Jeremiah:4

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* If thou wilt return , O Israel , saith the LORD , yea , return unto Me ; and if thou wilt put away thy detestable things out of My sight , and wilt not waver ; * And wilt swear : 'As the LORD liveth ' in truth , in justice , and in righteousness ; then shall the nations bless themselves by Him , and in Him shall they glory . * For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem : Break up for you a fallow ground , and sow not among thorns . * Circumcise yourselves to the LORD , 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 . * Declare 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 .' * Set up a standard toward Zion ; put yourselves under covert , stay not ; for I will bring evil from the north , and a great destruction . * A 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 . * For this gird you with sackcloth , lament and wail ; for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us . * And it shall come to pass at that day , saith the LORD , 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 . * 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 .' * At 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 ; * A wind too strong for this shall come for Me ; now will I also utter judgments against them . * Behold , 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 .'-- * O Jerusalem , wash thy heart from wickedness , that thou mayest be saved . How long shall thy baleful thoughts lodge within thee ? * For hark ! one declareth from Dan , and announceth calamity from the hills of Ephraim : * '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 .' * As keepers of a field are they against her round about ; because she hath been rebellious against Me , saith the LORD . * Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee ; this is thy wickedness ; yea , it is bitter , yea , it reacheth unto thy heart . * My 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 . * Destruction followeth upon destruction , for the whole land is spoiled ; suddenly are my tents spoiled , my curtains in a moment . * How long shall I see the standard , shall I hear the sound of the horn ? * For 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 . * I beheld the earth , and , lo , it was waste and void ; and the heavens , and they had no light . * I beheld the mountains , and , lo , they trembled , and all the hills moved to and fro . * I beheld , and , lo , there was no man , and all the birds of the heavens were fled . * I beheld , and , lo , the fruitful field was a wilderness , and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD , and before His fierce anger . * For thus saith the LORD : The whole land shall be desolate ; yet will I not make a full end . * For 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 . * For 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 . * And 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 . * For 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 .'

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