14 O Jerusalem, (A)wash your heart from evil,
    that you may be saved.
How long shall your wicked thoughts
    lodge within you?
15 For a voice (B)declares from Dan
    and proclaims trouble from (C)Mount Ephraim.
16 Warn the nations that he is coming;
    announce to Jerusalem,
“Besiegers come (D)from a distant land;
    they shout against the cities of Judah.
17 Like keepers of a field (E)are they against her all around,
    because she has rebelled against me,
declares the Lord.
18 Your ways and your deeds
    have brought this upon you.
This is your doom, and (F)it is bitter;
    it has reached your very heart.”

Anguish over Judah's Desolation

19 (G)My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!
    Oh the walls of my heart!
My heart is beating wildly;
    I cannot keep silent,
for I hear the sound of the trumpet,
    the alarm of war.
20 (H)Crash follows hard on crash;
    the whole land is laid waste.
(I)Suddenly my tents are laid waste,
    my curtains in a moment.
21 How long must I see the standard
    and hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 “For (J)my people are foolish;
    they know me not;
they are stupid children;
    they have no understanding.
(K)They are ‘wise’—in doing evil!
    But how to do good they know not.”

23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was (L)without form and void;
    (M)and to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on (N)the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
    and all the hills moved to and fro.
25 (O)I looked, and behold, there was no man,
    and all the birds of the air had fled.
26 I looked, and behold, the (P)fruitful land was a desert,
    and all its cities were laid in ruins
    before the Lord, before (Q)his fierce anger.

27 For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation; (R)yet I will not make a full end.

28 (S)“For this the earth shall mourn,
    (T)and the heavens above be dark;
for I have spoken; I have purposed;
    (U)I have not relented, nor will I turn back.”

29 At the noise of horseman and archer
    every city takes to flight;
they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;
    all the cities are forsaken,
    and (V)no man dwells in them.
30 And you, O desolate one,
what do you mean that you dress in scarlet,
    (W)that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
    (X)that you enlarge your eyes with paint?
In vain you beautify yourself.
    (Y)Your lovers despise you;
    they seek your life.
31 For I heard (Z)a cry as of a woman in labor,
    anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
    (AA)stretching out her hands,
“Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.”

Jerusalem Refused to Repent

(AB)Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
    look and take note!
Search her squares to see
    (AC)if you can find a man,
one who does justice
    and seeks truth,
(AD)that I may pardon her.
(AE)Though they say, “As the Lord lives,”
    (AF)yet they swear falsely.
O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?
(AG)You have struck them down,
    but they felt no anguish;
you have consumed them,
    but they refused to take correction.
(AH)They have made their faces harder than rock;
    they have refused to repent.

Then I said, “These are only the poor;
    they have no sense;
(AI)for they do not know the way of the Lord,
    the justice of their God.
I will go to the great
    and will speak to them,
for they know the way of the Lord,
    the justice of their God.”
(AJ)But they all alike had broken the yoke;
    they had burst the bonds.

Therefore (AK)a lion from the forest shall strike them down;
    a (AL)wolf from the desert shall devastate them.
(AM)A leopard is watching their cities;
    everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,
because their transgressions are many,
    their (AN)apostasies are great.

14 Jerusalem, wash(A) the evil from your heart and be saved.(B)
    How long(C) will you harbor wicked thoughts?
15 A voice is announcing from Dan,(D)
    proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.(E)
16 “Tell this to the nations,
    proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,(F)
    raising a war cry(G) against the cities of Judah.(H)
17 They surround(I) her like men guarding a field,
    because she has rebelled(J) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
18 “Your own conduct and actions(K)
    have brought this on you.(L)
This is your punishment.
    How bitter(M) it is!
    How it pierces to the heart!”

19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!(N)
    I writhe in pain.(O)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
    My heart pounds(P) within me,
    I cannot keep silent.(Q)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;(R)
    I have heard the battle cry.(S)
20 Disaster follows disaster;(T)
    the whole land lies in ruins.(U)
In an instant my tents(V) are destroyed,
    my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard(W)
    and hear the sound of the trumpet?(X)

22 “My people are fools;(Y)
    they do not know me.(Z)
They are senseless children;
    they have no understanding.(AA)
They are skilled in doing evil;(AB)
    they know not how to do good.”(AC)

23 I looked at the earth,
    and it was formless and empty;(AD)
and at the heavens,
    and their light(AE) was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
    and they were quaking;(AF)
    all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
    every bird in the sky had flown away.(AG)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;(AH)
    all its towns lay in ruins(AI)
    before the Lord, before his fierce anger.(AJ)

27 This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,(AK)
    though I will not destroy(AL) it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn(AM)
    and the heavens above grow dark,(AN)
because I have spoken and will not relent,(AO)
    I have decided and will not turn back.(AP)

29 At the sound of horsemen and archers(AQ)
    every town takes to flight.(AR)
Some go into the thickets;
    some climb up among the rocks.(AS)
All the towns are deserted;(AT)
    no one lives in them.

30 What are you doing,(AU) you devastated one?
    Why dress yourself in scarlet
    and put on jewels(AV) of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup?(AW)
    You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers(AX) despise you;
    they want to kill you.(AY)

31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,(AZ)
    a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of Daughter Zion(BA) gasping for breath,(BB)
    stretching out her hands(BC) and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting;
    my life is given over to murderers.”(BD)

Not One Is Upright

“Go up and down(BE) the streets of Jerusalem,
    look around and consider,(BF)
    search through her squares.
If you can find but one person(BG)
    who deals honestly(BH) and seeks the truth,
    I will forgive(BI) this city.
Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’(BJ)
    still they are swearing falsely.(BK)

Lord, do not your eyes(BL) look for truth?
    You struck(BM) them, but they felt no pain;
    you crushed them, but they refused correction.(BN)
They made their faces harder than stone(BO)
    and refused to repent.(BP)
I thought, “These are only the poor;
    they are foolish,(BQ)
for they do not know(BR) the way of the Lord,
    the requirements of their God.
So I will go to the leaders(BS)
    and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the Lord,
    the requirements of their God.”
But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
    and torn off the bonds.(BT)
Therefore a lion from the forest(BU) will attack them,
    a wolf from the desert will ravage(BV) them,
a leopard(BW) will lie in wait near their towns
    to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
    and their backslidings many.(BX)