¹⁶ “For these things ^(A)I weep;
    my eyes flow with tears;
for ^(B)a comforter is far from me,
    one to ^(C)revive my spirit;
my children are desolate,
    for the enemy has prevailed.”

^17 (D)Zion stretches out her hands,
    but ^(E)there is none to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against Jacob
    that his neighbors should be his foes;
Jerusalem has become
    a filthy thing among them.

^16 (A)I hear, and ^(B)my body trembles;
    my lips quiver at the sound;
^(C)rottenness enters into my bones;
    my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet ^(D)I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
    to come upon people who invade us.

¹⁹ Woe is me because of my hurt!
    ^(A)My wound is grievous.
But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,
    and I must bear it.”
^20 (B)My tent is destroyed,
    and all my cords are broken;
my children have gone from me,
    ^(C)and they are not;
there is no one to spread my tent again
    and ^(D)to set up my curtains.
^21 (E)For the shepherds ^(F)are stupid
    and do not inquire of the Lord;
therefore they have not prospered,
    ^(G)and all their flock is scattered.

²² A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—
    ^(H)a great commotion out of the north country
to make ^(I)the cities of Judah a desolation,
    ^(J)a lair of jackals.