Jeremiah 4:10-31

New International Version

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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