Fluent Translation · Read & Reflect
Jeremiah 6
The siege approaches
Seek safety, people of Benjamin,
away from Jerusalem!
Blow the ram’s horn in Tekoa;
raise a signal over Beth-haccherem.
For disaster looms from the north,
great destruction.
I will destroy Daughter Zion,
beautiful and pampered.
Shepherds with their flocks will come against her;
they will pitch tents all around her,
each grazing his own patch.
“Consecrate war against her!
Rise, let us attack at noon!
Alas for us, the day is declining;
evening shadows are lengthening.
Rise, let us attack at night
and destroy her palaces!”
For this is what the LORD of hosts says:
“Cut down trees and heap a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be called to account;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
As a well keeps its water flowing,
so she keeps her wickedness flowing.
Violence and devastation are heard in her;
sickness and wounds are constantly before me.
Accept correction, Jerusalem,
or I will turn away from you
and make you desolate,
a land without inhabitants.”
This is what the LORD of hosts says:
“They will thoroughly glean Israel’s remnant like a vine.
Pass your hand over the branches again, like a grape gatherer.”
To whom can I speak and give warning
so they will listen?
Their ears are uncircumcised; they cannot pay attention.
The LORD’s word is an insult to them;
they take no pleasure in it.
I am filled with the LORD’s fury;
I am weary of holding it in.
“Pour it out on children in the street
and on gatherings of young men,
for husband and wife alike will be captured,
the old and those full of years.
Their houses will pass to others,
together with fields and wives,
for I will stretch out my hand
against the land’s inhabitants,” declares the LORD.
“From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain.
From prophet to priest,
all practice falsehood.
They treat my people’s fracture as a trifling wound,
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
Were they ashamed of the offensive things they did?
No, they felt no shame; they did not know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
when I call them to account, they will stumble,” says the LORD.
The good way refused
This is what the LORD says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look.
Ask about the ancient paths: where is the good way?
Walk in it, and find rest for yourselves.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
I stationed watchmen over you:
‘Pay attention to the ram’s horn!’
But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’
So hear, nations;
know, assembly, what is among them.
Hear, earth! Look, I am bringing disaster on this people,
the fruit of their thoughts,
because they did not attend to my words
and rejected my instruction.
What use to me is frankincense from Sheba
or fine aromatic cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
your sacrifices do not please me.”
So this is what the LORD says:
“Look, I am placing obstacles before this people.
Parents and children together will stumble over them;
neighbors and companions will perish.”
This is what the LORD says:
“Look, a people comes from the northern land;
a great nation is stirred up from earth’s farthest reaches.
They grip bow and javelin;
they are cruel and show no compassion.
Their voice roars like the sea;
they ride horses, arrayed for battle
against you, Daughter Zion.”
We have heard the report of them;
our hands hang limp.
Distress has seized us,
pain like a woman giving birth.
Do not go into the fields
or walk along the road,
for the enemy has a sword—
terror on every side!
Daughter of my people, put on sackcloth
and roll in ashes.
Mourn as for an only child;
raise a bitter lament,
for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
“I have made you an assayer among my people, a fortress,
so you may know and test their way.
They are all stubborn rebels, going about as slanderers,
bronze and iron; all are corrupt.
The bellows blow fiercely;
the lead is consumed by fire.
The refiner refines for nothing;
the wicked are not separated out.
They are called Rejected Silver,
for the LORD has rejected them.”