Jeremiah 4:20-29

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.