Font Size
Jeremiah 4
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
Jeremiah 4
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
4 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return to me: if thou wilt take away thy stumblingblocks out of my sight, thou shalt not be moved.
2 And thou shalt swear: As the Lord liveth, in truth, and in judgement, and in justice: and the Gentiles shall bless him, and shall praise him.
3 For thus saith the Lord to the men of Juda and Jerusalem: Break up anew your fallow ground, and sow not upon thorns:
4 Be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, ye men of Juda, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my indignation come forth like fire, and burn, and there be none that can quench it: because of the wickedness of your thoughts.
5 Declare ye in Juda, and make it heard in Jerusalem: speak, and sound with the trumpet in the land: cry aloud, and say: Assemble yourselves, and let us go into strong cities.
6 Set up the standard in Sion. Strengthen yourselves, stay not: for I bring evil from the north, and great destruction.
7 The lion is come up out of his den, and the robber of nations hath roused himself: he is come forth out of his place, to make thy land desolate: thy cities shall be laid waste, remaining without an inhabitant.
8 For this gird yourselves with haircloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned away from us.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord: That the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes: and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall be amazed.
10 And I said: Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God, hast thou then deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: You shall have peace: and behold the sword reacheth even to the soul?
11 At that time it shall be said to this people, and to Jerusalem: A burning wind is in the ways that are in the desert of the way of the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse.
12 A full wind from these places shall come to me: and now I will speak my judgments with them.
13 Behold he shall come up as a cloud, and his chariots as a tempest: his horses are swifter than eagles: woe unto us, for we are laid waste.
14 Wash thy heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that thou mayst be saved: how long shall hurtful thoughts abide in thee?
15 For a voice of one declaring from Dan, and giving notice of the idol from mount Ephraim.
16 Say ye to the nations: Behold it is heard in Jerusalem, that guards are coming from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Juda.
17 They are set round about her, as keepers of fields: because she hath provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord.
18 They ways, and thy devices have brought these things upon thee: this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it hath touched thy heart.
19 My bowels, my bowels are in pain, the senses of my heart are troubled within me, I will not hold my peace, for my soul hath heard the sound of the trumpet, the cry of battle.
20 Destruction upon destruction is called for, and all the earth is laid waste: my tents are destroyed on a sudden, and my pavilions in a moment.
21 How long shall I see men fleeing away, how long shall I hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 For my foolish people have not known me: they are foolish and senseless children: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
23 I beheld the earth, and lo it was void, and nothing: and the heavens, and there was no light in them.
24 I looked upon the mountains, and behold they trembled: and all the hills were troubled.
25 I beheld, and lo there was no man: and all the birds of the air were gone.
26 I looked, and behold Carmel was a wilderness: and all its cities were destroyed at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of the wrath of his indignation.
27 For thus saith the Lord: All the land shall be desolate, but yet I will not utterly destroy.
28 The earth shall mourn, and the heavens shall lament from above: because I have spoken, I have purposed, and I have not repented, neither am I turned away from it.
29 At the voice of the horsemen, and the archers, all the city is fled away; they have entered into thickets and have climbed up the rocks: all the cities are forsaken, and there dwelleth not a man in them.
30 But when thou art spoiled what wilt thou do? though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, and paintest thy eyes with stibic stone, thou shalt dress thyself out in vain: thy lovers have despised thee, they will seek thy life.
31 For I have heard the voice as of a woman in travail, anguishes as of a woman in labor of a child. The voice of the daughter of Sion, dying away, spreading her hands: Woe is me, for my soul hath fainted because of them that are slain.
Jeremiah 4
New International Version
Jeremiah 4
New International Version
4 “If you, Israel, will return,(A)
then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols(B) out of my sight
and no longer go astray,
2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear,(C) ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’(D)
then the nations will invoke blessings(E) by him
and in him they will boast.(F)”
3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Break up your unplowed ground(G)
and do not sow among thorns.(H)
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
circumcise your hearts,(I)
you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath(J) will flare up and burn like fire(K)
because of the evil(L) you have done—
burn with no one to quench(M) it.
Disaster From the North
5 “Announce in Judah and proclaim(N) in Jerusalem and say:
‘Sound the trumpet(O) throughout the land!’
Cry aloud and say:
‘Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities!’(P)
6 Raise the signal(Q) to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster(R) from the north,(S)
even terrible destruction.”
7 A lion(T) has come out of his lair;(U)
a destroyer(V) of nations has set out.
He has left his place
to lay waste(W) your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins(X)
without inhabitant.
8 So put on sackcloth,(Y)
lament(Z) and wail,
for the fierce anger(AA) of the Lord
has not turned away from us.
9 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“the king and the officials will lose heart,(AB)
the priests will be horrified,
and the prophets will be appalled.”(AC)
10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived(AD) this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’(AE) when the sword is at our throats!”
11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind(AF) from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind(AG) too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments(AH) against them.”
13 Look! He advances like the clouds,(AI)
his chariots(AJ) come like a whirlwind,(AK)
his horses(AL) are swifter than eagles.(AM)
Woe to us! We are ruined!(AN)
14 Jerusalem, wash(AO) the evil from your heart and be saved.(AP)
How long(AQ) will you harbor wicked thoughts?
15 A voice is announcing from Dan,(AR)
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.(AS)
16 “Tell this to the nations,
proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,(AT)
raising a war cry(AU) against the cities of Judah.(AV)
17 They surround(AW) her like men guarding a field,
because she has rebelled(AX) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
18 “Your own conduct and actions(AY)
have brought this on you.(AZ)
This is your punishment.
How bitter(BA) it is!
How it pierces to the heart!”
19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!(BB)
I writhe in pain.(BC)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds(BD) within me,
I cannot keep silent.(BE)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;(BF)
I have heard the battle cry.(BG)
20 Disaster follows disaster;(BH)
the whole land lies in ruins.(BI)
In an instant my tents(BJ) are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard(BK)
and hear the sound of the trumpet?(BL)
22 “My people are fools;(BM)
they do not know me.(BN)
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.(BO)
They are skilled in doing evil;(BP)
they know not how to do good.”(BQ)
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;(BR)
and at the heavens,
and their light(BS) was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;(BT)
all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.(BU)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;(BV)
all its towns lay in ruins(BW)
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.(BX)
27 This is what the Lord says:
“The whole land will be ruined,(BY)
though I will not destroy(BZ) it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn(CA)
and the heavens above grow dark,(CB)
because I have spoken and will not relent,(CC)
I have decided and will not turn back.(CD)”
29 At the sound of horsemen and archers(CE)
every town takes to flight.(CF)
Some go into the thickets;
some climb up among the rocks.(CG)
All the towns are deserted;(CH)
no one lives in them.
Jeremiah 4
King James Version
Jeremiah 4
King James Version
4 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
2 And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
3 For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.
6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.
8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us.
9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
10 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.
11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
12 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.
13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.
14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.
16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.
17 As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the Lord.
18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.
19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
20 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, 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 sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
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 anger.
27 For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed 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 art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.
31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.