Sorrow for the Doomed Nation

19 O my (A)soul, my soul!
I am pained in my very heart!
My heart makes a noise in me;
I cannot hold my peace,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
20 (B)Destruction upon destruction is cried,
For the whole land is plundered.
Suddenly (C)my tents are plundered,
And my curtains in a moment.
21 How long will I see the [a]standard,
And hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 “For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are [b]silly children,
And they have no understanding.
(D)They are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”

23 (E)I beheld the earth, and indeed it was (F)without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.
24 (G)I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.
25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And (H)all the birds of the heavens had fled.
26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a (I)wilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the Lord,
By His fierce anger.

27 For thus says the Lord:

“The whole land shall be desolate;
(J)Yet I will not make a full end.
28 For this (K)shall the earth mourn,
And (L)the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have (M)purposed and (N)will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 4:21 banner
  2. Jeremiah 4:22 foolish

19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!(A)
    I writhe in pain.(B)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
    My heart pounds(C) within me,
    I cannot keep silent.(D)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;(E)
    I have heard the battle cry.(F)
20 Disaster follows disaster;(G)
    the whole land lies in ruins.(H)
In an instant my tents(I) are destroyed,
    my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard(J)
    and hear the sound of the trumpet?(K)

22 “My people are fools;(L)
    they do not know me.(M)
They are senseless children;
    they have no understanding.(N)
They are skilled in doing evil;(O)
    they know not how to do good.”(P)

23 I looked at the earth,
    and it was formless and empty;(Q)
and at the heavens,
    and their light(R) was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
    and they were quaking;(S)
    all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
    every bird in the sky had flown away.(T)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;(U)
    all its towns lay in ruins(V)
    before the Lord, before his fierce anger.(W)

27 This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,(X)
    though I will not destroy(Y) it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn(Z)
    and the heavens above grow dark,(AA)
because I have spoken and will not relent,(AB)
    I have decided and will not turn back.(AC)

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