6Jeremiah 6

A Warning for the People of Jerusalem / The said:

1Run 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.Select Jeremiah 6:1

2Jerusalem is a lovely pasture,Select Jeremiah 6:2

3but shepherds will surround it and divided up, then let their flocks eat all the grass.Select Jeremiah 6:3

4Kings will tell their troops, “If we reach Jerusalem in the morning, we'll attack at noon. But if we arrive later,Select Jeremiah 6:4

5we'll attack after dark and destroy its fortresses.”Select Jeremiah 6:5

6I 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.Select Jeremiah 6:6

7Evil pours from your city like water from a spring. Sounds of injustice and violence echo within your walls; victims are everywhere, wounded and dying.Select Jeremiah 6:7

8Listen to me, you people of Jerusalem and Judah. I will abandon you, and your land will become an empty desert.Select Jeremiah 6:8

9I will tell your enemies to leave your nation bare like a vine stripped of grapes. I, the Lord All-Powerful, have spoken.Select Jeremiah 6:9

Jeremiah's Anger

10I have told the people that you, Lord, will punish them, but they just laugh and refuse to listen.Select Jeremiah 6:10

11Your anger against Judah flames up inside me, and I can't hold it in much longer. Don't hold back my anger! Let it sweep away everyone— the children at play and all adults, young and old alike.Select Jeremiah 6:11

The 's Anger Will Sweep Everyone Away / The answered:

12I'll punish the people of Judah and give to others their houses and fields, as well as their wives. I, the Lord, have spoken.Select Jeremiah 6:12

13Everyone is greedy and dishonest, whether poor or rich. Even the prophets and priests cannot be trusted.Select Jeremiah 6:13

14All they ever offer to my deeply wounded people are empty hopes for peace.Select Jeremiah 6:14

15They 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.Select Jeremiah 6:15

The People of Judah Rejected God's Way of Life

16The 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.Select Jeremiah 6:16

17I also sent prophets to warn you of danger, but when they sounded the alarm, you paid no attention.Select Jeremiah 6:17

18So I tell all nations on earth, “Watch what I will do!Select Jeremiah 6:18

19My people ignored me and rejected my laws. They planned to do evil, and now the evil they planned will happen to them.”Select Jeremiah 6:19

20People 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!Select Jeremiah 6:20

21So I will put stumbling blocks in your path, and everyone will die, including parents and children, neighbors and friends.Select Jeremiah 6:21

An Army from the North

22The Lord said, “Look toward the north, where a powerful nation has prepared for war.Select Jeremiah 6:22

23Its 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.”Select Jeremiah 6:23

24Then the people said, “Just hearing about them makes us tremble with fear, and we twist and turn in pain like a woman giving birth.”Select Jeremiah 6:24

25The Lord said, “Don't work in your fields or walk along the roads. It's too dangerous. The enemy is well armedSelect Jeremiah 6:25

26and 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.”Select Jeremiah 6:26

The 's People Must Be Tested / The said:

27Jeremiah, test my people as though they were metal.Select Jeremiah 6:27

28And you'll find they are hard like bronze and iron. They are stubborn rebels, always spreading lies. *Select Jeremiah 6:28

30Silver can be purified in a fiery furnace, but my people are too wicked to be made pure, and so I have rejected them.Select Jeremiah 6:30