“Look, an army is coming
    from the land of the north;^(A)
a great nation is being stirred up
    from the ends of the earth.^(B)
23 They are armed with bow and spear;
    they are cruel and show no mercy.^(C)
They sound like the roaring sea^(D)
    as they ride on their horses;^(E)
they come like men in battle formation
    to attack you, Daughter Zion.^(F)”

²⁴ We have heard reports about them,
    and our hands hang limp.^(G)
Anguish^(H) has gripped us,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.^(I)
25 Do not go out to the fields
    or walk on the roads,
for the enemy has a sword,
    and there is terror on every side.^(J)
26 Put on sackcloth,^(K) my people,
    and roll in ashes;^(L)
mourn with bitter wailing^(M)
    as for an only son,^(N)
for suddenly the destroyer^(O)
    will come upon us.

²⁷ “I have made you a tester^(P) of metals
    and my people the ore,
that you may observe
    and test their ways.
²⁸ They are all hardened rebels,^(Q)
    going about to slander.^(R)
They are bronze and iron;^(S)
    they all act corruptly.
²⁹ The bellows blow fiercely
    to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining^(T) goes on in vain;
    the wicked are not purged out.
³⁰ They are called rejected silver,^(U)
    because the Lord has rejected them.”^(V)