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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=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Jeremiah 4 ISV</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="../">ISV</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">International Standard Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/isv/esv/jeremiah/4.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="heading">Instructions for True Repentance</p><p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>“Israel, if you return to me,”</p> <p class="poetry2">declares the LORD,</p> <p class="poetry2">“Return to me,</p> <p class="poetry2">remove your detestable idols from my presence,</p> <p class="poetry2">and don’t waver.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>If you swear, ‘as surely as the LORD lives,’</p> <p class="poetry2">in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,</p> <p class="poetry2">then nations will be blessed<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:2 Or bless themselves">a</a></span> by him,</p> <p class="poetry2">and in him they will boast.”</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>For this is what the LORD says</p> <p class="poetry2">to the men<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:3 Or people">b</a></span> of Judah and Jerusalem,</p> <p class="poetry2">“Break up your unplowed ground,</p> <p class="poetry2">and don’t sow among thorns.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Circumcise yourselves to the LORD</p> <p class="poetry2">and remove the foreskin of your heart,</p> <p class="poetry2">you men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem,</p> <p class="poetry2">or else my wrath will break out like fire</p> <p class="poetry2">and burn with no one to put it out,</p> <p class="poetry2">because of your evil deeds.”</p> <p class="heading">Warning of the Coming Disaster</p><p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Declare in Judah, make known in Jerusalem, by saying,</p> <p class="poetry2">“Blow the trumpet in the land, cry out, and say,</p> <p class="poetry2">‘Gather together</p> <p class="poetry2">and let’s go to the fortified cities!’</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>Raise a standard in the direction of Zion.</p> <p class="poetry2">Flee! Don’t stand around!</p> <p class="poetry2">For I’m bringing calamity from the north,</p> <p class="poetry2">along with great destruction.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>A lion has gone up from his thicket,</p> <p class="poetry2">and a destroyer of nations has set out.</p> <p class="poetry2">He has left his place</p> <p class="poetry2">to make your land a waste.</p> <p class="poetry2">Your cities will be ruined,</p> <p class="poetry2">and without inhabitants.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>So, put on sackcloth,</p> <p class="poetry2">mourn and wail,</p> <p class="poetry2">because the burning anger of the LORD</p> <p class="poetry2">has not turned away from us.”</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>“On that day,” declares the LORD,</p> <p class="poetry2">“the courage of the king and the leaders will fail.</p> <p class="poetry2">The priests will be appalled</p> <p class="poetry2 marginbot">and the prophets astounded.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Then I replied, “Ah, Lord GOD, you have completely deceived this people and Jerusalem when you said, ‘You will have peace,’ while the sword is at their<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="410 Lit. the">c</a></span> throat!”</p> <p class="heading">The Scorching Wind of Judgment</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>At that time, it will be told this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert is coming<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:11 The Heb. lacks is coming">d</a></span> toward my people, and it’s not for winnowing or cleansing. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>A wind too strong for that is coming at my bidding.<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:12 Lit. coming to me">e</a></span> Now I’m judging them as I speak.”</p> <p class="heading">The People’s Response to Judgment</p><p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>Look, he comes up like clouds,</p> <p class="poetry2">and his chariots are like a whirlwind.</p> <p class="poetry2">His horses are as swift as eagles.</p> <p class="poetry2">Woe to us—we’re destroyed!</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>Jerusalem, wash your evil from your heart</p> <p class="poetry2">so that you may be delivered.</p> <p class="poetry2">How long will you harbor</p> <p class="poetry2">evil schemes within you?</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>For a voice announces from Dan</p> <p class="poetry2">and declares disaster from Mount Ephraim.</p> <p class="heading">The LORD Speaks</p><p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>“Tell the nations, ‘Here they come!’<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:16 The Heb. lacks they come">f</a></span> </p> <p class="poetry2">Proclaim to Jerusalem,</p> <p class="poetry2">‘The besieging forces are coming from a distant land.</p> <p class="poetry2">They cry out<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:16 i.e. battle cries">g</a></span> against the cities of Judah.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>They have surrounded her like those guarding a field</p> <p class="poetry2">because they have rebelled against me,’”</p> <p class="poetry2">declares the LORD.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>“Your lifestyles and your actions</p> <p class="poetry2">have brought these things on you.</p> <p class="poetry2">This is your calamity—it is indeed bitter,</p> <p class="poetry2">for it has reached your heart!”</p> <p class="heading">Jeremiah’s Lament for His People</p><p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>“My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain.