VerseAI

NIV

Jeremiah 6

  1. 1<pb/><t>“Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!</t> <t>Flee from Jerusalem!</t> <t>Sound the trumpet in Tekoa!</t> <t>Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!</t> <t>For disaster looms out of the north,</t> <t>even terrible destruction.</t>
  2. 2<t>I will destroy Daughter Zion,</t> <t>so beautiful and delicate.</t>
  3. 3<t>Shepherds with their flocks will come against her;</t> <t>they will pitch their tents around her,</t> <t>each tending his own portion.” <pb/></t>
  4. 4<t>“Prepare for battle against her!</t> <t>Arise, let us attack at noon!</t> <t>But, alas, the daylight is fading,</t> <t>and the shadows of evening grow long.</t>
  5. 5<t>So arise, let us attack at night</t> <t>and destroy her fortresses!”</t>
  6. 6<pb/>This is what the LORD Almighty says: <pb/><t>“Cut down the trees</t> <t>and build siege ramps against Jerusalem.</t> <t>This city must be punished;</t> <t>it is filled with oppression.</t>
  7. 7<t>As a well pours out its water,</t> <t>so she pours out her wickedness.</t> <t>Violence and destruction resound in her;</t> <t>her sickness and wounds are ever before me.</t>
  8. 8<t>Take warning, Jerusalem,</t> <t>or I will turn away from you</t> <t>and make your land desolate</t> <t>so no one can live in it.”</t>
  9. 9<pb/>This is what the LORD Almighty says: <pb/><t>“Let them glean the remnant of Israel</t> <t>as thoroughly as a vine;</t> <t>pass your hand over the branches again,</t> <t>like one gathering grapes.” <pb/></t>
  10. 10<t>To whom can I speak and give warning?</t> <t>Who will listen to me?</t> <t>Their ears are closed<f>[5]</f></t> <t>so they cannot hear.</t> <t>The word of the LORD is offensive to them;</t> <t>they find no pleasure in it.</t>
  11. 11<t>But I am full of the wrath of the LORD,</t> <t>and I cannot hold it in. <pb/>“Pour it out on the children in the street</t> <t>and on the young men gathered together;</t> <t>both husband and wife will be caught in it,</t> <t>and the old, those weighed down with years.</t>
  12. 12<t>Their houses will be turned over to others,</t> <t>together with their fields and their wives,</t> <t>when I stretch out my hand</t> <t>against those who live in the land,”</t> <t>declares the LORD.</t>
  13. 13<t>“From the least to the greatest,</t> <t>all are greedy for gain;</t> <t>prophets and priests alike,</t> <t>all practice deceit.</t>
  14. 14<t>They dress the wound of my people</t> <t>as though it were not serious.</t> <t>‘Peace, peace,’ they say,</t> <t>when there is no peace.</t>
  15. 15<t>Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?</t> <t>No, they have no shame at all;</t> <t>they do not even know how to blush.</t> <t>So they will fall among the fallen;</t> <t>they will be brought down when I punish them,”</t> <t>says the LORD.</t>
  16. 16<pb/>This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>“Stand at the crossroads and look;</t> <t>ask for the ancient paths,</t> <t>ask where the good way is, and walk in it,</t> <t>and you will find rest for your souls.</t> <t>But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’</t>
  17. 17<t>I appointed watchmen over you and said,</t> <t>‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’</t> <t>But you said, ‘We will not listen.’</t>
  18. 18<t>Therefore hear, you nations;</t> <t>you who are witnesses,</t> <t>observe what will happen to them.</t>
  19. 19<t>Hear, you earth:</t> <t>I am bringing disaster on this people,</t> <t>the fruit of their schemes,</t> <t>because they have not listened to my words</t> <t>and have rejected my law.</t>
  20. 20<t>What do I care about incense from Sheba</t> <t>or sweet calamus from a distant land?</t> <t>Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;</t> <t>your sacrifices do not please me.”</t>
  21. 21<pb/>Therefore this is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>“I will put obstacles before this people.</t> <t>Parents and children alike will stumble over them;</t> <t>neighbors and friends will perish.”</t>
  22. 22<pb/>This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>“Look, an army is coming</t> <t>from the land of the north;</t> <t>a great nation is being stirred up</t> <t>from the ends of the earth.</t>
  23. 23<t>They are armed with bow and spear;</t> <t>they are cruel and show no mercy.</t> <t>They sound like the roaring sea</t> <t>as they ride on their horses;</t> <t>they come like men in battle formation</t> <t>to attack you, Daughter Zion.” <pb/></t>
  24. 24<t>We have heard reports about them,</t> <t>and our hands hang limp.</t> <t>Anguish has gripped us,</t> <t>pain like that of a woman in labor.</t>
  25. 25<t>Do not go out to the fields</t> <t>or walk on the roads,</t> <t>for the enemy has a sword,</t> <t>and there is terror on every side.</t>
  26. 26<t>Put on sackcloth, my people,</t> <t>and roll in ashes;</t> <t>mourn with bitter wailing</t> <t>as for an only son,</t> <t>for suddenly the destroyer</t> <t>will come upon us. <pb/></t>
  27. 27<t>“I have made you a tester of metals</t> <t>and my people the ore,</t> <t>that you may observe</t> <t>and test their ways.</t>
  28. 28<t>They are all hardened rebels,</t> <t>going about to slander.</t> <t>They are bronze and iron;</t> <t>they all act corruptly.</t>
  29. 29<t>The bellows blow fiercely</t> <t>to burn away the lead with fire,</t> <t>but the refining goes on in vain;</t> <t>the wicked are not purged out.</t>
  30. 30<t>They are called rejected silver,</t> <t>because the LORD has rejected them.”</t>