Jeremiah 4:4-6

The Voice

⁴    Circumcise yourselves to Me;
        cut away the foreskin of your hearts,
        men of Judah and people of Jerusalem.
    Remove all that stands between us,
        and devote yourselves fully to Me,
    Or the heat of My anger will burn as an unquenchable fire
        against your wicked ways.

The warnings now climax with a vision of invasion and destruction that is almost more than the young prophet can bear. Still God instructs Jeremiah to speak these words of terror, and this prophet who loves the people he has been called to chastise struggles with his mission. In the midst of this painful vision, Jeremiah begins to wonder aloud to the very God for whom he speaks. As he proclaims, he prays. As he waits for answers, the words of devastation continue.

⁵Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Cry out to those in Jerusalem. Proclaim to all of Judah.
        Let the trumpets blare throughout the land!
    Say to the people, “Gather everyone from the outlying villages,
        and run toward the fortified cities.”
⁶    Raise a banner toward Zion, Jerusalem;
        point everyone toward her refuge.
    Don’t wait, for I am releasing an evil from the north that will devastate the land.