The Tanakh · JPS 1917 Translation

Jeremiah 4

Jewish Publication Society 1917 · Nevi'im — the Prophets

Jeremiah chapter 4 — part of the Nevi'im — the Prophets in the Jewish Bible. In the classic JPS 1917 translation it opens: “If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith HaShem, yea, return unto Me; and if thou wilt put away thy detestable things out of My sight, and…” — the complete text of all 31 verses is below, free to read online.

1If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith HaShem, yea, return unto Me; and if thou wilt put away thy detestable things out of My sight, and wilt not waver;

2And wilt swear: 'As HaShem liveth' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; then shall the nations bless themselves by Him, and in Him shall they glory.

3For thus saith HaShem to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: break up for you a fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

4Circumcise yourselves to HaShem, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest My fury go forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

5Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say: 'Blow ye the horn in the land'; cry aloud and say: 'Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.'

6Set up a standard toward Zion; put yourselves under covert, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

7A lion is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations is set out, gone forth from his place; to make thy land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.

8For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of HaShem is not turned back from us.

9And it shall come to pass at that day, saith HaShem, that the heart of the king shall fail, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

10Then said I: 'Ah, L-rd GOD! surely Thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.'

11At that time shall it be said of this people and of Jerusalem; a hot wind of the high hills in the wilderness toward the daughter of My people, not to fan, nor to cleanse;

12A wind too strong for this shall come for Me; now will I also utter judgments against them.

13Behold, he cometh up as clouds, and his chariots are as the whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles.--' Woe unto us! for we are undone.'--

14O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy baleful thoughts lodge within thee?

15For hark! one declareth from Dan, and announceth calamity from the hills of Ephraim:

16'Make ye mention to the nations: behold--publish concerning Jerusalem--watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.'

17As keepers of a field are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against Me, saith HaShem.

18Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness; yea, it is bitter, yea, it reacheth unto thy heart.

19My bowels, my bowels! I writhe in pain! The chambers of my heart! My heart moaneth within me! I cannot hold my peace! because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the horn, the alarm of war.

20Destruction followeth upon destruction, for the whole land is spoiled; suddenly are my tents spoiled, my curtains in a moment.

21How long shall I see the standard, shall I hear the sound of the horn?

22For My people is foolish, they know Me not; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

23I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was waste and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

24I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved to and fro.

25I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

26I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful field was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of HaShem, and before His fierce anger.

27For thus saith HaShem: The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

28For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and I have not repented, neither will I turn back from it.

29For the noise of the horsemen and bowmen the whole city fleeth; they go into the thickets, and climb up upon the rocks; every city is forsaken, and not a man dwelleth therein.

30And thou, that art spoiled, what doest thou, that thou clothest thyself with scarlet, that thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, that thou enlargest thine eyes with paint? In vain dost thou make thyself fair; thy lovers despise thee, they seek thy life.

31For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that gaspeth for breath, that spreadeth her hands: 'Woe is me, now! for my soul fainteth before the murderers.'

31 verses · JPS 1917 (public domain)

‹ Jeremiah 3 Jeremiah 5 ›

Read, search & bookmark — free

This text opens instantly in the FourFaiths reader, with full-text search across every book, bookmarks saved in your browser, reading plans and a verse of the day. No account, no tracking — everything runs locally in your browser.

Open in the Tanakh reader →