1 Run 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.

2 Jerusalem is a lovely pasture,

3 but shepherds will surround it

and divided up,

then let their flocks

eat all the grass.*

4 Kings will tell their troops,

"If we reach Jerusalem

in the morning,

we'll attack at noon.

But if we arrive later,

5 we'll attack after dark

and destroy its fortresses."

6 I 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.

7 Evil pours from your city

like water from a spring.

Sounds of injustice and violence

echo within your walls;

victims are everywhere,

wounded and dying.

8 Listen to me,

you people of Jerusalem

and Judah.

I will abandon you,

and your land will become

an empty desert.

9 I will tell your enemies

to leave your nation bare

like a vine stripped of grapes.

I, the Lord All-Powerful,

have spoken.

10 I have told the people

that you, Lord,

will punish them,

but they just laugh

and refuse to listen.

11 Your 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.

12 * I'll punish the people of Judah

and give to others

their houses and fields,

as well as their wives.

I, the Lord, have spoken.

13 Everyone is greedy and dishonest,

whether poor or rich.

Even the prophets and priests

cannot be trusted.

14 * All they ever offer

to my deeply wounded people

are empty hopes for peace.

15 They 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.

16 The 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.

17 I also sent prophets

to warn you of danger,

but when they sounded the alarm,

you paid no attention.

18 So I tell all nations on earth,

"Watch what I will do!

19 My people ignored me

and rejected my laws.

They planned to do evil,

and now the evil they planned

will happen to them."

20 People 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!

21 So I will put stumbling blocks

in your path,

and everyone will die,

including parents and children,

neighbors and friends.

22 The Lord said,

"Look toward the north,

where a powerful nation

has prepared for war.

23 Its 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."

24 Then the people said,

"Just hearing about them

makes us tremble with fear,

and we twist and turn in pain

like a woman giving birth."

25 The Lord said,

"Don't work in your fields

or walk along the roads.

It's too dangerous.

The enemy is well armed

26 and 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."

27 Jeremiah, test my people

as though they were metal.

28 And you'll find they are hard

like bronze and iron.

They are stubborn rebels,

always spreading lies.

* 29,30 Silver can be purified

in a fiery furnace,

but my people are too wicked

to be made pure,

and so I have rejected them.