Jeremiah:6

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* "O you children of Benjamin , Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem ! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa , And set up a signal-fire in Beth Haccerem ; For disaster appears out of the north , And great destruction . * I have likened the daughter of Zion To a lovely and delicate woman . * The shepherds with their flocks shall come to her . They shall pitch their tents against her all around . Each one shall pasture in his own place ." * "Prepare war against her ; Arise , and let us go up at noon . Woe to us , for the day goes away , For the shadows of the evening are lengthening . * Arise , and let us go by night , And let us destroy her palaces ." * For thus has the LORD of hosts said : "Cut down trees , And build a mound against Jerusalem . This is the city to be punished . She is full of oppression in her midst . * As a fountain wells up with water , So she wells up with her wickedness . Violence and plundering are heard in her . Before Me continually are grief and wounds . * Be instructed , O Jerusalem , Lest My soul depart from you ; Lest I make you desolate , A land not inhabited ." * Thus says the LORD of hosts : "They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel ; As a grape-gatherer , put your hand back into the branches ." * To whom shall I speak and give warning , That they may hear ? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised , And they cannot give heed . Behold , the word of the LORD is a reproach to them ; They have no delight in it . * Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD . I am weary of holding it in . "I will pour it out on the children outside , And on the assembly of young men together ; For even the husband shall be taken with the wife , The aged with him who is full of days . * And their houses shall be turned over to others , Fields and wives together ; For I will stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land ," says the LORD . * "Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them , Everyone is given to covetousness ; And from the prophet even to the priest , Everyone deals falsely . * They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly , Saying , "Peace , peace !' When there is no peace . * Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination ? No ! They were not at all ashamed ; Nor did they know how to blush . Therefore they shall fall among those who fall ; At the time I punish them , They shall be cast down ," says the LORD . * Thus says the LORD : "Stand in the ways and see , And ask for the old paths , where the good way is , And walk in it ; Then you will find rest for your souls . But they said , "We will not walk in it .' * Also , I set watchmen over you , saying , "Listen to the sound of the trumpet !' But they said , "We will not listen .' * Therefore hear , you nations , And know , O congregation , what is among them . * Hear , O earth ! Behold , I will certainly bring calamity on this people -- The fruit of their thoughts , Because they have not heeded My words Nor My law , but rejected it . * For what purpose to Me Comes frankincense from Sheba , And sweet cane from a far country ? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable , Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me ." * Therefore thus says the LORD : "Behold , I will lay stumbling blocks before this people , And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them . The neighbor and his friend shall perish ." * Thus says the LORD : "Behold , a people comes from the north country , And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth . * They will lay hold on bow and spear ; They are cruel and have no mercy ; Their voice roars like the sea ; And they ride on horses , As men of war set in array against you , O daughter of Zion ." * We have heard the report of it ; Our hands grow feeble . Anguish has taken hold of us , Pain as of a woman in labor . * Do not go out into the field , Nor walk by the way . Because of the sword of the enemy , Fear is on every side . * O daughter of my people , Dress in sackcloth And roll about in ashes ! Make mourning as for an only son , most bitter lamentation ; For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us . * "I have set you as an assayer and a fortress among My people , That you may know and test their way . * They are all stubborn rebels , walking as slanderers . They are bronze and iron , They are all corrupters ; * The bellows blow fiercely , The lead is consumed by the fire ; The smelter refines in vain , For the wicked are not drawn off . * People will call them rejected silver , Because the LORD has rejected them ."

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