Jeremiah 4

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Jeremiah 4:1-31 (KJV) 

1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.

If My people that I love would just come back home; I will remove your sins from my sight and you will have no reason to leave me.

 2 And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. 

You will be a witness of how good I am and other people will want to be a part of my plan; I would love them the same way that I have always loved you.

3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. 

God spoke directly to Judah and Jerusalem and said do not plant seed in ground that won't produce.

4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench [it], because of the evil of your doings.

Cutaway all flesh from who I called you to be: if you do not obey, I will destroy you with fire that nobody will be able to put out because of the evil things you continue to do.

 5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities. 

Come one come all the Lord has something to say; tell everybody don't miss this meeting that God wants us to come together to hear his word. Go into cities that are hard to get into.

6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. 

Put the word out I am coming down from the north with great destruction, do not delay, get ready to move.

7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; [and] thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant. 

The men are coming! Ask the Gentiles! The army of men who care nothing for your lives will attack you. There will be nothing left after they get through.

8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. 

Put on unattractive clothes and cry cause you will be hurting; for the anger of God will come and will not stop.

9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, [that] the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. 

I will shock those leaders who have laid you off the path.

10 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. 

Oh you will say that I have received you because I promised your peace.

11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, 

The wind of heat will blow and it will be a wind that is not regular.

12 [Even] a full wind from those [places] shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them. 

The wind will obey me to destroy.

13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots [shall be] as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. 

Your enemies will come in so fast you will not be able to think twice; for the horses are faster than the wings of an eagle. I told you it would not be good.

14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? 

I have not made my move yet but I will; change yourselves do the right thing and I'll hold back my wrath. How long will you ignore me?

15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim. 

I have made my voice now and then and Ephraim.

16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, [that] watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah. 

Publish it! Judah is in trouble!

17 As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD. 

Judah would be surrounded by so many mean you would think they work in the field. But these people will not be working for you they are ready to attack.

18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these [things] unto thee; this [is] thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart. 

You brought this upon yourselves; it is payback time and it will really hurt!

19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. 

I am sick I am hurting my heart hurts; I can't be quiet because I have heard the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war!

20 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, [and] my curtains in a moment. 

Everything we built is on the ground the whole lane lies in ruin.

21 How long shall I see the standard, [and] hear the sound of the trumpet? 

When will this war end?

22 For my people [is] foolish, they have not known me; they [are] sottish children, and they have none understanding: they [are] wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. 

My children are foolish because they do not know me: the only thing they know is how to do evil and they do that very well.

23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, [it was] without form, and void; and the heavens, and they [had] no light. 

I looked at the heavens and at the earth and it look like God was absent.

24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. 

I saw the mountains and they were shaking and I saw the hills and they were shaking too.

25 I beheld, and, lo, [there was] no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. 

I didn't hear the sound of anybody I did not even hear the wings of a bird.

26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place [was] a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, [and] by his fierce anger. 

When God's anger is on display, the most beautiful fruitful land will be dry.

27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. 

God said that there would be a lot of damage but he will not totally destroy the whole land.

28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken [it], I have purposed [it], and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. 

The earth and the heavens will understand what's going on and be sad, I will not change my mind I would do what I said.

29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city [shall be] forsaken, and not a man dwell therein. 

The whole city will be afraid and try to hurt; they were trying to climb rocks, they were tried to climb trees but nothing will keep them from the harm that would be given to that city that would not change.

30 And [when] thou [art] spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; [thy] lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. 

You were trying to dress in a way to seduce the enemy but he will not pay you any attention he will be after your life.

31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, [and] the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, [that] bewaileth herself, [that] spreadeth her hands, [saying], Woe [is] me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.

I hear you cry like a woman who has had her first child at birth; you are so sad because of the people who are killing people everywhere.