Jeremiah 6:22-30

New King James Version

“Behold, a people comes from the ^(A)north country,
And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth.
²³ They will lay hold on bow and spear;
They are cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice ^(B)roars like the sea;
And they ride on horses,
As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.”

²⁴ We have heard the report of it;
Our hands grow feeble.
^(C)Anguish has taken hold of us,
Pain as of a woman in ^[a]labor.
²⁵ Do not go out into the field,
Nor walk by the way.
Because of the sword of the enemy,
Fear is on every side.
²⁶ O daughter of my people,
^(D)Dress in sackcloth
^(E)And roll about in ashes!
^(F)Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation;
For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us.

²⁷ “I have set you as an assayer and ^(G)a fortress among My people,
That you may know and test their way.
^28 (H)They are all stubborn rebels, ^(I)walking as slanderers.
They are ^(J)bronze and iron,
They are all corrupters;
²⁹ The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
The smelter refines in vain,
For the wicked are not drawn off.
³⁰ People will call them ^(K)rejected silver,
Because the Lord has rejected them.”