Jer 6 | NASB1995 | STEP | “ Flee for safety , O sons of Benjamin , From the midst of Jerusalem ! Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa And raise a signal over Beth-haccerem ; For evil looks down from the north , And a great destruction .

‏ Jeremiah 6

Destruction of Jerusalem Impending

1 “Flee for safety, O sons of ^aBenjamin,
From the midst of Jerusalem!
Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa
And raise a signal over ^{▼▼ I.e. house of the vineyard
,} ^cBeth-haccerem;
For evil looks down from the ^dnorth,
And a great destruction.
2 “The comely and ^edainty one, ^fthe daughter of Zion, I will cut off.
3 ^g“Shepherds and their flocks will come to her,
They will ^hpitch their tents ^{▼▼ Lit against her round about}around her,
They will pasture each in his ^{▼▼ Lit hand}place.
4 ^{▼▼ Lit Sanctify
,} ^l“Prepare war against her;
Arise, and let us ^{▼▼ Lit go up}attack at ⁿnoon.
Woe to us, for the day declines,
For the shadows of the evening lengthen!
5 “Arise, and let us ^{▼▼ Lit go up}attack by night
And ^pdestroy her ^{▼▼ Or fortified towers}palaces!”

6 For thus says the Lord of hosts, ^r“Cut down her trees
And cast up a ^ssiege against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
In whose midst there is only ^toppression.
7 ^u“As a well ^{▼▼ Lit keeps cold}keeps its waters fresh,
So she ^{▼▼ Lit keeps cold}keeps fresh her wickedness.
^xViolence and destruction are heard in her;
^ySickness and wounds are ever before Me.
8 ^z“Be warned, O Jerusalem,
Or ^{▼▼ Lit my soul
,} ^abI shall be alienated from you,
And make you a desolation,
A land not inhabited.”

9 Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“They will ^acthoroughly glean as the vine the ^adremnant of Israel;
Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer
Over the branches.”
10 To whom shall I speak and give warning
That they may hear?
Behold, their ^aeears are ^{▼▼ Lit uncircumcised}closed
And they cannot listen.
Behold, ^agthe word of the Lord has become a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.
11 But I am ^ahfull of the wrath of the Lord;
I am ^aiweary with holding it in.
^aj“Pour it out on the children in the street
And on the ^{▼▼ Lit council}gathering of young men together;
For both husband and wife shall be taken,
The aged ^{▼▼ Lit with fullness of days}and the very old.
12 “Their ^amhouses shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together;
For I will ^anstretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord.
13 “For ^aofrom the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is ^apgreedy for gain,
And from the prophet even to the priest
Everyone ^{▼▼ Or makes lies}deals falsely.
14 “They have ^arhealed the brokenness of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
15 “Were they ^asashamed because of the abomination they have done?
They were not even ashamed at all;
They did not even know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them,
They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.

16 Thus says the Lord,
“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ^atancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
And ^auyou will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 “And I set ^avwatchmen over you, saying,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
18 “Therefore hear, O nations,
And know, O congregation, what is among them.
19 ^aw“Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
The ^axfruit of their ^{▼▼ Or devices}plans,
Because they have not listened to My words,
And as for My law, they have ^azrejected it also.
20 ^ba“For what purpose does ^bbfrankincense come to Me from Sheba
And the ^{▼▼ Lit good
,} ^bdsweet cane from a distant land?
^beYour burnt offerings are not acceptable
And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”

21 Therefore, thus says the Lord, “Behold, ^bfI am ^{▼▼ Lit giving}laying stumbling blocks before this people.
And they will stumble against them,
^bhFathers and sons together;
Neighbor and ^{▼▼ Lit his friend}friend will perish.”

The Enemy from the North

22 Thus says the Lord,
“Behold, ^bja people is coming from the north land,
And a great nation will be aroused from the ^bkremote parts of the earth.
23 “They seize ^blbow and spear;
They are ^bmcruel and have no mercy;
Their voice ^bnroars like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Arrayed as a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24 We have ^boheard the report of it;
Our hands are limp.
^bpAnguish has seized us,
Pain as of a woman in childbirth.
25 ^bqDo not go out into the field
And ^brdo not walk on the road,
For the enemy has a sword,
^bsTerror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, ^btput on sackcloth
And ^buroll in ashes;
^{▼▼ Lit Make for yourself mourning
,} ^bwMourn as for an only son,
A lamentation most bitter.
For suddenly the destroyer
Will come upon us.

27 “I have ^bxmade you an assayer and a tester among My people,
That you may know and assay their way.”
28 All of them are stubbornly rebellious,
^byGoing about as a talebearer.
They are ^bzbronze and iron;
They, all of them, are corrupt.
29 The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain the refining goes on,
But the ^cawicked are not ^{▼▼ Or drawn off}separated.
30 ^ccThey call them rejected silver,
Because the ^cdLord has rejected them.