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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 NLT</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" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/jeremiah/4.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/jeremiah/4-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > Jeremiah 4</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../jeremiah/3.htm" title="Jeremiah 3">◄</a> Jeremiah 4 <a href="../jeremiah/5.htm" title="Jeremiah 5">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/jeremiah/4.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>“O Israel,” says the LORD,</p><p class="line2">“if you wanted to return to me, you could.</p><p class="line1">You could throw away your detestable idols</p><p class="line2">and stray away no more.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>Then when you swear by my name, saying,</p><p class="line2">‘As surely as the LORD lives,’</p><p class="line1">you could do so</p><p class="line2">with truth, justice, and righteousness.</p><p class="line1">Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world,</p><p class="line2">and all people would come and praise my name.”</p><p class="hdg">Coming Judgment against Judah</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1">“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts!</p><p class="line2">Do not waste your good seed among thorns.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>O people of Judah and Jerusalem,</p><p class="line2">surrender your pride and power.</p><p class="line1">Change your hearts before the LORD,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a></p><p class="line2">or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire</p><p class="line2">because of all your sins.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>“Shout to Judah, and broadcast to Jerusalem!</p><p class="line2">Tell them to sound the alarm throughout the land:</p><p class="line1">‘Run for your lives!</p><p class="line2">Flee to the fortified cities!’</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>Raise a signal flag as a warning for Jerusalem<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a>:</p><p class="line2">‘Flee now! Do not delay!’</p><p class="line1">For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you</p><p class="line2">from the north.”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>A lion stalks from its den,</p><p class="line2">a destroyer of nations.</p><p class="line1">It has left its lair and is headed your way.</p><p class="line2">It’s going to devastate your land!</p><p class="line1">Your towns will lie in ruins,</p><p class="line2">with no one living in them anymore.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>So put on clothes of mourning</p><p class="line2">and weep with broken hearts,</p><p class="line1">for the fierce anger of the LORD</p><p class="line2">is still upon us.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>“In that day,” says the LORD,</p><p class="line2">“the king and the officials will tremble in fear.</p><p class="line1">The priests will be struck with horror,</p><p class="line2">and the prophets will be appalled.”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Then I said, “O Sovereign LORD,</p><p class="line2">the people have been deceived by what you said,</p><p class="line1">for you promised peace for Jerusalem.</p><p class="line2">But the sword is held at their throats!”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>The time is coming when the LORD will say</p><p class="line2">to the people of Jerusalem,</p><p class="line1">“My dear people, a burning wind is blowing in from the desert,</p><p class="line2">and it’s not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>It is a roaring blast sent by me!</p><p class="line2">Now I will pronounce your destruction!”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>Our enemy rushes down on us like storm clouds!</p><p class="line2">His chariots are like whirlwinds.</p><p class="line1">His horses are swifter than eagles.</p><p class="line2">How terrible it will be, for we are doomed!</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>O Jerusalem, cleanse your heart</p><p class="line2">that you may be saved.</p><p class="line1">How long will you harbor</p><p class="line2">your evil thoughts?</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>Your destruction has been announced</p><p class="line2">from Dan and the hill country of Ephraim.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>“Warn the surrounding nations</p><p class="line2">and announce this to Jerusalem:</p><p class="line1">The enemy is coming from a distant land,</p><p class="line2">raising a battle cry against the towns of Judah.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>They surround Jerusalem like watchmen around a field,</p><p class="line2">for my people have rebelled against me,”</p><p class="line2">says the LORD.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>“Your own actions have brought this upon you.</p><p class="line2">This punishment is bitter, piercing you to the heart!”</p><p class="hdg">Jeremiah Weeps for His People</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>My heart, my heart—I writhe in pain!</p><p class="line2">My heart pounds within me! I cannot be still.</p><p class="line1">For I have heard the blast of enemy trumpets</p><p class="line2">and the roar of their battle cries.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>Waves of destruction roll over the land,</p><p class="line2">until it lies in complete desolation.</p><p class="line1">Suddenly my tents are destroyed;</p><p class="line2">in a moment my shelters are crushed.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>How long must I see the battle flags</p><p class="line2">and hear the trumpets of war?</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>“My people are foolish</p><p class="line2">and do not know me,” says the LORD.</p><p class="line1">“They are stupid children</p><p class="line2">who have no understanding.</p><p class="line1">They are clever enough at doing wrong,</p><p class="line2">but they have no idea how to do right!”</p><p class="hdg">Jeremiah’s Vision of Coming Disaster</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless.</p><p class="line2">I looked at the heavens, and there was no light.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>I looked at the mountains and hills,</p><p class="line2">and they trembled and shook.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>I looked, and all the people were gone.</p><p class="line2">All the birds of the sky had flown away.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>I looked, and the fertile fields had become a wilderness.</p><p class="line2">The towns lay in ruins,</p><p class="line2">crushed by the LORD’s fierce anger.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>This is what the LORD says:</p><p class="line1">“The whole land will be ruined,</p><p class="line2">but I will not destroy it completely.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>The earth will mourn</p><p class="line2">and the heavens will be draped in black</p><p class="line1">because of my decree against my people.</p><p class="line2">I have made up my mind and will not change it.”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>At the noise of charioteers and archers,</p><p class="line2">the people flee in terror.</p><p class="line1">They hide in the bushes</p><p class="line2">and run for the mountains.</p><p class="line1">All the towns have been abandoned—</p><p class="line2">not a person remains!</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>What are you doing,</p><p class="line2">you who have been plundered?</p><p class="line1">Why do you dress up in beautiful clothing</p><p class="line2">and put on gold jewelry?</p><p class="line1">Why do you brighten your eyes with mascara?</p><p class="line2">Your primping will do you no good!</p><p class="line1">The allies who were your lovers</p><p class="line2">despise you and seek to kill you.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>I hear a cry, like that of a woman in labor,</p><p class="line2">the groans of a woman giving birth to her first child.</p><p class="line1">It is beautiful Jerusalem<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a></p><p class="line2">gasping for breath and crying out,</p><p class="line2">“Help! I’m being murdered!”</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:4 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">Circumcise yourselves to the </span><span class="sc"><span class="it">Lord</span></span><span class="it">, and take away the foreskins of your heart.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:6 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">Zion.</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:31 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">the daughter of Zion.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. 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