11 They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.

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11 It will be made a wasteland,(A)
    parched and desolate before me;(B)
the whole land will be laid waste
    because there is no one who cares.

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10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.

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10 The land is full of adulterers;(A)
    because of the curse[a](B) the land lies parched
    and the pastures(C) in the wilderness are withered.(D)
The prophets follow an evil course
    and use their power unjustly.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 23:10 Or because of these things

25 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.

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25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,(A)
    the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames,(B) yet they did not understand;(C)
    it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.(D)

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Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

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“Judah mourns,(A)
    her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
    and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.

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If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.

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If you do not listen,(A) and if you do not resolve to honor(B) my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse(C) on you, and I will curse your blessings.(D) Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.

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Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?

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“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted(A) and mourned in the fifth and seventh(B) months for the past seventy years,(C) was it really for me that you fasted?

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How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!

She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.

Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.

The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.

Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.

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[a]How deserted(A) lies the city,
    once so full of people!(B)
How like a widow(C) is she,
    who once was great(D) among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
    has now become a slave.(E)

Bitterly she weeps(F) at night,
    tears are on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers(G)
    there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed(H) her;
    they have become her enemies.(I)

After affliction and harsh labor,
    Judah has gone into exile.(J)
She dwells among the nations;
    she finds no resting place.(K)
All who pursue her have overtaken her(L)
    in the midst of her distress.

The roads to Zion mourn,(M)
    for no one comes to her appointed festivals.
All her gateways are desolate,(N)
    her priests groan,
her young women grieve,
    and she is in bitter anguish.(O)

Her foes have become her masters;
    her enemies are at ease.
The Lord has brought her grief(P)
    because of her many sins.(Q)
Her children have gone into exile,(R)
    captive before the foe.(S)

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Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 1:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof.

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I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn;(A) all who pass by will be appalled(B) and will scoff because of all its wounds.(C)

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How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.

If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?

For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.

I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.

Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.

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How long will the land lie parched(A)
    and the grass in every field be withered?(B)
Because those who live in it are wicked,
    the animals and birds have perished.(C)
Moreover, the people are saying,
    “He will not see what happens to us.”

God’s Answer

“If you have raced with men on foot
    and they have worn you out,
    how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble[a] in safe country,
    how will you manage in the thickets(D) by[b] the Jordan?
Your relatives, members of your own family—
    even they have betrayed you;
    they have raised a loud cry against you.(E)
Do not trust them,
    though they speak well of you.(F)

“I will forsake(G) my house,
    abandon(H) my inheritance;
I will give the one I love(I)
    into the hands of her enemies.(J)
My inheritance has become to me
    like a lion(K) in the forest.
She roars at me;
    therefore I hate her.(L)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 12:5 Or you feel secure only
  2. Jeremiah 12:5 Or the flooding of

25 Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

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25 Pour out your wrath on the nations(A)
    that do not acknowledge you,
    on the peoples who do not call on your name.(B)
For they have devoured(C) Jacob;
    they have devoured him completely
    and destroyed his homeland.(D)

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22 Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.

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22 Listen! The report is coming—
    a great commotion from the land of the north!(A)
It will make the towns of Judah desolate,(B)
    a haunt of jackals.(C)

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11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.

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11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap(A) of ruins,
    a haunt of jackals;(B)
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah(C)
    so no one can live there.”(D)

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Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.

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Take warning, Jerusalem,
    or I will turn away(A) from you
and make your land desolate
    so no one can live in it.”

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