Jeremiah 4
1If thou wilt make teshuvah, O Yisroel, saith Hashem, 1 return unto Me; 1 and if thou wilt put away thine shikkutzim (abominations) out of My sight, 1 and shalt not waver. + 4:1 to wander 1
2And thou shalt swear, Chai Hashem (as surely as HASHEM lives), 1 in emes, in mishpat, and in tzedakah; 1 and the Goyim shall bless themselves in Him, 1 and in Him shall they glory. 1
3For thus saith Hashem 1 to Ish Yehudah and Yerushalayim: 1 Break up your unplowed ground, 1 and sow not among kotzim (thorns). 1
4Circumcise yourselves to Hashem, 1 and take the mohel knife to the arelot of your levav, 1 ye Ish Yehudah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim: 1 lest My fury break out like eish, 1 and burn that none can quench it, 1 because of the evil of your deeds.
5Declare ye in Yehudah, and publish in Yerushalayim, and say: 1 Blow ye the shofar in HaAretz. 1 Cry out, gather together, and say: 1 Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities. 1
6Raise up a nes (a banner, a flag pointing to the place of refuge) over Tziyon; 1 take refuge, delay not; 1 for I will bring ra'ah (evil, disaster) from the tzafon (north), 1 and shever gadol (great destruction). 1
7The aryeh (lion) is come up from his thicket, 1 and the Mashkhit Goyim (Destroyer of the Nations), + 4:7 i.e., Babylon is on his way, 1 he is gone forth from his place to make thy eretz desolate; 1 and thy cities shall be made to lie in ruins, without an inhabitant. 1
8For this gird you with sackcloth, 1 lament and wail; 1 for the charon af Hashem 1 is not turned away from us.
9And it shall come to pass at that day, saith Hashem, that the lev HaMelech shall be disheartened, and the lev hasarim; and the kohanim shall be horror-struck, and the nevi'im dumbfounded.
10Then said I, Adonoi Hashem! Surely Thou hast greatly misled HaAm HaZeh and Yerushalayim, saying, Shalom yeheyeh lachem (Ye shall have shalom); whereas the cherev is near unto the nefesh.
11At that time shall it be told HaAm HaZeh and Yerushalayim, A ruach tzach (a dry wind, sirocco) from the high places in the midbar toward the Bat Ami, + 4:11 i.e., Yisroel not to winnow, nor to cleanse,
12Even a ruach maleh (strong wind) from those places shall come from Me; now also I will pronounce mishpatim against them. 1
13Hinei, he + 4:13 the approaching foe shall come up like ananim (clouds), 1 and his merkavot shall be like the whirlwind; 1 his susim are swifter than nesharim (eagles). 1 Oy lanu! (Woe unto us!) For we are ruined. 1
14O Yerushalayim, wash thine lev from rah, 1 that thou mayest be saved. 1 Ad mosai (how long, how much longer) 1 shall thy sinful machsh'vot lodge within thee? 1
15For a kol (voice) declareth from Dan, 1 and publisheth evil tidings from Mt Ephrayim. 1
16Tell the Goyim; hinei, 1 spread the news to Yerushalayim, 1 that notzrim (besiegers) come from a far country, 1 and raise their voice against the cities of Yehudah. 1
17As shomrim of a sadeh, they are against her all around; 1 because she hath been rebellious against Me, saith Hashem. 1
18Thy derech and thy deeds 1 have brought these things upon thee; 1 this is thy wickedness, 1 how mar (bitter) it is, 1 for it hath touched upon thine lev. 1
19My innards, my innards! 1 I am pained at my very lev; 1 my lev is pounding in me; 1 I cannot keep silent, 1 because thou hast heard, O my nefesh, the kol shofar (sound of the shofar), 1 the teru'at milchamah (battle alarm of war). 1
20Shever (destruction) follows after shever; 1 for the whole land lies in ruins; 1 suddenly are my ohalim destroyed, 1 and my canopies rega. 1
21Ad mosai (how long) shall I see the nes (banner), 1 and hear the kol shofar? 1
22For Ami is foolish, 1 they have not known Me; 1 they are stupid banim, 1 and they have no understanding; 1 they are chachamim to do evil, 1 but to do good they have no da'as. 1
23I beheld ha'aretz, and, 1 hinei, it was tohu vavohu; + 4:23 Gn 1:2 1 and HaShomayim — there was no ohr. 1
24I beheld the mountains, and, hinei, they quaked, 1 and all the hills had crumbled. 1
25I beheld, and, hinei, there was no adam, 1 and kol oph HaShomayim fled away. 1
26I beheld, and, hinei, the carmel was a midbar, 1 and all the cities thereof lay in ruins 1 before Hashem, 1 before the charon af Hashem.
27For thus hath Hashem said, A wasteland shall be kol HaAretz; yet I will not make a complete end of it. 1
28For this reason HaAretz shall mourn, 1 and HaShomayim above turn black; 1 because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, 1 and will not relent, 1 neither will I turn back from it. 1
29Kol HaIr shall flee at the noise of the parash 1 and the romeh keshet (the archer); 1 they shall run into thickets, 1 and climb up among the kefim (rocks); 1 every city shall be deserted, 1 and not an ish dwell therein. 1
30And thou, O plundered one, + 4:30 Jerusalem 1 what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with scarlet, 1 though thou deckest thee with jewelry of zahav, 1 though thou paintest thy eyes with cosmetics, 1 in vain thou adornest thyself; 1 thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy nefesh. 1
31For I have heard a kol (outcry) like that of a woman in travail, 1 and in labor pain like that of her that bringeth forth her first child, 1 the voice of Bat Tziyon, that waileth, 1 that stretcheth out her hands, saying: 1 Oy nah li (Woe is me now)! For my nefesh 1 is weary because of murderers.