Jeremiah 4
Portrait of murdered Jerusalem
Israel’s path back to God
1The LORD said:If you come back to me,
And I mean really come back,
You’ll need to get rid of your idols,
And stay with me. No waffling.
And swear in the name of the living LORD [1]
To be honest, fair, and good, [2]
Nations will see the good things I’m doing for you
And they’ll brag about what I’ve done.
3The LORD has this to say to citizens of Jerusalem and the rest of Judah:
Plow the hard ground.
Don’t plant in thorny fields. [3]
Turn your face toward him.
And turn your back to where you’ve been.
People of Jerusalem and the rest of Judah,
If you don’t do this, I’m going to turn up the heat.
You’ve been so evil for so long
That if I unleash my anger
You’ll be walking into flames you can’t put out.
Nationwide alert: Invaders are coming
5Spread this word to Jerusalem and all Judah:Blow the ram’s horn and sound the alarm.
Tell everyone to run for cover.
Go to cities protected by walls.
Go now. Don’t wait another second.
I’m bringing you a hurt from the north.
It’s evil. And it will decimate you.
7It’s a lion on the loose.
It’s a kingdom killer,
a slayer of nations.
It’s coming to destroy your cities
And turn them into ghost towns.
8So put on your mourning clothes—
That rough and ragged sackcloth. [5]
Moan and wail,
“Oh no! The LORD is angry!
He’s still mad at us!”
9When that day comes
Your king’s courage will run away. [6]
His officials will follow.
Shock and terrifying awe
Will overcome the priests and prophets.
10Then I pushed back and said,
“LORD God, you lied [7] to these people,
And to everyone in Jerusalem!
You told them they’ll be okay!
Now you tell them they’ll be dead!”
Scorching wind of judgment day
11When this happens to Jerusalem and Judah,
A hot wind will blow in from the desert hills,
Swooping down on the people.
It’s not a wind fit for sifting grain. [8]
But now it’s time for me to pass judgment.
13Look. He’s coming at you
Like an unstoppable bank of storm clouds.
His chariots can race the wind.
His horses outrun the eagles above.
You’ll say, “This is the worst news.
We’re doomed.”
14Jerusalem, take a bath.
Wash the filth out of your heart,
So the LORD might spare you.
How long will you keep plotting evil?
Is scheming the only thing you know?
15A messenger arrives from the town of Dan. [9]
And another comes from Mount Ephraim
With news of disaster up north.
16Spread the news throughout Judah. [10]
Report it to the people of Jerusalem.
Invaders are coming from far away.
They’ll scream their war cries
At the cities of Judah.
17They’ll surround her
Like guards around a field at harvest.
It’s all because they rebelled against me,
The LORD.
18Your bad habits and way of life
Have led you here to your bitter reward—
Your misery.
The consequences of your sin
Will finally get through to your heart.
Jeremiah sees Israel erased
19Oh no! Oh no! The pain!
My heart’s about to explode.
It’s beating wildly.
I can’t keep quiet.
I hear the ram’s horns now
And the battle cries.
Now our land lies in ruins.
My tents are gone,
Ripped to the ground in seconds.
21How long will I have to see enemy flags
And hear their horns signaling soldiers?
22The LORD answered:
My people are fools
Who know nothing about me.
They’re ignorant children with just one skill.
They know how to be bad.
They have no idea how to be good.
Jeremiah’s new world of chaos, ruin
23After this Jeremiah said:I looked at my world and saw nothing but ruins.
I looked to the sky and saw nothing but darkness.
I looked to hills and watched them sway.
25I scanned the land and didn’t see a soul.
Even the birds had flown away.
26I looked at the fertile fields and saw a desert.
I looked at the cities and saw rocky ruins.
The LORD saw it, too,
For his unleashed anger had done it all.
27It’s what the LORD said would happen:
The land will be decimated.
But I won’t destroy everything.
28The world will weep over what I do.
