Jeremiah 4

Great(i) 1 O Israel, yf thou wylt turne the, then turne vnto me, sayeth the Lorde. And yf thou wylt put awaye thyne abhominacyons out of my syght, thou shalt not be moued: 2 And shalt sweare: The Lord lyueth: in trueth, in equyte and ryghteousnesse: and all people shall be fortunable & ioyfull in him. 3 For thus sayeth the Lorde, to all Iuda & Ierusalem: plowe your lande, and sowe not amonge the thornes. 4 Be circumcysed in the Lorde, and cut awaye the foreskynne of youre hertes, all yee of Iuda, and all the indwellers of Ierusalem: that my indignacyon breake not out lyke fyre and kyndle, so that no man maye quench it, because of the wyckednes of youre ymaginacyons. 5 Preach in Iuda and Ierusalem, crye out and speake: blowe the trompettes in the lande, crye that euery man maye heare gather together, & saye: Gather you together, and we will go into stronge cyties. 6 Set vp the token in Syon, spede you, and make no tarienge: for I wyll bringe a greate plage, and a greate destruccyon from the north. 7 For the spoyler of the Gentyles is broken vp from his place, as a lyon out of his denne, that he maye make thy lande waste, and destroy the cyties, so that no man maye dwel therin. 8 Wherfore, gyrd your selues aboute with sacke clothe, mourne, and wepe, for the fearful wrath of the Lord is not withdrawen from vs. 9 At the same tyme (sayth the Lorde) the herte of the kynge and of the princes shall be gone, the preastes shalbe astonisshed, and the Prophetes shalbe sore afrayed. 10 Then sayd I: O Lorde God, hast thou then disceyued this people and Ierusalem, saying: ye shal haue peace, and nowe the swearde goeth thorowe theyr lyues: 11 Then shall it be sayde to the people & Ierusalem: a stronge wynde in the hye places of the wyldernesse commeth thorow the waye of my people, but neyther to fan, nor to cleanse. 12 After that, shall there come vnto me a stronge wynde from those places, and then wyll I also gyue sentence vpon them. 13 For lo, he commeth downe lyke as a cloude, and his charrettes are lyke a stormye wynde: His horsemen are swyfter then the Egle. Woo vnto vs, for we are destroyed. 14 O Ierusalem, wash thyne hert from wickednesse, that thou mayest be helped. How long shal thy noysom thoughtes remayne with the? 15 For a voyce from Dan and from the hyl of Ephraim speaketh out, and telleth of a destruction. 16 Remembre the Heythen, and gyue Ierusalem warnyng, and preache vnto her, that watchers ouer her are commyng from far countryes. They haue cryed out agaynst the cities of Iuda. 17 And they haue beset her aboute in euery place lyke as the watchmen in the feld: For they haue prouoked me to wrath, sayth the Lorde. 18 Thy wayes and thy thoughtes, haue brought the vnto this, suche is thyne owne wyckednesse and disobedyence: and bycause it is a bytter thing, it hath striken the to the hert 19 Ah my bely, ah my bely, (shalt thou cry) how is my hert so sore? my hert panteth within me: I cannot be styll, for I haue herde the crying of the trompettes, and peales of warre. 20 They crye: murther vpon murther, the hole lande shal perish. Immediatlye, my tentes were destroyed, and my hangynges in the twynkelynge of an eye. 21 How longe shall I se the tokens of warre, and heare the noyse of the trompettes? 22 Neuerthelesse, this shall come vpon them, bycause my people is become foolysshe, and hath not knowen me. They are the children of foolysshnesse, and without any discretion. To doo euyll, they haue wyt ynoughe: but to doo well, they haue no wysdome. 23 I haue loked vpon the erth, and se: it was waste and voyde. I loked towarde heauen, and it had no shyne. 24 I behelde the mountaynes, and lo, they trembled, and all the hylles were in a feare. 25 I loked aboute me, and there was no bodye, and all the byrdes of the ayre were awaye. 26 I marked wel, and the plowed felde was become waste: yea, all theyr cyties were broken downe at the presence of the Lorde, and indignacion of his wrath. 27 For thus hath the Lorde sayd: The whole lande shalbe desolate, yet wil I not then haue done. 28 And therfore, shall the earth mourne, & the heauen be sory aboue: for the thynge that I haue spoken to the Prophetes purposed and taken vpon me to do, shall not repent me, and I wil not go from it. 29 The hole lande shall flye, for the noyse of the horsemen and bowemen: they shal runne into tentes, into woddes, and clyme vp the stonye rockes. All the cyties shall be voyde, and noman dwellyng therin. 30 What wylt thou now do, thou beinge destroyed? For though thou clothest thy selfe with scarlet, & deckest the wt golde: though thou payntest thy face with colours now, yet shalt thou trym thy selfe in vayne. For those that hytherto haue bene thy greate fauourers, shall abhorre the, and goo about to slaye the. 31 For I heare a noyse, lyke as it were of a woman trauaylynge, or one labourynge of her fyrst chylde: Euen the voyse of the doughter Syon, that casteth out her armes. and swowneth, saying: Ah woo is me, how sore vexed and faint is my hert, for feare of the murtherers?