Jeremiah 4:19-31

19I am so upset! My body is shaking with pain. My heart beats hard inside me. I cannot keep still. I cannot keep quiet. I have heard the noise of the enemy's trumpets and the shouts of their soldiers.

20They are winning one battle after another! They are destroying the whole land. Our homes are becoming heaps of stones. They quickly knock down our tents.

21How long will our enemy continue to attack us? How long will I see their flags and hear their trumpets?

22The Lord says, ‘My people are fools. They do not know me. They are like children who do not know anything. They understand nothing. They are very clever at doing evil things. But they do not know how to do what is good.’

23I looked at the earth. It had no shape and it was empty. I looked at the sky. Its light had disappeared.

24I looked at the mountains. They were shaking. All the hills were moving around.

25When I looked, I saw no people. All the birds had flown away.

26The land where crops had grown was now a desert. All the cities had become heaps of stones. The Lord had caused this to happen because he was very angry.

27The Lord had said, ‘The whole land will become like a desert, but I will not completely destroy it.

28So the earth will be sad and weep. The sky will become dark. I have said what I will do. And I will not change my thoughts. I will do as I have decided.’

29When the enemy attacks a town, the people will run away to escape. The enemy soldiers will ride on horses, and they will shoot arrows. When the people hear them, some of them will hide among trees. Some of them will climb up among the rocks. All the towns will become empty. Nobody will live in them.

30Yes, Jerusalem, an enemy has destroyed you! You tried to make friends, like a woman who wears a beautiful dress. You wore your gold and your jewels. You painted around your eyes. But all that has not helped you. The nations that you wanted to be your lovers have turned against you. Now they want to kill you.

31I can hear people who are calling out. It sounds like a woman who is giving birth to her first baby. She is calling out with great pain. It is Jerusalem who is crying! She is calling out for help. She says, ‘Help me! I am very weak. These murderers have come to kill me!’