Jeremiah 6:21-1953 kjv — Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons toge…

“Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people; and the fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them; the neighbor and his friend shall perish. Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, a people cometh from the north country; and a great nation shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses, every one set in array, as a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Zion. We have heard the report thereof; our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pangs as of a woman in travail. Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy, and terror, are on every side. O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us. I have made thee a trier and a fortress among my people; that thou mayest know and try their way. They are all grievous revolters, going about with slanders; they are brass and iron: they all of them deal corruptly. The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed of the fire: in vain do they go on refining; for the wicked are not plucked away. Refuse silver shall men call them, because Jehovah hath rejected them. ”

“Therefore thus says Yahweh, "Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people. The fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish." Thus says Yahweh, "Behold, a people comes from the north country. A great nation shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. They take hold of bow and spear. They are cruel, and have no mercy. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride on horses, everyone set in array, as a man to the battle, against you, daughter of Zion." We have heard its report; our hands wax feeble: anguish has taken hold of us, [and] pangs as of a woman in travail. Don't go forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy, [and] terror, are on every side. Daughter of my people, clothe yourself with sackcloth, and wallow in ashes! Mourn, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come on us. "I have made you a tester of metals [and] a fortress among my people; that you may know and try their way. They are all grievous rebels, going about with slanders; they are brass and iron: they all of them deal corruptly. The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed of the fire: in vain do they go on refining; for the wicked are not plucked away. Men will call them rejected silver, because Yahweh has rejected them."”

“So, this is what the LORD says:‘I will assuredly make these people stumble to their doom. Parents and children will stumble and fall to their destruction. Friends and neighbors will die.’ “This is what the LORD says:‘Beware! An army is coming from a land in the north. A mighty nation is stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth. Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride forth on their horses. Lined up in formation like men going into battle to attack you, Daughter Zion.’” The people cry out,“We have heard reports about them! We have become helpless with fear! Anguish grips us, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby! Do not go out into the countryside. Do not travel on the roads. For the enemy is there with sword in hand. They are spreading terror everywhere.” So I said,“Oh, my dear people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with painful sobs as though you had lost your only child. For any moment now that destructive army will come against us.” The LORD said to me,“I have made you like a metal assayer to test my people like ore. You are to observe them and evaluate how they behave.” I reported,“All of them are the most stubborn of rebels! They are as hard as bronze or iron. They go about telling lies. They all deal corruptly. The fiery bellows of judgment burn fiercely. But there is too much dross to be removed. The process of refining them has proved useless. The wicked have not been purged. They are regarded as‘rejected silver’ because the LORD rejects them.””

“Therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold I will bring destruction upon this people, by which fathers and sons together shall fall, neighbour and kinsman shall perish. Thus saith the Lord: Behold a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great nation shall rise up from the ends of the earth. They shall lay hold on arrow and shield: they are cruel, and will have no mercy. Their voice shall roar like the sea: and they shall mount upon horses, prepared as men for war, against thee, O daughter of Sion. We have heard the fame thereof, our hands grow feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, as a woman in labour. Go not out into the fields, nor walk in the highway: for the sword of the enemy, and fear is on every side. Gird thee with sackcloth, O daughter of my people, and sprinkle thee with ashes: make thee mourning as for an only son, a bitter lamentation, because the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us. I have set thee for a strong trier among my people: and thou shalt know, and prove their way. All these princes go out of the way, they walk deceitfully, they are brass and iron: they are all corrupted. The bellows have failed, the lead is consumed in the fire, the founder hath melted in vain: for their wicked deeds are not consumed. Call them reprobate silver, for the Lord hath rejected them. ”

“For this reason the Lord has said, See, I will put stones in the way of this people: and the fathers and the sons together will go falling over them; the neighbour and his friend will come to destruction. The Lord has said, See, a people is coming from the north country, a great nation will be put in motion from the inmost parts of the earth. Bows and spears are in their hands; they are cruel and have no mercy; their voice is like the thunder of the sea, and they go on horses; everyone in his place like men going to the fight, against you, O daughter of Zion. The news of it has come to our ears; our hands have become feeble: trouble has come on us and pain, like the pain of a woman in childbirth. Go not out into the field or by the way; for there is the sword of the attacker, and fear on every side. O daughter of my people, put on haircloth, rolling yourself in the dust: give yourself to sorrow, as for an only son, with most bitter cries of grief; for he who makes waste will come on us suddenly. I have made you a tester among my people, so that you may have knowledge of their way and put it to the test. All of them are turned away, going about with false stories; they are brass and iron: they are all workers of deceit. The blower is blowing strongly, the lead is burned away in the fire: they go on heating the metal to no purpose, for the evil-doers are not taken away. They will be named waste silver, because the Lord has given them up.”

“Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion. We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail. Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side. O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way. They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters. The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them. ”