¹⁶ Lord, they came to you in their distress;^(A)
    when you disciplined^(B) them,
    they could barely whisper^(C) a prayer.^[a]

¹⁵ Then I will return to my lair^(A)
    until they have borne their guilt^(B)
    and seek my face^(C)—
in their misery^(D)
    they will earnestly seek me.^(E)”

¹⁴ They do not cry out to me from their hearts^(A)
    but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves,^[a] appealing to their gods
    for grain and new wine,^(B)
    but they turn away from me.^(C)

¹⁹ Arise, cry out in the night,
    as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart^(A) like water
    in the presence of the Lord.^(B)
Lift up your hands^(C) to him
    for the lives of your children,
who faint^(D) from hunger
    at every street corner.

²³ You who live in ‘Lebanon,^[a](A)’
    who are nestled in cedar buildings,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
    pain^(B) like that of a woman in labor!

¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.^(A)