Jeremiah 6

All 30 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

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1. 1Children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem. Blow the trumpet in Tekoa and set up a signal fire in Beth-haccerem, for disaster appears from the north, and great destruction.
2. 2I have compared the daughter of Zion to a beautiful and delicate woman.
3. 3The shepherds with their flocks will come to her; they will set up their tents all around her, and each one will graze in his own place.
4. 4"Prepare for war against her! Let's attack at noon!" But then they say, "No — the day is slipping away, and the evening shadows are growing long."
5. 5"Then let's go up at night and tear down her fortresses!"
6. 6The LORD of hosts has said, 'Cut down trees and build a siege ramp against Jerusalem. This is the city to be visited; she is full of oppression within her.'
7. 7"The way a spring keeps pouring out fresh water, Jerusalem keeps pouring out wickedness. Violence and destruction echo through her streets. Sickness and wounds are always before me."
8. 8Be instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from you; lest I make you desolate, a land not inhabited.
9. 9The LORD of hosts says, "They will pick through what's left of Israel the way a harvester strips every last grape from a vine. Reach back again and again into the branches like a grape gatherer filling his baskets."
10. 10To whom can I speak and give warning so they will listen? Their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is a reproach to them; they find no pleasure in it.
11. 11Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am tired of holding it in. I will pour it out on the children outside and on the gathering of young men together. For even the husband with the wife will be taken, the aged with the one full of days.
12. 12"Their houses will be handed over to strangers, along with their fields and their wives, because I am raising my hand against everyone living in this land," declares the LORD.
13. 13From the least to the greatest, everyone is driven by greed; from the prophet to the priest, everyone acts deceitfully.
14. 14They have treated the wound of my people as if it were not serious, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace.
15. 15"Were they ashamed when they did these disgusting things? Not even a little — they didn't even know how to blush. So they will fall along with everyone else who falls. When I bring judgment on them, they will be brought down," says the LORD.
16. 16The LORD says, "Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." But they said, "We will not walk in it."
17. 17"I posted watchmen over you and told them, 'Listen for the trumpet's warning!' But they said, 'We won't listen.'"
18. 18Therefore listen, you nations, and understand, O congregation, what is among them.
19. 19Listen, earth! I am about to bring evil upon this people—the result of their thoughts—because they refused to listen to my words and rejected my law.
20. 20What is the purpose of bringing me incense from Sheba and sweet cane from a distant country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21. 21So the LORD says, "Watch — I am placing obstacles in front of this people. Fathers and sons alike will stumble over them. Neighbors and friends will die together."
22. 22The LORD says, "Look — a nation is coming from the north. A mighty people is being stirred up from the far ends of the earth."
23. 23They carry bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. Their voices roar like the sea. They ride on horses, arranged like men ready for war against you, O daughter of Zion.
24. 24We've heard the reports about them, and our hands go limp with fear. Anguish grips us — pain like a woman in labor.
25. 25Don't go out into the fields or walk along the roads, because the enemy's sword is everywhere, and terror surrounds us on every side.
26. 26My people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes! Mourn as bitterly as you would for an only child, because the destroyer is about to strike us without warning.
27. 27I have made you a tower and a fortress among my people, so that you may know and test their ways.
28. 28"Every one of them is stubbornly rebellious, spreading slander wherever they go. They are hard as bronze and iron — all of them are corrupt."
29. 29The bellows are burned; the lead is consumed by the fire. The metalworker melts in vain, for the wicked are not pulled away.
30. 30"People will call them 'rejected silver,' because the LORD himself has rejected them."