</p> <p class="poetry2">Oh, the aching<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:19 Lit. walls">h</a></span> of 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,<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:19 i.e. the signal for the troops to attack">i</a></span> </p> <p class="poetry2">the alarm for war.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>Disaster upon disaster is proclaimed,</p> <p class="poetry2">for the entire land is devastated.</p> <p class="poetry2">Suddenly, my tent is destroyed,</p> <p class="poetry2">in a moment my curtains.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>How long will I see the battle standard</p> <p class="poetry2">and hear the sound of the trumpet?</p> <p class="heading">The LORD’s Complaint about His People</p><p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>“For my people are foolish,</p> <p class="poetry2">they don’t know me.</p> <p class="poetry2">They’re stupid children,</p> <p class="poetry2">they have no understanding.</p> <p class="poetry2">They’re skilled at doing evil,</p> <p class="poetry2">but how to do good, they don’t know.”</p> <p class="heading">A Vision of Chaos</p><p class="poetry1"><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 formless and void,<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:23 Cf. Gen 1:2">j</a></span> </p> <p class="poetry2">at the heavens, and there was no light there.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>I looked at the mountains; they were quaking,</p> <p class="poetry2">and all the hills moved back and forth.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>I looked, and no people were there.</p> <p class="poetry2">All the birds of the sky had gone.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>I looked, and the fruitful land<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:26 Or Carmel">k</a></span> had become a desert.</p> <p class="poetry2">All its towns were broken down</p> <p class="poetry2">because of the LORD,</p> <p class="poetry2 marginbot">because of his burning anger.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>For this is what the LORD says:</p> <p class="poetry2">“The entire land will be devastated,</p> <p class="poetry2">but I won’t completely destroy<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:27 Lit. do">l</a></span> it.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>Because of this, the land will mourn,</p> <p class="poetry2">and the heavens above will be dark.</p> <p class="poetry2">Because I have spoken and decided,</p> <p class="poetry2">I won’t turn back from doing it.”</p> <p class="heading">A Lament for Zion</p><p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>At the sound of the horseman and the archer</p> <p class="poetry2">the entire city flees.</p> <p class="poetry2">Its residents go into the thickets and climb among the rocks.</p> <p class="poetry2">Every city is abandoned, and no one lives in them.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>You are ruined! What are you doing</p> <p class="poetry2">dressing in scarlet,</p> <p class="poetry2">putting on golden ornaments,</p> <p class="poetry2">and highlighting your eyes with makeup?</p> <p class="poetry2">You are making yourself beautiful in vain.</p> <p class="poetry2">Your lovers reject you—</p> <p class="poetry2">they’re out to kill you.</p> <p class="poetry1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/jeremiah/4-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>I heard a cry like that of a woman in labor,</p> <p class="poetry2">anguish like one giving birth to her firstborn,</p> <p class="poetry2">the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for air,</p> <p class="poetry2">stretching out her hand:</p> <p class="poetry2">“Woe is me! I’m about to faint in front of killers!”</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="ftn"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn1"><span class="fnb">a</span> 4:2 Or <i>bless themselves</i><br /><span class="fnb">b</span> 4:3 Or <i>people</i><br /><span class="fnb">c</span> 410 Lit. <i>the</i><br /><span class="fnb">d</span> 4:11 The Heb. lacks <i>is coming</i><br /><span class="fnb">e</span> 4:12 Lit. <i>coming to me</i><br /><span class="fnb">f</span> 4:16 The Heb. lacks <i>they come</i><br /><span class="fnb">g</span> 4:16 i.e. battle cries<br /><span class="fnb">h</span> 4:19 Lit. <i>walls</i><br /><span class="fnb">i</span> 4:19 i.e. the signal for the troops to attack<br /><span class="fnb">j</span> 4:23 Cf. Gen 1:2<br /><span class="fnb">k</span> 4:26 Or <i>Carmel</i><br /><span class="fnb">l</span> 4:27 Lit. <i>do</i><br /></span><br><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><div align="center"><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1<br />Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation<br />ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../jeremiah/3.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Jeremiah 3"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Jeremiah 3" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../jeremiah/5.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Jeremiah 5"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Jeremiah 5" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/jeremiah/4-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><div align="center" style="background-color:#F2FAFF"><br /><br /><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="6710025936" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></td></tr></table><br /><br /><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="6710025936" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /> </div><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/botmenubhnm2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe><div align="center"><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span></div></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>