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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Jeremiah 4 NET Bible</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; 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Let us flee into the fortified cities!’</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion.</p><p class="poetry2">Run for safety! Do not delay!</p><p class="poetry2">For I am about to bring disaster out of the north.</p><p class="poetry2">It will bring great destruction.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>Like a lion that has come up from its lair</p><p class="poetry2">the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base.</p><p class="poetry2">He is coming out to lay your land waste.</p><p class="poetry2">Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>So put on sackcloth!</p><p class="poetry2">Mourn and wail, saying,</p><p class="poetry2">‘The fierce anger of the <span class="smallcaps">Lord</span></p><p class="poetry2">has not turned away from us!’”</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>“When this happens,” says the <span class="smallcaps">Lord</span>,</p><p class="poetry2">“the king and his officials will lose their courage.</p><p class="poetry2">The priests will be struck with horror,</p><p class="poetry2">and the prophets will be speechless in astonishment.”</p> <p class="bodytext"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>In response to all this I said, “Ah, Lord <span class="smallcaps">God</span>, you have surely allowed the people of Judah and Jerusalem to be deceived by those who say, ‘You will be safe!’ But in fact a sword is already at our throats.”</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>“At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be told,</p><p class="poetry2">‘A scorching wind will sweep down</p><p class="poetry2">from the hilltops in the desert on my dear people.</p><p class="poetry2">It will not be a gentle breeze</p><p class="poetry2">for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>No, a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding.</p><p class="poetry2">Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.’</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds.</p><p class="poetry2">The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind.</p><p class="poetry2">His horses move more swiftly than eagles.”</p><p class="poetry2">I cry out, “We are doomed, for we will be destroyed!”</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>“Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil</p><p class="poetry2">so that you may yet be delivered.</p><p class="poetry2">How long will you continue to harbor up</p><p class="poetry2">wicked schemes within you?</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>For messengers are coming, heralding disaster,</p><p class="poetry2">from the city of Dan and from the hills of Ephraim.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>They are saying,</p><p class="poetry2">‘Announce to the surrounding nations,</p><p class="poetry2">“The enemy is coming!”</p><p class="poetry2">Proclaim this message to Jerusalem:</p><p class="poetry2">“Those who besiege cities are coming from a distant land.</p><p class="poetry2">They are ready to raise the battle cry against the towns in Judah.”’</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>They will surround Jerusalem</p><p class="poetry2">like men guarding a field</p><p class="poetry2">because they have rebelled against me,”</p><p class="poetry2">says the <span class="smallcaps">Lord</span>.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>“The way you have lived and the things you have done</p><p class="poetry2">will bring this on you.</p><p class="poetry2">This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed.</p><p class="poetry2">The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart.”</p> <p class="bodytext"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>I said,</p><p class="poetry2">“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach!</p><p class="poetry2">I writhe in anguish.</p><p class="poetry2">Oh, the pain in my heart!</p><p class="poetry2">My heart pounds within me.</p><p class="poetry2">I cannot keep silent.</p><p class="poetry2">For I hear the sound of the trumpet;</p><p class="poetry2">the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul!</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>I see one destruction after another taking place,</p><p class="poetry2">so that the whole land lies in ruins.</p><p class="poetry2">I see our tents suddenly destroyed,</p><p class="poetry2">their curtains torn down in a mere instant.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>“How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags</p><p class="poetry2">and hear the military signals of their bugles?”</p> <p class="bodytext"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>The <span class="smallcaps">Lord</span> answered,</p><p class="poetry2">“This will happen because my people are foolish.</p><p class="poetry2">They do not know me.</p><p class="poetry2">They are like children who have no sense.</p><p class="poetry2">They have no understanding.</p><p class="poetry2">They are skilled at doing evil.</p><p class="poetry2">They do not know how to do good.”</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>“I looked at the land and saw that it was an empty wasteland.</p><p class="poetry2">I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking.</p><p class="poetry2">All the hills were swaying back and forth!</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>I looked and saw that there were no more people,</p><p class="poetry2">and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert</p><p class="poetry2">and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins.</p><p class="poetry2">The <span class="smallcaps">Lord</span> had brought this all about</p><p class="poetry2">because of his blazing anger.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>All this will happen because the <span class="smallcaps">Lord</span> said,</p><p class="poetry2">“The whole land will be desolate;</p><p class="poetry2">however, I will not completely destroy it.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>Because of this the land will mourn</p><p class="poetry2">and the sky above will grow black.</p><p class="poetry2">For I have made my purpose known</p><p class="poetry2">and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out.”</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers</p><p class="poetry2">the people of every town will flee.</p><p class="poetry2">Some of them will hide in the thickets.</p><p class="poetry2">Others will climb up among the rocks.</p><p class="poetry2">All the cities will be deserted.</p><p class="poetry2">No one will remain in them.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction,</p><p class="poetry2">you accomplish nothing by wearing a beautiful dress,</p><p class="poetry2">decking yourself out in jewels of gold,</p><p class="poetry2">and putting on eye shadow!</p><p class="poetry2">You are making yourself beautiful for nothing.</p><p class="poetry2">Your lovers spurn you.</p><p class="poetry2">They want to kill you.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/jeremiah/4-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor,</p><p class="poetry2">a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby.</p><p class="poetry2">It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,</p><p class="poetry2">reaching out for help, saying, “I am done in!</p><p class="poetry2">My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”</p></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><a href="http://netbible.com/">NET Bible copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com.<br />Used by permission. 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