wind far too strong for that. It comes at my command. Now I will pronounce judgment against them."
13. 13Look, he will come up like clouds, and his chariots will be like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. How terrible for us, for we are ruined!
14. 14Jerusalem, cleanse your heart from evil so that you may be saved. How long will your worthless thoughts remain within you?
15. 15A voice announces from Dan, and from the hills of Ephraim comes news of disaster.
16. 16Inform the nations; look, proclaim against Jerusalem that watchers are coming from a distant country, and they are raising their voices against the cities of Judah.
17. 17They surround her like guards watching a field, because she has rebelled against me," says the LORD.
18. 18Your ways and actions have brought these things upon you; this is your wickedness, because it is bitter and reaches into your heart.
19. 19My bowels, my bowels! I am in pain at my very heart; my heart pounds within me; I cannot stay silent, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
20. 20One cry of destruction follows another, for the whole land is devastated. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, and my curtains are gone in a moment.
21. 21How long must I see the battle flags and hear the trumpet's call?
22. 22For my people are foolish; they do not know me. They are senseless children with no understanding. They are skilled at doing evil, but they do not know how to do good.
23. 23I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty. I looked at the heavens, and their light was gone.
24. 24I looked at the mountains, and they were shaking. All the hills were swaying back and forth.
25. 25I looked, and there wasn't a single person anywhere. Every bird in the sky had fled.
26. 26I looked, and the fertile land had become a desert. Every city in it lay in ruins before the LORD, crushed by his fierce anger.
27. 27The LORD says this: "The whole land will become a wasteland, but I will not destroy it completely.
28. 28Because of this, the earth will mourn and the skies above will turn black. I have spoken, I have purposed it, and I will not repent or turn back from it.
29. 29At the sound of horsemen and archers, the whole city will flee. They will go into the thickets and climb up on the rocks. Every city will be abandoned, and not a single person will remain.
30. 30And you, devastated one — what will you do then? Even if you dress yourself in scarlet, drape yourself in gold jewelry, and paint your eyes with makeup, you'll make yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers despise you — they want you dead.
31. 31I hear a voice like a woman in labor, the anguish of one giving birth to her first child. It is the voice of the daughter of Zion, lamenting and spreading her hands, saying, 'Woe is me now! My soul is wearied because of murderers.'