The sky will grow dark.
But I made my decision and gave my word.
I’ve made up my mind and that’s that.
Run!
29When people hear the calvary and see the archers,
They run. In every town it’s the same.
They run to the woods.
They run to the rocks.
Every town is empty.
Everyone is gone.
So, why do you dress up in fancy scarlet robes?
You’ve draped yourself in gold jewelry.
And you’ve accented your eyes with shadow and shade.
What a waste of time.
Your lovers don’t want you back.
They want you dead.
31I hear screams loud as a woman in labor,
Delivering her first baby.
It’s the cry of Jerusalem, gasping for breath.
She stretches out her arms and screams,
“Oh no! I’m dying.
They’ve murdered me.”
Footnotes
More literally, “If you swear, ‘As the LORD lives!’” That was a little like an ancient version of something we see in court: A person’s hand on the Bible, while swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The phrase was part of an ancient vow. A person might swear on the name of God, Baal, or any other god.
These three words, more formally “truth, justice, and righteousness,” show up many times in the Bible books of prophecy. They reflect the core character of the covenant agreement that Hebrew ancestors of today’s Jewish people made with God. So, God is asking the people to honor that contract, which renews with every generation.
This isn’t about farming. It’s about spiritual growth. See Hosea 10:12-13, “Plant a crop of goodness. Be kind.”
More literally, “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD.” Circumcision is a painful Jewish ritual that reportedly started with Abraham about 4,000 years ago (Genesis 17:10-13). God made a contractual agreement with Abraham, promising to give him many descendants and to let them live in Canaan, now Israel and Palestinian Territories. Instead of having Abraham sign the contract in handwriting, the Bible says God wanted every Jewish male to sign it in blood. Circumcision became a symbolic reminder of God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants. Paul later insisted that Jesus changed the requirements of the written law because he brought the Spirit, to guide each person toward God. “Circumcised. Uncircumcised. It doesn’t matter which. Here’s what matters: we’re a new creation” (Galatians 6:15). That seems to be what God, through Jeremiah, was asking the sinful, idol-worshiping Jews to do—to realize that it’s not about rituals. It’s about devotion to God.
Sackcloth was a rough fabric like burlap feed sacks. It was made from goat hair and camel hair. Farmers and their customers used those sacks to store grain. People mourning in Bible times dressed in rough clothes and sprinkled their heads and bodies with dirt or cooled ashes from firewood. This disheveled look expressed the chaos and grief inside them. Today, we’ll dress in black, wear armbands, or get memorial tattoos. By the way, memorial tattoos aren’t kosher: “Don’t do anything to commemorate the dead if it involves cutting your body or permanently painting yourself with tattoos. I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:28).
Judah’s last king, Zedekiah, literally did run away. But he didn’t escape. Babylonian invaders caught him in Jericho (2 Kings 25:5).
Many scholars say Jeremiah was apparently accusing God of allowing false prophets to get away with predicting “peace” (Jeremiah 6:14), shalom in Hebrew, when war was coming. Notice God’s answer, which isn’t there. Instead, God continues his news about Judah’s approaching judgment day. God’s not famous in the Bible for answering “why” questions.
One way farmers sifted grain kernels from the thin husks around them was to toss them into the air during a light breeze. Wind would carry away the light, flakey husks. The heavier kernels would fall on a blanket below.
The city of Dan, at the foot of Mount Hermon, along with the hills of Ephraim’s tribal territory were in the northern part of ancient Israel. They were among the first victims of the Babylonian invaders, who swept into Judah on the caravan routes from the north. They came from southern Iraq and followed the Euphrates River northwest, before turning south as they approached the Mediterranean Sea.
Some say “the nations” instead of Judah. But the Hebrew word is gôy, which can mean: people, nation, non-Israelite nations. But the context here is Judah, not their neighbor nations. Still, either option is an educated guess.
Discussion Questions
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