26I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness,
         And all its cities were pulled down
         Before the LORD, before His fierce anger.

27For thus says the LORD,
         “The whole land shall be a desolation,
         Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.

28“For this the earth shall mourn
         And the heavens above be dark,
         Because I have spoken, I have purposed,
         And I will not change My mind, nor will I turn from it.”

29At the sound of the horseman and bowman every city flees;
         They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks;
         Every city is forsaken,
         And no man dwells in them.

30And you, O desolate one, what will you do?
         Although you dress in scarlet,
         Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,
         Although you enlarge your eyes with paint,
         In vain you make yourself beautiful.
         Your lovers despise you;
         They seek your life.

31For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor,
         The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
         The cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
         Stretching out her hands, saying,
         “Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers.”

NASB ©1995

Jeremiah 4:26 NIV
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