¹³ Look! He advances like the clouds,^(A)
    his chariots^(B) come like a whirlwind,^(C)
his horses^(D) are swifter than eagles.^(E)
    Woe to us! We are ruined!^(F)
14 Jerusalem, wash^(G) the evil from your heart and be saved.^(H)
    How long^(I) will you harbor wicked thoughts?
¹⁵ A voice is announcing from Dan,^(J)
    proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.^(K)
16 “Tell this to the nations,
    proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,^(L)
    raising a war cry^(M) against the cities of Judah.^(N)
17 They surround^(O) her like men guarding a field,
    because she has rebelled^(P) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
¹⁸ “Your own conduct and actions^(Q)
    have brought this on you.^(R)
This is your punishment.
    How bitter^(S) it is!
    How it pierces to the heart!”

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

²⁹ At the sound of horsemen and archers^(A)
    every town takes to flight.^(B)
Some go into the thickets;
    some climb up among the rocks.^(C)
All the towns are deserted;^(D)
    no one lives in them.

³⁰ What are you doing,^(E) you devastated one?
    Why dress yourself in scarlet
    and put on jewels^(F) of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup?^(G)
    You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers^(H) despise you;
    they want to kill you.^(I)

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