Jeremiah 4:16-31 ▼

16 “Make mention of it to the nations, saying, ‘Behold!’ Make it heard over Jerusalem, ‘Besiegers come from a far country, And give forth their voices against the cities of Judah.

17 Like watchmen of a field they are against her round about Because she has rebelled against Me,’ declares Yahweh.

18 Your ways and your deeds Have done these things to you. This is your evil. How bitter! How it has touched your heart!”

19 My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart! My heart is pounding in me; I cannot be silent Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The shout of war.

20 Destruction upon destruction is called out, For the whole land is devastated; Suddenly my tents are devastated, My curtains in an instant.

21 How long must I see the standard And hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 “For My people are ignorant fools, They know Me not; They are simpleminded children And have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they do not know.”

23 I saw on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light.

24 I saw on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills moved to and fro.

25 I saw, and behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the sky had fled.

26 I saw, and behold, the fruitful orchard was a wilderness, And all its cities were torn down Before Yahweh, before His burning anger.

27 For thus says Yahweh, “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 relent, nor will I turn from it.”

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

30 And you, O devastated 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.

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