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Judah Threatened with Invasion

¹ "If you will ^(C1)return, O Israel," says the LORD,
"If you will return to Me,
And ^(C2)if you will put away your detestable things and remove your man-made gods from My sight,
And not stray or waver,

² And if you ^(C1)swear your oaths, 'As the LORD lives,'
^(C2)In truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
Then the ^(C3)nations will bless themselves in Him,
And ^(C4)in Him they will glory."

³ For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,

"^(C1)Plow your uncultivated ground for a season,
And ^(C2)do not sow among thorns.

⁴ "^(C1)Circumcise (dedicate, sanctify) yourselves to the LORD
And remove the foreskin sins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Or else My ^(C2)wrath will go forth like fire consuming all that gets in its way
And burn and there will be ^(C3)no one to quench it,
Because of the evil of your acts."

⁵ Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
"^(C1)Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry aloud and say,
'^(C2)Assemble yourselves, and let us go
Into the fortified cities.'

⁶ "Raise a ^(C1)banner toward Zion to mark the way for those seeking safety inside Jerusalem's walls!
Seek refuge, do not stand immobile,
For I am bringing ^(C2)evil from the north (the army of Babylon),
And great destruction.

⁷ "A ^(C1)lion has left his lair,
And a ^(C2)destroyer of nations is on his way.
He has gone out from his place
To ^(C3)desolate your land;
Your cities will be in ruins
Without an inhabitant.

⁸ "For this reason, ^(C1)put on sackcloth for mourning,
Lament (mourn with expressions of grief for the dead) and wail,
For the ^(C2)fierce anger of the LORD
Has not turned back from us."

¹⁰ Then I said, "^(F1)Alas, Lord GOD! Surely You have completely ^(C1)deceived and misled this people and Jerusalem, for the prophets represented You as saying to Your people, '^(C2)You will have peace,' but in fact a sword reaches to their throat."

¹¹ In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, "A ^(C1)scorching wind from the barren heights in the wilderness comes at My command against the daughter of My people—not a wind to winnow and not to cleanse from chaff, as when threshing, but¹² a wind too strong and full for this comes at My word. Now I will also speak judgment against My people."

¹³ "Behold, the enemy ^(C1)comes up like clouds,
His ^(C2)chariots like the whirlwind;
His horses are ^(C3)swifter than eagles.
Woe (judgment is coming) to us, for ^(C4)we are ruined!"

¹⁴ O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness,
That you may be saved.
How long will your ^(C1)wicked and immoral thoughts
Lodge within you?

¹⁵ For a voice declares from ^(C1)Dan far in the north,
And proclaims evil from ^(F1)Mount Ephraim.

¹⁶ "Warn the neighboring nations now that our enemy is coming!
Announce to Jerusalem,
'Besiegers are coming from a ^(C1)far country,
And they ^(C2)lift their voices and shout against the cities of Judah.

¹⁷ 'Like watchmen of a field they are ^(C1)against her on all sides,
Because she has ^(C2)rebelled against Me,' says the LORD.

¹⁸ "Your ^(C1)ways and your deeds
Have brought these things on you.
This is your tragedy and doom; how ^(C2)bitter,
How it has touched your heart!"

Lament over Judah's Devastation

^19 (C1)My soul, my soul! I writhe in anguish and pain! Oh, the walls of my heart!
My ^(C2)heart is pounding and throbbing within me;
I cannot be silent,
For you have heard, O my soul,
The ^(C3)sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.

²⁰ News of one terrible ^(C1)disaster comes close after another,
For the ^(C2)whole land is devastated;
Suddenly my ^(C3)tents are spoiled and destroyed,
My tent curtains ruined in a moment.

²¹ How long O LORD must I see the banner marking the way for flight
And hear the sound of the trumpet urging the people to run for safety?

²² "^(C1)For My people are stupid and foolish," says the LORD to Jeremiah;
"They do not know Me;
They are foolish children
And have no understanding.
They are shrewd enough to ^(C2)do evil,
But they do not know how to do good."

²³ I looked at the earth in my vision, and behold, it was as at the time of creation ^(C1)formless and void;
And to the heavens, and they had no light.

²⁴ I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were ^(C1)trembling,
And all the hills moved back and forth.

²⁵ I looked, and behold, there was no man,
And all the ^(C1)birds of the air had fled.

²⁶ I looked, and behold, the ^(C1)fertile land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were pulled down
Before the presence of the LORD, before His fierce anger.

²⁷ Therefore says the LORD,
"The ^(C1)whole land shall be a desolation,
Yet I will ^(C2)not cause total destruction. ^(VR1)

²⁸ "For this reason the ^(C1)earth shall mourn
And the ^(C2)heavens above shall become dark,
Because I have ^(C3)spoken, I have decided,
And I will not change my mind (relent), nor will I turn back from it."

^29 (C1)Every city runs away at the sound of the horsemen and archers.
They ^(C2)go into the thickets and climb among the rocks;
^(C3)Every city is deserted,
And no man lives in them.

³⁰ And you, O desolate one, ^(C1)what will you do?
Though you clothe yourself in scarlet,
Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
Though you ^(C2)enlarge your eyes with paint,
You make yourself beautiful in vain.
Your ^(C3)lovers (allies) despise you;
They seek your life.

³¹ For I heard a cry like a woman in labor,
The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
The cry of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem), who ^(C1)gasps for breath,
Who ^(C2)stretches out her hands, saying,
"Woe is me my judgment comes! I faint in fear before the murderers."