Jeremiah 6:1-30 CEV

[1] The LORD said: Run for your lives, people of Benjamin. Get out of Jerusalem. Sound a trumpet in Tekoa and light a signal fire in Beth-Haccherem. Soon you will be struck by disaster from the north. [2] Jerusalem is a lovely pasture, but shepherds will surround it and divide it up, [3] then let their flocks eat all the grass. [4] Kings will tell their troops, "If we reach Jerusalem in the morning, we'll attack at noon. But if we arrive later, [5] we'll attack after dark and destroy its fortresses." [6] I am the LORD All-Powerful, and I will command these armies to chop down trees and build a ramp up to the walls of Jerusalem. People of Jerusalem, I must punish you for your injustice. [7] Evil pours from your city like water from a spring. Sounds of violent crimes echo within your walls; victims are everywhere, wounded and dying. [8] Listen to me, you people of Jerusalem and Judah. I will abandon you, and your land will become an empty desert. [9] I will tell your enemies to leave your nation bare like a vine stripped of grapes. I, the LORD All-Powerful, have spoken. [10] I have told the people that you, LORD, will punish them, but they just laugh and refuse to listen. [11] Your anger against Judah flames up inside me, and I can't hold it in much longer. The LORD answered: Don't hold back my anger! Let it sweep away everyone- the children at play and all adults, young and old alike. [12] I'll punish the people of Judah and give to others their houses and fields, as well as their wives. I, the LORD, have spoken. [13] Everyone is greedy and dishonest, whether poor or rich. Even the prophets and priests cannot be trusted. [14] All they ever offer to my deeply wounded people are empty hopes for peace. [15] They should be ashamed of their disgusting sins, but they don't even blush. And so, when I punish Judah, they will end up on the ground, dead like everyone else. I, the LORD, have spoken. [16] The LORD said: My people, when you stood at the crossroads, I told you, "Follow the road your ancestors took, and you will find peace." But you refused. [17] I also sent prophets to warn you of danger, but when they sounded the alarm, you paid no attention. [18] So I tell all nations on earth, "Watch what I will do! [19] My people ignored me and rejected my laws. They planned to do evil, and now the evil they planned will happen to them." [20] People of Judah, you bring me incense from Sheba and spices from distant lands. You offer sacrifices of all kinds. But why bother? I hate these gifts of yours! [21] So I will put stumbling blocks in your path, and everyone will die, including parents and children, neighbors and friends. [22] The LORD said, "Look toward the north, where a powerful nation has prepared for war. [23] Its well-armed troops are cruel and never show mercy. Their galloping horses sound like ocean waves pounding on the shore. This army will attack you, lovely Jerusalem." [24] Then the people said, "Just hearing about them makes us tremble with fear, and we twist and turn in pain like a woman giving birth." [25] The LORD said, "Don't work in your fields or walk along the roads. It's too dangerous. The enemy is well armed [26] and attacks without warning. So mourn, my people, as though your only child had died. Wear clothes made of sackcloth and roll in the ash pile." [27] The LORD said: Jeremiah, test my people as though they were metal. [28] And you'll find they are hard like bronze and iron. They are stubborn rebels, always spreading lies. [29] Silver can be purified in a fiery furnace, [30] but my people are too wicked to be made pure, and so I have rejected them.