³ But You, O Lord, ^(D)know me;
You have seen me,
And You have ^(E)tested my heart toward You.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
And prepare them for ^(F)the day of slaughter.
⁴ How long will ^(G)the land mourn,
And the herbs of every field wither?
^(H)The beasts and birds are consumed,
^(I)For the wickedness of those who dwell there,
Because they said, “He will not see our final end.”

⁷ “I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage;
I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies.
⁸ My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest;
It cries out against Me;
Therefore I have ^(M)hated it.
⁹ My ^[e]heritage is to Me like a speckled vulture;
The vultures all around are against her.
Come, assemble all the beasts of the field,
^(N)Bring them to devour!

¹⁰ “Many ^(O)rulers^[f] have destroyed ^(P)My vineyard,
They have ^(Q)trodden My portion underfoot;
They have made My ^[g]pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
¹¹ They have made it ^(R)desolate;
Desolate, it mourns to Me;
The whole land is made desolate,
Because ^(S)no one takes it to heart.
¹² The plunderers have come
On all the desolate heights in the wilderness,
For the sword of the Lord shall devour
From one end of the land to the other end of the land;
No flesh shall have peace.
^13 (T)They have sown wheat but reaped thorns;
They have ^[h]put themselves to pain but do not profit.
But be ashamed of your harvest
Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”

¹⁸ Say to ^(AQ)the king and to the queen mother,
“Humble yourselves;
Sit down,
For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.”
¹⁹ The cities of the South shall be shut up,
And no one shall open them;
Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it;
It shall be wholly carried away captive.

²⁰ Lift up your eyes and see
Those who come from the ^(AR)north.
Where is the flock that was given to you,
Your beautiful sheep?
²¹ What will you say when He punishes you?
For you have taught them
To be chieftains, to be head over you.
Will not ^(AS)pangs seize you,
Like a woman in ^[q]labor?
²² And if you say in your heart,
^(AT)“Why have these things come upon me?”
For the greatness of your iniquity
^(AU)Your skirts have been uncovered,
Your heels ^[r]made bare.
²³ Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?
Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.

²⁴ “Therefore I will ^(AV)scatter them ^(AW)like stubble
That passes away by the wind of the wilderness.
^25 (AX)This is your lot,
The portion of your measures from Me,” says the Lord,
“Because you have forgotten Me
And trusted in ^(AY)falsehood.
²⁶ Therefore ^(AZ)I will uncover your skirts over your face,
That your shame may appear.
²⁷ I have seen your adulteries
And your lustful ^(BA)neighings,
The lewdness of your harlotry,
Your abominations ^(BB)on the hills in the fields.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
Will you still not be made clean?”

² “Judah mourns,
And ^(BC)her gates languish;
They ^(BD)mourn for the land,
And ^(BE)the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
³ Their nobles have sent their lads for water;
They went to the cisterns and found no water.
They returned with their vessels empty;
They were ^(BF)ashamed and confounded
^(BG)And covered their heads.
⁴ Because the ground is parched,
For there was ^(BH)no rain in the land,
The plowmen were ashamed;
They covered their heads.
⁵ Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field,
But ^[s]left because there was no grass.
⁶ And ^(BI)the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights;
They sniffed at the wind like jackals;
Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”

⁷ O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us,
Do it ^(BJ)for Your name’s sake;
For our backslidings are many,
We have sinned against You.
^8 (BK)O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble,
Why should You be like a stranger in the land,
And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
⁹ Why should You be like a man astonished,
Like a mighty one ^(BL)who cannot save?
Yet You, O Lord, ^(BM)are in our midst,
And we are called by Your name;
Do not leave us!

^(BN)“Thus they have loved to wander;
They have not restrained their feet.
Therefore the Lord does not accept them;
^(BO)He will remember their iniquity now,
And punish their sins.”

^5 (E)How long, Lord?
Will You be angry forever?
Will Your ^(F)jealousy burn like fire?
^6 (G)Pour out Your wrath on the ^[c]nations that ^(H)do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that ^(I)do not call on Your name.
⁷ For they have devoured Jacob,
And laid waste his dwelling place.

^8 (J)Oh, do not remember ^[d]former iniquities against us!
Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.
⁹ Help us, O God of our salvation,
For the glory of Your name;
And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins,
^(K)For Your name’s sake!
^10 (L)Why should the ^[e]nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let there be known among the nations in our sight
The avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been shed.

¹¹ Let ^(M)the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your ^[f]power
Preserve those who are appointed to die;
¹² And return to our neighbors ^(N)sevenfold into their bosom
^(O)Their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.

¹³ So ^(P)we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture,
Will give You thanks forever;
^(Q)We will show forth Your praise to all generations.

³⁰ I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;
³¹ And there it was, ^(A)all overgrown with thorns;
Its surface was covered with nettles;
Its stone wall was broken down.
³² When I saw it, I considered it well;
I looked on it and received instruction:
^33 (B)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest;
^34 (C)So shall your poverty come like ^[a]a prowler,
And your need like ^[b]an armed man.