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Jeremiah 6
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
Jeremiah 6
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
6 Strengthen yourselves, ye sons of Benjamin, in the midst of Jerusalem, and sound the trumpet in Thecua, and set up the standard over Bethacarem: for evil is seen out of the north, and a great destruction.
2 I have likened the daughter of Sion to a beautiful and delicate woman.
3 The shepherds shall come to her with their flocks: they have pitched their tents against her round about: every one shall feed them that are under his hand.
4 Prepare ye war against her: arise, and let us go up at midday: woe unto us, for the day is declined, for the shadows of the evening are grown longer.
5 Arise, and let us go up in the night, and destroy her houses.
6 For thus saith the Lord of hosts: Hew down her trees, cast up a trench about Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited, all oppression is in the midst of her.
7 As a cistern maketh its water cold, so hath she made her wickedness cold: violence and spoil shall be heard in her, infirmity and stripes are continually before me.
8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee, lest I make thee desolate, a land uninhabited.
9 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: They shall gather the remains of Israel, as in a vine, even to one cluster: turn back thy hand, as a grape gatherer into the basket.
10 To whom shall I speak? and to whom shall I testify, that he may hear? behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hear: behold the word of the Lord is become unto them a reproach: and and they will not receive it.
11 Therefore am I full of the fury of the Lord, I am weary with holding in: pour it out upon the child abroad, and upon the council of the young men together: for man and woman shall be taken, the ancient and he that is full of days.
12 And their houses shall be turned over to others, with their lands and their wives together: for I will stretch for my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord.
13 For from the least of them even to the greatest, all are given to covetousness: and from the prophet even to the priest, all are guilty of deceit.
14 And they healed the breach of the daughter of my people disgracefully, saying: Peace, peace: and there was no peace.
15 They were confounded, because they committed abomination: yea, rather they were not confounded with confusion, and they knew not how to blush: wherefore they shall fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall fall down, saith the Lord.
16 Thus saith the Lord: Stand ye on the ways, and see and ask for the old paths which is the good way, and walk ye in it: and you shall find refreshment for your souls. And they said: we will not walk.
17 And I appointed watchmen over you, saying: Hearken ye to the sound of the trumpet. And they said: We will not hearken.
18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what great things I will do to them.
19 Hear, O earth: Behold I will bring evils upon this people, the fruits of their own thoughts: because they have not heard my words, and they have cast away my law.
20 To what purpose do you bring me frankincense from Saba, and the sweet smelling cane from a far country? your holocausts are not acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21 Therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will bring destruction upon this people, by which fathers and sons together shall fall, neighbour and kinsman shall perish.
22 Thus saith the Lord: Behold a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great nation shall rise up from the ends of the earth.
23 They shall lay hold on arrow and shield: they are cruel, and will have no mercy. Their voice shall roar like the sea: and they shall mount upon horses, prepared as men for war, against thee, O daughter of Sion.
24 We have heard the fame thereof, our hands grow feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, as a woman in labor.
25 Go not out into the fields, nor walk in the highway: for the sword of the enemy, and fear is on every side.
26 Gird thee with sackcloth, O daughter of my people, and sprinkle thee with ashes: make thee mourning as for an only son, a bitter lamentation, because the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us.
27 I have set thee for a strong trier among my people: and thou shalt know and prove their way.
28 All of these princes go out of the way, they walk deceitfully, they are brass and iron: they are all corrupted.
29 The bellows have failed, the lead is consumed in the fire, the founder hath melted in vain: for their wicked deeds are not consumed.
30 Call them reprobate silver, for the Lord hath rejected them.
Jeremiah 6
New International Version
Jeremiah 6
New International Version
Jerusalem Under Siege
6 “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!
Flee from Jerusalem!
Sound the trumpet(A) in Tekoa!(B)
Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!(C)
For disaster looms out of the north,(D)
even terrible destruction.
2 I will destroy Daughter Zion,(E)
so beautiful and delicate.(F)
3 Shepherds(G) with their flocks will come against her;
they will pitch their tents around(H) her,
each tending his own portion.”
4 “Prepare for battle against her!
Arise, let us attack at noon!(I)
But, alas, the daylight is fading,
and the shadows of evening grow long.
5 So arise, let us attack at night
and destroy her fortresses!”
6 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Cut down the trees(J)
and build siege ramps(K) against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished;
it is filled with oppression.(L)
7 As a well pours out its water,
so she pours out her wickedness.
Violence(M) and destruction(N) resound in her;
her sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Take warning, Jerusalem,
or I will turn away(O) from you
and make your land desolate
so no one can live in it.”
9 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Let them glean the remnant(P) of Israel
as thoroughly as a vine;
pass your hand over the branches again,
like one gathering grapes.”
10 To whom can I speak and give warning?
Who will listen(Q) to me?
Their ears are closed[a](R)
so they cannot hear.(S)
The word(T) of the Lord is offensive to them;
they find no pleasure in it.
11 But I am full of the wrath(U) of the Lord,
and I cannot hold it in.(V)
“Pour it out on the children in the street
and on the young men(W) gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
and the old, those weighed down with years.(X)
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,(Y)
together with their fields and their wives,(Z)
when I stretch out my hand(AA)
against those who live in the land,”
declares the Lord.
13 “From the least to the greatest,
all(AB) are greedy for gain;(AC)
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.(AD)
14 They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
when there is no peace.(AE)
15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush.(AF)
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when I punish(AG) them,”
says the Lord.
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,(AH)
ask where the good way(AI) is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest(AJ) for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 I appointed watchmen(AK) over you and said,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’(AL)
But you said, ‘We will not listen.’(AM)
18 Therefore hear, you nations;
you who are witnesses,
observe what will happen to them.
19 Hear, you earth:(AN)
I am bringing disaster(AO) on this people,
the fruit of their schemes,(AP)
because they have not listened to my words(AQ)
and have rejected my law.(AR)
20 What do I care about incense from Sheba(AS)
or sweet calamus(AT) from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;(AU)
your sacrifices(AV) do not please me.”(AW)
21 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“I will put obstacles before this people.
Parents and children alike will stumble(AX) over them;
neighbors and friends will perish.”
22 This is what the Lord says:
“Look, an army is coming
from the land of the north;(AY)
a great nation is being stirred up
from the ends of the earth.(AZ)
23 They are armed with bow and spear;
they are cruel and show no mercy.(BA)
They sound like the roaring sea(BB)
as they ride on their horses;(BC)
they come like men in battle formation
to attack you, Daughter Zion.(BD)”
24 We have heard reports about them,
and our hands hang limp.(BE)
Anguish(BF) has gripped us,
pain like that of a woman in labor.(BG)
25 Do not go out to the fields
or walk on the roads,
for the enemy has a sword,
and there is terror on every side.(BH)
26 Put on sackcloth,(BI) my people,
and roll in ashes;(BJ)
mourn with bitter wailing(BK)
as for an only son,(BL)
for suddenly the destroyer(BM)
will come upon us.
27 “I have made you a tester(BN) of metals
and my people the ore,
that you may observe
and test their ways.
28 They are all hardened rebels,(BO)
going about to slander.(BP)
They are bronze and iron;(BQ)
they all act corruptly.
29 The bellows blow fiercely
to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining(BR) goes on in vain;
the wicked are not purged out.
30 They are called rejected silver,(BS)
because the Lord has rejected them.”(BT)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 6:10 Hebrew uncircumcised
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.