Jeremiah 6
Enemies are all round Jerusalem.
Run away from Jerusalem!
Make a noise with the
Shout over to Beth-Haccerem!
Big trouble is coming from the north.
It is such a lovely city.
They will put their
Each man will have a small part of the land.
Let us get up and attack at noon!
But the day is getting dark.
It is already evening.
Let us destroy their strong cities!’
‘Cut down the trees’, he said.
‘Build high hills up to the walls of the city.
I must
It is full of men who hurt other people.
Bad things pour out from it, like water from a well.
It is full of fights and of men who destroy.
All the time I can see how sick and weak it is.’
‘If you do not listen, I will turn away from you.
I will destroy your country.
Then nobody will be able to live in it.’
‘I will let the enemy take everything from Israel.
They will take things like a farmer who is picking his fruit’, he said.
But nobody will listen to me.
They close their ears so that they cannot hear.
They
It does not give any pleasure to them.
He is so angry that he cannot contain it.
His
It will pour out on the groups of young men.
It will cover both husbands and wives.
It will pour over the very old people.
Other people will take their fields and their wives.
This will happen when I decide to
says the
They all say things that are not true.
They say that there is nothing to be afraid of.
“
But they do not have any
They seem to think that there is nothing wrong about those things.
They have forgotten how to be sorry.
So they will fall when other people fall.
I will bring them down when I decide to
says the
‘Stand at the place where the roads cross, and look,’ he said.
‘Ask where the old ways lead.
Find the good way, and walk along that way.
Then I will give proper
But you said, “We will not walk that way.”’
“Listen for the noise of the
But you said, “We will not listen.”
Look. And you will see
the things that I will do to them.
I am causing great trouble for these people.
They will have trouble because they have done many wrong things.
And they have not listened to my words.
They have not obeyed my
I do not want oils from countries far away.
The food and drink that you give to me
do not give pleasure to me.’
‘I will make things very difficult for you people.
Both sons and their fathers will have difficulties.
Friends and people who live near to each other will die.’
‘Look, an army is coming from the country in the north.
I am calling up a great people from the ends of the earth.
They are never kind and they never
They ride on their horses and
it is like the noise of the sea.
They are ready to fight,
and they are coming to attack you, Jerusalem.’
and we are afraid.
Pain is all over our bodies.
It is like the pain of a woman who is having a baby.
Do not walk along the roads.
Our enemies have long, sharp knives.
We are afraid that they are all round us.
They wear special clothes when someone dies.
They must wear clothes like those.
They cry with loud voices.
They cry like a man whose only son has died.
They do that because the enemy will quickly come to destroy us.
And you must
I want you to watch them.
Then you can see what they do.’
They tell stories that are not true. And they enjoy it.
Their minds are as hard as iron.
They all do very bad things.
I send
But it does not cause bad men to do what is good.
The