Destruction Is Coming from the North
Jeremiah 6, verse 1. Be strong, O sons of Benjamin, in the midst of Jerusalem. Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and for the sake of Beth Haccerem, set up a signal; because evil looms from the north, and great destruction is coming. Jeremiah 6, verse 2. Your crown will be taken away, O daughter of Zion. Jeremiah 6, verse 3. Shepherds and their flocks will come to her, and they shall pitch their tents against her all around; and they shall feed their flocks, each with his hand. Jeremiah 6, verse 4. Get ready to war against her, to rise up against her in battle at noon. Woe to us! Because the day draws to a close, and the shadows of evening come to an end. Jeremiah 6, verse 5. Arise and go up in the night, and utterly destroy her foundations. Jeremiah 6, verse 6. For thus says the Lord: “Cut down her trees; pour out your power against Jerusalem, O false city. There is oppression in her entirely. Jeremiah 6, verse 7. As a reservoir chills down water, so evil causes her to grow cold. Ungodliness and misery will be heard in her presence continually. Jeremiah 6, verse 8. Be instructed, O Jerusalem, by pain and affliction, lest My soul depart from you; lest I make you a land not to be trodden, where no one shall dwell.” Jeremiah 6, verse 9. For thus says the Lord: “Glean, glean as a vine the remnant of Israel; return them as one who gathers for his basket.” Jeremiah 6, verse 10. To whom shall I speak and testify? Will it be heard? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hear. Behold, the word of the Lord was an insult to them, and they do not wish to hear it. Jeremiah 6, verse 11. “I was filled with my anger, but held fast and did not end their lives. I will pour it out against the children from the outside, against the youth of the assembly; and the husband and wife will be taken together, the elder full of days. Jeremiah 6, verse 12. Their houses shall be turned over to others, together with their wives and fields. For I will stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of this land,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 6, verse 13. “Because from the least of them even to the greatest, everyone accomplished lawlessness. From the priest even to the false prophet, everyone acted falsely. Jeremiah 6, verse 14. With contempt they healed the calamity of My people incompletely, saying, ‘Peace, peace.’ But where is peace? Jeremiah 6, verse 15. They were ashamed because they failed; but they were not ashamed as those truly ashamed, for they did not recognize their dishonor. Therefore, they shall utterly fall when they do fall, and at the time of their visitation they shall perish,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 6, verse 16. Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, and ask about the eternal pathways of the Lord. See what the good way is and walk in it. Here you will find purification for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Jeremiah 6, verse 17. I set watchmen over you. Listen to the sound of their trumpet. But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ Jeremiah 6, verse 18. Therefore the Gentiles heard, and those who shepherd their flocks. Jeremiah 6, verse 19. Hear, O earth. Behold, I will bring evils upon this people, the fruit of their turning away, because they did not heed My words, but rejected My law. Jeremiah 6, verse 20. Why do you bring frankincense to Me from Sheba and cinnamon from a far country? Your whole burnt offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices are not sweet to Me.” Jeremiah 6, verse 21. Therefore thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will bring weakness upon this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall be weak. The neighbor and his friend shall perish.” Jeremiah 6, verse 22. Thus says the Lord: “Behold, a people will come from the north, and a nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth. Jeremiah 6, verse 23. They will take hold of bow and spear; and they are reckless and will show no mercy. Their voice is like the roaring sea, and they are deployed on horses and chariots. They shall draw up in battle order as a fire for war against you, O daughter of Zion.” Jeremiah 6, verse 24. You will say, “We heard the report of them, and our hands became feeble. Distress takes hold of us as pains of a woman in labor.” Jeremiah 6, verse 25. Do not go out into the field nor walk along the ways, for the swords of enemies linger on every side. Jeremiah 6, verse 26. O daughter of my people, dress yourself in sackcloth and sprinkle yourself with ashes. Make for yourself a bitter lamentation as if for a beloved son, because suddenly misery will come upon you. Jeremiah 6, verse 27. “I gave you an assayer to prove you among the peoples, and you shall know Me when I test their way. Jeremiah 6, verse 28. They all are inattentive and walk perversely. They are bronze and iron, and all have corrupted themselves. Jeremiah 6, verse 29. The blowpipe and the lead failed because the fire gave out. The silversmith coins money in vain, and their evils have not melted away. Jeremiah 6, verse 30. Call them rejected silver, because the Lord rejected them.”