Jeremiah 4:9-31

New International Version

⁹ “In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “the king and the officials will lose heart,^(A)
the priests will be horrified,
    and the prophets will be appalled.”^(B)

¹³ Look! He advances like the clouds,^(H)
    his chariots^(I) come like a whirlwind,^(J)
his horses^(K) are swifter than eagles.^(L)
    Woe to us! We are ruined!^(M)
14 Jerusalem, wash^(N) the evil from your heart and be saved.^(O)
    How long^(P) will you harbor wicked thoughts?
¹⁵ A voice is announcing from Dan,^(Q)
    proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.^(R)
16 “Tell this to the nations,
    proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,^(S)
    raising a war cry^(T) against the cities of Judah.^(U)
17 They surround^(V) her like men guarding a field,
    because she has rebelled^(W) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
¹⁸ “Your own conduct and actions^(X)
    have brought this on you.^(Y)
This is your punishment.
    How bitter^(Z) it is!
    How it pierces to the heart!”

¹⁹ Oh, my anguish, my anguish!^(AA)
    I writhe in pain.^(AB)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
    My heart pounds^(AC) within me,
    I cannot keep silent.^(AD)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;^(AE)
    I have heard the battle cry.^(AF)
20 Disaster follows disaster;^(AG)
    the whole land lies in ruins.^(AH)
In an instant my tents^(AI) are destroyed,
    my shelter in a moment.
²¹ How long must I see the battle standard^(AJ)
    and hear the sound of the trumpet?^(AK)

²² “My people are fools;^(AL)
    they do not know me.^(AM)
They are senseless children;
    they have no understanding.^(AN)
They are skilled in doing evil;^(AO)
    they know not how to do good.”^(AP)

²³ I looked at the earth,
    and it was formless and empty;^(AQ)
and at the heavens,
    and their light^(AR) was gone.
²⁴ I looked at the mountains,
    and they were quaking;^(AS)
    all the hills were swaying.
²⁵ I looked, and there were no people;
    every bird in the sky had flown away.^(AT)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;^(AU)
    all its towns lay in ruins^(AV)
    before the Lord, before his fierce anger.^(AW)

“The whole land will be ruined,^(AX)
    though I will not destroy^(AY) it completely.
²⁸ Therefore the earth will mourn^(AZ)
    and the heavens above grow dark,^(BA)
because I have spoken and will not relent,^(BB)
    I have decided and will not turn back.^(BC)”

²⁹ At the sound of horsemen and archers^(BD)
    every town takes to flight.^(BE)
Some go into the thickets;
    some climb up among the rocks.^(BF)
All the towns are deserted;^(BG)
    no one lives in them.

³⁰ What are you doing,^(BH) you devastated one?
    Why dress yourself in scarlet
    and put on jewels^(BI) of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup?^(BJ)
    You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers^(BK) despise you;
    they want to kill you.^(BL)

³¹ I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,^(BM)
    a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of Daughter Zion^(BN) gasping for breath,^(BO)
    stretching out her hands^(BP) and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting;
    my life is given over to murderers.”^(BQ)