6
Jeremiah warned the people of Jerusalem
1 “You people in Jerusalem who are from the tribe of Benjamin,
flee from this city!
Blow the trumpets in Tekoa city south of Jerusalem!
Send up a smoke signal in Beth-Haccherem town
to warn the people of the coming danger!
A powerful army will come from the north,
and they will cause great destruction.
2 Jerusalem is like a beautiful pasture full of sheep,
but it will soon be destroyed.
3 Enemy kings, not shepherds [MET], will come with their armies and set up their tents around the city,
and each king will choose a part of the city for his soldiers to destroy like [MET] shepherds divide their pastures for their flocks of sheep.
4 The kings will tell their troops,
“Get ready for the battle.
We should attack them before noontime.
But if we arrive there late in the afternoon
when the shadows are becoming long,
5 we will attack them at night
and tear down their fortresses.”
Yahweh predicts what will happen to Jerusalem
6 Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of angels in heaven, says this:
“I will command those soldiers to cut down the trees outside Jerusalem
and to build dirt ramps up to the top of the city walls
in order that they can enter the city.
This city must be punished
because everyone there continually oppresses others.
7 It is as though the wicked things that the people do
pour out of the city like [SIM] water flows out of a spring.
The noise from people doing violent and destructive actions is heard everywhere.
I continually see people who are suffering and wounded.
8 Listen to what I am warning you, you people of [APO] Jerusalem,
because if you do not listen, I will reject you
and cause your land to become desolate,
a land where no one lives.”
9 Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of angels in heaven, also says this:
“I will tell your enemies to cause your country to become as desolate [SIM] as a vineyard from which all the grapes have been completely stripped from the vines.
Their soldiers will seize the possessions of those who remain in Israel after the others have been exiled
like [SIM] farmers go to the vines again to pick any grapes that were ◄left/not picked►.”
10 Then I said, “If I speak to the Israeli people to warn them,
◄who will listen to me?/No one will listen to me.► [RHQ]
It is as though their ears are closed,
and as a result they cannot hear what I say.
They scorn Yahweh’s messages;
they do not want to listen to them at all.
11 So now I am extremely angry, like Yahweh is angry,
and I cannot restrain it any longer.”
So Yahweh said to me,
“Tell everyone that you are very angry with them.
Tell the children in the streets and the young men who gather together.
Tell the men and their wives;
tell the very old people [DOU], also.
12 Tell the men that I will give their houses to their enemies,
and I will give their property/fields and their wives to them, also,
when I punish [IDM] the people who live in this land.
13 Everyone is trying to get money by tricking others,
from the most important people to the least important people;
even the prophets and the priests are trying to deceive people to get money.
14 They act as though the sins of my people are like [MET] small wounds that they do not need to put bandages on.
They continually greet people by saying ‘I hope things are going well with you,’
when things are not going well.
15 They should be [RHQ] ashamed about the disgusting things that they do,
but they are not ashamed at all.
They do not even know how to ◄blush/show on their faces that they are ashamed►.
So, they also will be among those who will be killed.
They will be destroyed when I punish them.”
16 This is also what Yahweh said to the Israeli people:
“Stand at the crossroads and look at the people who pass by.
Ask them what was the good behavior that their ancestors had long ago.
And when they tell you, behave that way.
If you do that, you will find rest for your souls.”
But you replied, ‘We do not want to do that!’
17 I sent my prophets who were like [MET] watchmen.
They said, ‘Listen carefully when we blow the trumpets to warn you that your enemies are approaching,’
but you said, ‘No, we do not want to listen.’
18 Therefore, you people in the other nations, listen to this:
Pay attention to what is going to happen to the Israeli people.
19 Listen, all of you!
I am going to cause the Israeli people to experience disasters.
That is what will happen to them because they have refused to listen to what I told them.
They have refused to obey my laws.
20 You Israeli people, when you burn frankincense that came from far away in Sheba,
and when you offer to me sweet-smelling anointing oil that came from far away,
I will not [RHQ] be pleased with your sacrifices.
I will not accept the sacrifices that are completely burned on the altar;
I am not pleased with any of your sacrifices.
21 Therefore, I will put obstacles on the roads on which my people will travel.
Men and their sons and people’s neighbors and friends will stumble over those obstacles and fall down;
everyone will die.”
22 Yahweh also says this:
“You will see a huge army marching towards you from the north.
An army of a great nation very far away is preparing to attack you.
23 They have bows and arrows and spears;
they are very cruel, and do not act mercifully to anyone.
As they ride along on their horses,
the horses’ feet sound like the roaring of the ocean waves;
they are riding in battle formation
to attack you people of Jerusalem.”
24 The people of Jerusalem say,
“We have heard reports about the enemy;
so we are very frightened, with the result that we feel weak.
We are very afraid, and worried,
like [SIM] women who are about to give birth to babies.
25 So one person says to another,
‘Do not go out into the fields! Do not go on the roads,
because the enemy soldiers have swords and they are everywhere;
they are coming from all directions, and we are extremely afraid.’ ”
26 So I say, “My dear people, put on ◄sackcloth/rough clothes► and sit in ashes to show that you are sorry for your sins.
Mourn and cry very much,
like [SIM] a woman would cry if her only son had died,
because your enemies are very near,
and they are going to destroy everything.”
27 Then Yahweh said to me,
“Jeremiah, I have caused you to become like [MET] someone who heats metal very hot to completely burn the impurities.
You will examine my people’s behavior.
28 You will find out that they are very stubborn rebels,
they are always slandering others.
Their inner beings are as hard as bronze or iron;
they all continually deceive others.
29 A metalworker causes the bellows to blow very hard to make the fire very hot to completely burn up the impurities [MET].
But just as a fire does not cause all the waste material to run off,
it is impossible to separate the righteous people from the wicked people, and punish only the wicked people.
30 I, Yahweh, have rejected them;
I say that they are like [MET] worthless silver.”