4 1 True repentance. 4 He exhorteth to the circumcision of the heart. 5 The destruction of Judah is prophesied for the malice of their hearts. 19 The Prophet lamenteth it.
1 O Israel, if thou return, [a]return unto me, saith the Lord: and if thou put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
2 And thou shalt [b]swear, The Lord liveth in truth, in judgment and in righteousness, and the nations shall be blessed in him, and shall glory in him.
3 For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah, and to Jerusalem,
4 Break up [c]your fallow ground, and sow not among the thorns: be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, ye men of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my wrath come forth like fire, and burn, that none can quench it, because of the wickedness of your inventions.
5 [d]Declare in Judah, and show forth in Jerusalem, and say, Blow the trumpet in the land: cry, and gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into strong cities.
6 Set up the standard in Zion: [e]prepare to flee, and stay not: for I will bring a plague from the North, and a great destruction.
7 The [f]lion is come up from his den, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is departed, and gone forth of his place to lay thy land waste, and thy cities shall be destroyed without an inhabitant.
8 Wherefore gird you with sackcloth: lament, and howl, for the fierce wrath of the Lord is not turned back from us.
9 And in that day, saith the Lord, the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes and the Priests shall be astonished, and the [g]Prophets shall wonder.
10 Then said I, Ah, Lord God, surely thou hast [h]deceived this people, and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace, and the sword pierceth unto the heart.
11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry [i]wind in the high places of the wilderness cometh toward the daughter of my people, but neither [j]to fan nor to cleanse.
12 A mighty wind shall come unto me from those places, and now will I also give sentence upon them.
13 Behold, he shall come up as the [k]clouds, and his chariots shall be as a tempest: his horses are lighter than eagles. [l]Woe unto us, for we are destroyed.
14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved: how long shall thy wicked thoughts remain within thee?
15 For a voice declareth from [m]Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount [n]Ephraim.
16 Make ye mention of the heathen, and publish in Jerusalem, Behold, the scouts come from a far country, and cry out against the cities of Judah.
17 They have compassed her about as the watchmen of the [o]field, because it hath provoked me unto wrath, saith the Lord.
18 Thy ways and thine inventions have procured thee these things, such is thy wickedness: therefore it shall be bitter, therefore it shall pierce unto thine heart.
19 My belly, my [p]belly, I am pained, even at the very heart: mine heart is troubled within me: I cannot be still: for my soul hath heard the sound of the trumpet, and the alarm of the battle.
20 Destruction upon destruction is cried, for the whole land is wasted: suddenly are my [q]tents destroyed, and my curtains in a moment.
21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me: they are foolish children, and have none understanding: [r]they are wise to do evil, but to do well they have no knowledge.
23 I have looked upon the earth, and lo, it was without form and [s]void: and to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I beheld the mountains: and lo, they trembled, and all the hills shook.
25 I beheld, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heaven were departed.
26 I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce wrath.
27 For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate: yet will I [t]not make a full end.
28 Therefore shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above shall be darkened, because I have pronounced it: I have thought it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
29 The whole city shall flee, for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen: they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
30 And when thou shalt be destroyed, what wilt thou do? Though thou [u]clothest thyself with scarlet, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou paintest thy face with colors, yet shalt thou trim thyself in vain: for thy lovers will abhor thee and seek thy life.
31 For I have heard a noise as of a woman travailing, or as one laboring of her first child, even the voice of the daughter Zion that sigheth and stretcheth out her hands: [v]woe is me now: for my soul fainteth because of the murderers.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 4:1 That is, wholly, and without hypocrisy, Joel 2:12, not dissembling to turn and serve God as they do which serve him by halves, as Hos. 7:16.
- Jeremiah 4:2 Thou shalt detest the name of idols, Ps. 16:4, and shalt with reverence swear by the living God, when thine oath may advance God’s glory, and profit others: and here, by swearing he meaneth the true religion of God.
- Jeremiah 4:4 He willeth them to pluck up the impiety and wicked affection and worldly respects out of their heart, that the true seed of God’s word may be sown therein, Hos. 10:12, and this is the true circumcision of the heart, Deut. 10:16; Rom. 2:29; Col. 2:11.
- Jeremiah 4:5 He warneth them of the great dangers that shall come upon them by the Chaldeans, except, they repent and turn to the Lord.
- Jeremiah 4:6 He speaketh this to admonish them of the great danger when every man shall prepare to save himself, but it shall be too late, 2 Kings 25:4.
- Jeremiah 4:7 Meaning, Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon, 2 Kings 24:1.
- Jeremiah 4:9 That is, the false prophets, which still prophesied peace and security.
- Jeremiah 4:10 By the false prophets which promised peace and tranquility: and thus thou hast punished their rebellious stubbornness by causing them to hearken unto lies which would not believe thy truth, 1 Kings 22:23; Ezek. 14:9; 2 Thess. 2:11.
- Jeremiah 4:11 The North wind whereby he meaneth Nebuchadnezzar.
- Jeremiah 4:11 But to carry away both corn, and chaff.
- Jeremiah 4:13 Meaning, that Nebuchadnezzar should come as suddenly, as a cloud that is carried with the wind.
- Jeremiah 4:13 This is spoken in the person of all the people, who in their affliction should cry thus.
- Jeremiah 4:15 Which was a city in the utmost border of Israel Northward toward Babylon.
- Jeremiah 4:15 Which was in the mid-way between Dan and Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 4:17 Which keep the fruits so straightly, that nothing can come in nor out: so should the Babylonians compass Judah.
- Jeremiah 4:19 He showeth that the true ministers are lively touched with the calamities of the Church, so that all the parts of their body feel the grief of their heart, albeit with zeal to God’s glory they pronounce his judgments against the people.
- Jeremiah 4:20 Meaning, the cities, which were as easily cast down as a tent.
- Jeremiah 4:22 Their wisdom and policy tend to their own destruction and pulleth them from God.
- Jeremiah 4:23 By these manner of speeches he showeth the horrible destruction that should come upon the land, and also condemneth the obstinacy of the people, who repent not at the fear of these terrible tidings, seeing that the insensible creatures are moved therewith, as if the order of nature should be changed, Isa. 13:10 and 24:23; Ezek. 32:7; Joel 2:31 and 3:15.
- Jeremiah 4:27 But for his mercy’s sake, he will reserve himself a residue to be his Church, and to praise him in earth, Isa. 1:9.
- Jeremiah 4:30 Neither thy ceremonies nor rich gifts shall deliver thee.
- Jeremiah 4:31 As the Prophets were moved to pity the destruction of their people, so they declared it to the people to move them to repentance, Isa. 22:4; Jer. 9:1.