¹⁷ Our hearts are sick and weary,
    and our eyes grow dim with tears.

¹⁶ “For all these things I weep;
    tears flow down my cheeks.
No one is here to comfort me;
    any who might encourage me are far away.
My children have no future,
    for the enemy has conquered us.”

¹⁷ Jerusalem reaches out for help,
    but no one comforts her.
Regarding his people Israel,^[a]
    the Lord has said,
“Let their neighbors be their enemies!
    Let them be thrown away like a filthy rag!”

²⁴ We have heard reports about the enemy,
    and we wring our hands in fright.
Pangs of anguish have gripped us,
    like those of a woman in labor.

⁴ That’s why I said, “Leave me alone to weep;
    do not try to comfort me.
Let me cry for my people
    as I watch them being destroyed.”

¹⁶ I trembled inside when I heard this;
    my lips quivered with fear.
My legs gave way beneath me,^[a]
    and I shook in terror.
I will wait quietly for the coming day
    when disaster will strike the people who invade us.

¹⁹ My wound is severe,
    and my grief is great.
My sickness is incurable,
    but I must bear it.
²⁰ My home is gone,
    and no one is left to help me rebuild it.
My children have been taken away,
    and I will never see them again.
²¹ The shepherds of my people have lost their senses.
    They no longer seek wisdom from the Lord.
Therefore, they fail completely,
    and their flocks are scattered.
²² Listen! Hear the terrifying roar of great armies
    as they roll down from the north.
The towns of Judah will be destroyed
    and become a haunt for jackals.

¹³ I think, ‘My bed will comfort me,
    and sleep will ease my misery,’
¹⁴ but then you shatter me with dreams
    and terrify me with visions.