“Jeremiah, tell them I'm sending
    disaster from the north.
⁷ An army will come out,
    like a lion from its den.
It will destroy nations
and leave your towns empty
    and in ruins.”

⁸ Then I told the people
    of Israel,
“Put on sackcloth!^[b]
    Mourn and cry out,
‘The Lord is still angry
    with us.’ ”

Then you will answer,
    “We are doomed!”

¹⁴ But Jerusalem, there is still time
    for you to be saved.
Wash the evil from your hearts
    and stop making sinful plans,
¹⁵ before a message of disaster
arrives from the hills of Ephraim
    and the town of Dan.^[d]

¹⁸ “People of Judah,
    your hearts will be in pain,
but it's your own fault
    that you will be punished.”

²² I heard the Lord say,
    “My people ignore me.
They are foolish children
who do not understand
    that they will be punished.
All they know is how to sin.”

²³ After this, I looked around.
The earth was barren,
    with no form of life.
The sun, moon, and stars
    had disappeared.
²⁴ The mountains were shaking;
²⁵ no people could be seen,
    and all the birds
    had flown away.
²⁶ Farmland had become a desert,
    and towns were in ruins.
The Lord's fierce anger
    had done all of this.

²⁹ Enemy cavalry and archers
    shout their battle cry.
People run for their lives
and try to find safety
    among trees and rocks.
Every town is empty.

³⁰ Jerusalem, your land
    has been wiped out.
But you act like a prostitute
and try to win back your lovers,
    who now hate you.
You can put on a red dress,
gold jewelry, and eye shadow,
    but it's no use—
your lovers are out to kill you!

³¹ I heard groaning and crying.
Was it a woman giving birth
    to her first child?
No, it was Jerusalem,
gasping for breath
    and begging for help.
“I'm dying!” she said.
    “They have murdered me.”